The Point In Human Life

Do you like "knock knock" jokes?

"Knock, knock"

"Who's there?"

"The right answer"

"Go away, I don't want any JW literature"

No JW literature and I was serious. Well, what is the point in human life?

(By the way, your example with knocking was not too clever, sorry.)

Is it possible to answer this without representing a sense of ignorance? Because i could add input, but its of my own belief, in what ive found to be genuine matter in a seach of substance..

and by ignorance, i mean arrogance

That's a very deep question and yet a deeper answer. You could ask a million people the same question and there's a good chance you'll come up with a million different answers. What do you think the point of human life is? Isn't this the great unanswered question of all time?... isn't this what has been the subject of great studies throughout history?

If you are asking for each of us to give our own answer to this question rather than the RIGHT answer, then I'm sure there would be some very interesting responses. Perception has a lot to do with it and while we all are created from a single energy source, we are also autonomous as well in our thoughts and actions. That's the beauty of the creativity behind the creation of mankind.

On the other hand, if you are certain you know the right answer to this question, please share it with the rest of us as to open a good discussion on this topic. A thread like this could be very lengthy and involved.

Maybe there is no point in human life? This was certainly the opinion of many existentialists. The universe is random, impersonal, and cruelly indifferent to its own existence. The only point a human life can have is the meaning it imposes upon the world around it. That said, it is a unique ability of human beings to be able to do so, and really there is something to be said for the immensity of human freedom to be able to impute meaning upon a meaningless world.

Hi "pmd", everything has its point and has not any at the same time and our world is full of the deepest meaning and of meaningless as well.

Dear Justin, the answer to the question of the point in human life is the same answer to any possible question. The body of everything is the same in it's deepest essence. When million people will give million different answers, every of them will be little bit true and more than less untrue, since opinion of any man is a part of the Truth, but only as small part of it as small part of it is the man giving his opinion.

Gnosis, I think it is hardly possible to give the answer with sense of ignorance, although some ignorance is in everything (nothing and nobody can feel and understand everything except for GreatCreator = Tao who is the Only Living Being even if in some sense the Only Death Being because it is not live in the way we do and what we consider to be live).

I promise I will give you the answer next time. But please one more last trying to find the answer. Thanks.

Just leave the literature on the door step. I'll read it later...

Pavel - after taking some time to read your writings on your website to gleam an understanding of what it is you are trying to accomplish with your question, I don't think that I could provide an answer to your question. If I may so boldly ask, what is your purpose in this question?

pmd - I don't think that human life is without meaning. One thing you said: "The only point a human life can have is the meaning it imposes upon the world around it."; Human life creates the world around it... Human life co-creates the world in which we live. I believe there's much meaning to human life and that meaning will ultimately be what we create it be.

I think we may have some common ground, Justin. My point was that human life may have no inherent meaning - for that, some sort of Ultimate Reality such as God would have to exist, a greater Being in which to ground our lesser beings. As an agnostic, I can't really rely on such a grounding and must consider that it simply may not exist. If that is the case, then humans must accept that they are responsible for assigning themselves purpose and meaning in their actions. This doesn't make life entirely meaningless, but it does mean that existence is essentially a blank slate upon which we etch our own purpose.

You mean I had to slough through posts and wait a half of a week for that??? Why didn't you just say that you're an agnostic? Oh brother. Talk about a Hiraldo exclusive.

Uhm... What? Half a week? I've only been here since yesterday. I think you've mistaken me for the OP. That's Pavel. Pavel has yet to deliver his promised answer.

Furthermore, I didn't just say I was an agnostic because being an agnostic means very, very little. There are wide spectrums of personal beliefs within theism, atheism, and agnosticism. Since this is a philosophy forum, I chose to elaborate on my opinion rather than simply assign myself a label and allow people like yourself to impute upon that label whatever preformed meaning they have decided upon beforehand.

It's humorous that I happened to stumble across this forum tonight because earlier today I had asked two children (I work at a day camp) what the absolute best part of life was. The responses I received were 'candy' and 'video games.' While this differs slightly from the topic at hand, it still made me laugh.

The purpose of life? Well, I'd like to think it is simply to live. Without life, you and I would have nothing at all. Though I do believe there is some sort of objectivity regarding the way we should live. That is, I believe we should do good while we are here. Though, doing good in life doesn't alone seem to yield any sort of purpose, so perhaps I've just shot myself in the foot. I give up. Pavel, what is the purpose of life?

You're right, I messed up. Sorry about that.

The purpose of my question was that I wanted to know how many people realize the essence of their existence, the meaning of their life.

We may say, that the point in human life is the transformation of energy. To feel and to transform the energy through feelings is why we live.

I said that the answer to the question of the point in human life is the same answer to any possible question, so that if someone will ask someone what is o'clock and will receive an answer it is midnight, it is also the answer to my question since to ask someone what is the time and to get the answer it is midnight is also the point in human life.

The point is to have children, to have broken legs, to be a child, to steal, to work, to watch TV, to be angry or happy, to be a murderer or his victim, to have different feelings about own body and surrounding world than others do, to have different belief etc. All these things (+ all the other) together are the point in human life.

Simply said, the point in human life is everything, but because everything is also nothing in a way, we may also claim that the point in human life is nothing. So, the point is everything and nothing together.

The point of my life is not the point of yours or anyone else's. It may be similar in some aspects, but not all. Mine might be a simple point or meaning whereas someone else's might be elaborate and complex.
I believe that the point or meaning of life is separate for every individual, but that overall we may have a grander purpose as a functioning body of sentient beings with one common goal.
That common goal could be, as it quotes in the Bible, to; "Go forth and multiply, populating the Earth." or it could be to create a wealthy utopia for 10% of the population while the other 90% live in poverty...it could be to just simply enjoy and appreciate what we have been given, or to worship a God.
Whichever the case may be, I do believe that in order for someone to consider the idea that we do have a purpose or "point" in our existence, then that person would have to believe first and foremost that we were put here with purpose and deliberation, not through the random chance that is provided by evolution.
So is there a point?
An atheist would have to say no, since saying yes would admit there is a divine entity behind everything. An agnostic would have to consider it for some time before admitting he doesn't know, and those with beliefs of God would say yes there is, because that is what they are taught.

So basically, it depends who you ask.
Given the consideration that there are so many possible answers...the only safe answer is "maybe".



Before asking what the point of life is...I think we should first establish whether or not there even is a point to begin with.

I disagree that we necessarily need to be designed by a supernatural intellect in order to have a purposeful existence. I have one atheist friend who has assigned himself a great deal of purpose, another who is a simple hedonist, several Christian friends who consider the spreading of the gospel to be their primary aim and several others who are content with attending church services at Easter and Christmas. So even within theism and atheism there is a great deal of variation in the amount of "purpose" in life.


Now, if there is such a thing as God, there is inherent purpose in the life God has created. But if there isn't a God, humans are capable of asserting their own purpose and living according to that.

So what you're saying is that they created their own purposes?

Everyone's opinion different, and every opinion is the part of the entire Truth or Fact, so that every opinion is kinda right and kinda wrong at the same time. But the opinion that is as close to the Universal Truth as possible is more right than other opinions more distant off it.