Other What is the meaning of life? (Serious answers only.)

[Zombocalypse]

Hi everyone!


In your opinion, what is the meaning of life?


I ask because I don't know the answer to that question. All I know is that life, or MY life at least, is hard.

 

[jinkx]

Living.

 

[Asperix0]

I believe there is no 'meaning'. 

 

[Spencarian]

It's what you choose.


So, you make your life have some meaning.



Or in my belief anyway.

 

[CastoffCaptain]

The question never made sense to me. It's like, what's the meaning of clay? What's the meaning of deserts?


Maybe if the question were, what meaning can you apply to your life with the things you do or have felt, etc. 

 

[Sprios]

@castoffcaptain i like this answer a lot


re: op


 There doesn't have to be some kind of conventional use like how we think of why other people have things (like, a guy has a spoon. why? bc he likes ice cream. so he has a spoon to eat ice cream. you can't really apply that to life because it's not something we've chosen ourselves.) so i think people struggle with finding some specific "use" for themselves, rather than a meaning. Bc a "meaning" for your life will depend on what you're doing with it and who you are. People's reasons will differ.


Some people think their life's meaning is making the world a better place. Others think their life is for starting a family, or for becoming a super star. It just rly depends on who you are, so nobody can answer this question for you. The best anyone else can do is offer answers based on their knowledge and experience, which differentiates from yours.


So, if i had to answer, i guess i think the meaning of life is seeking out contentment with life itself. With who you are, who you're with, where you're at, etc. If you can do those things and close your eyes at night and want to wake up every morning, i think that's what life is for. Self-satisfaction (which for a lot of people means helping other people!!) and soul searching. :3c personally ive not yet found my "meaning." But on the journey to it, whatever it is, im discovering lots about who i am and who/where/what i'd like to be along the way! Which may be the meaning in and of itself ;P


and if it's not, i can always fall back to my answer being 42.

 

[Cross]

Other people. 

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

There's two answers to this question.


The first is the scientific answer, the objective and collective meaning to life on a universal and practical scale.


The second is personal, and will vary from person to person.


1. Life is about one simple thing. One thing that drives every member of every species. It has for millennia, and will continue to. Mankind is the only species on earth that confuses the subject. Life is about reproduction. Plain and simple. Ensuring the survival of your species, and passing on your DNA (part of evolution). Everything else is a byproduct of existence, human emotion, or social/philosophical constructs.


2. Life has what meaning you give it. Some believe the purpose of life is to impact others; leave your footprint on the world. Some believe the purpose of life is to love. To learn and pass on your knowledge.


Only mankind possesses the tools and mental complexities to fog up the issue so damn much. Our greatest evolutionary triumph is also our greatest burden.

 

[C R Y B A B Y]

As a Biology major, my first instinct is to give the scientific definition, which is:
​

The meaning of life is to survive through the consumption of energy (whether that be autotrophic or heterotrophic) and to pass on an individual's genetics to their offspring in order to allow for the survival of the species.
​

 
​

Philosophically, however, I believe that the meaning of life is really to learn and grow through experiences. Experiences can be as simple as trying a new food or watching a new movie, to radically changing one's environment (i.e. moving to a new country) and experiencing the culture and language differences. Knowledge appears to be something that homosapiens have been striving to obtain in all sorts of categories and regions for centuries and we've been able to evolve further through the usage of it [knowledge], and one of the best ways to really obtain new knowledge is through experience.
​

 

[Lappi]

42

 

[Dugym]

Well a lot of what I would say has already been said, but I believe life itself has no meaning. We create the meaning.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebt0X5ybm9Y


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAp0BTg2Trw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X28v7auNius


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ8so-ld-l0


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2qVGmDpr4s (Video may be glitchy)

 

[Serbia]

love begets love, it is human nature to help one another out and feel happy, in the euphoric sense, be positive ~~~

 

[AdorkableAuk]

To leave more smiles than tears.

 

[little baby fairy]

If you need someone to talk to and listen, my inbox is open.


I think the meaning of life, for me, is to do and make happy with this one life that we have and leave behind good so that the next generation of people will make use of and spread the love because we know that there is a lot of negativity and suffering in the world. We are given the option to challenge that and change it so as to say that life is not all but suffering, evil, and hate, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel so we should not only be that for ourselves but for others who need that light too.


Think of it this way:


Isn't it neat that science or God, what ever it is that you believe in, that created universes, this awesome planet, also thought it could use someone like you?


Just think about it and let it settle in.

 

[Refusion]

Hi everyone!


In your opinion, what is the meaning of life?


I ask because I don't know the answer to that question. All I know is that life, or MY life at least, is hard.

Life itself is a type of ladder, it's hard to climb but once your at the top you can relax, in heaven...


but some parts of the ladder you can take a break, fall away from the challenges of life.


In my opinion the meaning of life is to achieve your best, to do what you want...


but sometimes it doesn't go that way... I do agree, life itself is hard... but once your finished with the hard bits, you can relax...


I find my life horrible, but what keeps me going is RpNation, friend and happiness and breaks,


it makes me want to love life... but awnser this question now... do you enjoy life...


sometimes i feel the darkest of days... I want to kill myself sometimes, but what keeps me going is you..


RpNation... what I love... Games... relaxation.

 

[Lappi]

Life itself is a type of ladder, it's hard to climb but once your at the top you can relax, in heaven...


but some parts of the ladder you can take a break, fall away from the challenges of life.


In my opinion the meaning of life is to achieve your best, to do what you want...


but sometimes it doesn't go that way... I do agree, life itself is hard... but once your finished with the hard bits, you can relax...


I find my life horrible, but what keeps me going is RpNation, friend and happiness and breaks,


it makes me want to love life... but awnser this question now... do you enjoy life...


sometimes i feel the darkest of days... I want to kill myself sometimes, but what keeps me going is you..


RpNation... what I love... Games... relaxation.

I disagree. Believing In a heaven makes you put off things. I have skydived, jumped 100 ft into a lake off a water fall. Enjoy it and if there is a heaven. Well good, but don't put all your chips in 1 slot

 

[sathanas]

nihilism is rly popular rn, so the conclusion that life has no inherent meaning and you make your own thing is also really popular, but I don't mind because i'm a fan of it.


while a lot of people are, a lot of people also aren't satisfied by nihilism's answer. 


lots of people's views on the meaning of life is also influenced by their religion and philosophy- that's what nihilism is, a philosophy. if you want to decide for yourself what the meaning of life is then looking at your own beliefs, wants, and needs will probably help you, and maybe studying some basic philosophy. even if you dont memorize the names of a bunch of theories and dead people, some concepts and ideas might stand out to or inspire you.

 

[Zombocalypse]

Anyone else?

 

[Pine]

just skimming through the thread, i don't think i'll be adding anything new but yolo


purely my idea/opinion, but i really do think that there isn't any overarching, universal point to life


that being said, i think maybe what's best for people and/or an almost all-encompassing idea to adopt is the pursuit of pleasure, which can entail many different things depending on your personal values and what you enjoy


then like if we're talking just my personal meaning in life/pursuit of happiness, i just want to not have to try too hard, have some good long-term friends to bounce ideas off of and probably have a lot of pets


so i guess like my view is kind of a mix of nihilism and humanism

 

[Dugym]

Think of it this way:


Isn't it neat that science or God, what ever it is that you believe in, that created universes, this awesome planet, also thought it could use someone like you?


Just think about it and let it settle in.

There's a problem with this.


Science doesn't have a conscience, and it doesn't create things. Science only explains how things are created, and we haven't found all the explanations yet. In science, life is created through reproduction, so it was your parents that thought they could use someone like you.


Saying that God thought it could use someone like you is flawed. Firstly, there is no proof of any God, so there is no way to know any God thought it could use you. Secondly, assuming there is a God, it depends on the type of God.


For example, panentheism says something along the lines of this: An artist who is drawing a painting only has an idea of what it will be, but will be just as surprised as you are to see what it turns out to be. We are the painting of the panentheism God, and we evolved from there and became co-creators of the universe.


So, in panentheism, God didn't think it could use someone like you specifically.


However, there is an alternative that doesn't rely on faith. Life as it is now is inevitable, but think of how astronomically small the chances that you would be your parents' kid, yet you are here now. It's like a deck of cards; when you shuffle them, they will inevitably end up in a specific order, but the chances it would end up in that order are astronomically small. That itself makes you relatively special, so why not make your life worth something?

 

[Dugym]

Also, this is semi-related:

 

[Idea]

To me, life is given purpose in the quest for the truth. To me, finding truth is like finding a gear that´s missing from a machine, find it and suddenly every little thing makes sense. Knowing everything will allow us to piece together the means to overcome every problem, both outside and inside ourselves and our minds. We would be happy.

 

[The Mechanist]

The meaning of life, why does every other organism live for? For continuation of its species, to eat, sleep, multiply and die.

 

[Axel The Englishman]

In a serious and what can be considered a logical term, the point of living is to die. However, life itself (from an Atheist point of view) is one big and meaningless accident that has no long term result that affects the Universe in any significant way.

 

[Lost Swordlance]

The meaning of your life can be defined by the goal you set yourself, I really understand OP situation cause I've been there, maybe I still am, but I have found a set of goals i want to achieve before my life comes to an end. 


Here are my personnal goals (from least important to most important) :


- Learn japanease


- Humiliate a certain someone 


- Save someone


- Get an appartement and live by myself (done)


- Don't ever try drugs 


- Experience true love 


- Get Rich (like really rich) 


- Stay kind and caring 


- Do what makes me happy 


Now that's me and I'm a bit fucked up after some experiences i had. 


Have a Nice day !