Purpose of (Capitol L) Life Posted on March 12, 2010 Recently posted in a discussion on a public forum: “It appears to me any organism with a sense of being {intelligence vs instinct} has at one time or another strived to answer what, why, or how when concerning our existence. So with this I believe there is a necessity to ‘understand.’ “ To which, I respond: So, because we’re all pretty much so self absorbed to think that we collectively and individually have a purpose, that there must be one? Maybe we yearn for a purpose because there isn’t one…. In a universe that’s not teaming with life that we can detect, it seems like life might well be a fluke. As for a deity or group of, and anything powerful enough that drives the universe with or to a purpose, is awful slow in getting the universe to a point where the purpose is in play, evident or meaningful. Unless we’re basically a petri dish. Not a nice thought. Even if there was “something”, does that mean we’re required to play along and fulfill that purpose? We don’t get a choice? Humans are not unique in self awareness. Elephants in captivity marked with red on their heads and put in front of mirrors touch the spot of red – they know that it is themselves and not another elephant. They also collect the bones of their dead and they mourn the loss of group members. Spending any time with cats or dogs also allows a person to see some sense of self in them. And it’s really not Disney-izing them. The 2 cats and 2 dogs that live with me have clear and distinct personalities. They have boundaries that they enforce with …well…force. And they use facial expression, body language and sounds to communicate what they want – pet me, feed me, pay attention to me, don’t touch me there. There’s no evidence that any animals wonder why or try to answer why they are around. They just enjoy what they can and do what they need to in order to live. When you look back through all the history of the earth – the vast majority of the 4.5 billion years hasn’t had any life on the planet. Humans have been on the earth for a blink of that time. If you were a deity, are you really going to wait that long to get to the creatures that you have a purpose for? Think about all the species that are gone, all the mass extinctions – practice runs? rough drafts until the earth got to us? Doesn’t that mean that we’re just another step to something else? If you really believe that there’s an afterlife, then there must be a beforelife. So, if the deity is all knowing and all powerful, why let anyone be born – keep all the souls at hand in the afterlife. What’s that? Life is the testing and proving ground? Why bother, an all knowing god is going to know who’s going to be good or bad before hand. Weed them out and not waste the time. If the afterlife is an eternal thing, why would a soul need to keep coming back to live a life and learn new lessons – there’s no way to learn lessons in the afterlife? Adding in a deity makes the whole thing sound awful boring and even reduces Purpose. ___ Random small bit: It’s really funny to me when people start their advice with “If I were you…” Then proceed to tell you to do something that you don’t want to do, aren’t interested in doing, and really wouldn’t do.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 04:16:02 +0000