Why are we here? Share your thoughts.

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I'd like to start a real thread on the topic since the last one ended up butchered beyond recognition. I want to use this thread to hear some of the reasons you all out there believe we're 'here.' Break that down however you'd like, whether you'd rather discuss why human beings exist on Earth, seemingly unbalanced against nature (although I'd prefer we avoided scientific discussions on evolution, try to stick to the philosophy), or simply the meaning of life for each individual human being.

Clarify the point you are addressing before you post so we can filter through them for reference but throw your thoughts out there. I'm curious to see how differently everyone interprets their own meaning for existing. Do not turn this thread into a witch hunt or soap opera. Easy on the sarcasm, too.

(Ripped from the earlier thread)
Sonic pitches two coppers onto the table.

I don't think blanket statements on the meaning of life are unreasonable. If that is what they believe for themselves, that is what is true from their own perspectives, which they in turn apply to their own lives, which gives those statements more meaning I believe you give them credit for. It may not apply to everyone, but I am a firm believer that perspective is reality, and what you believe is what you conceive. Whatever the over-arching meaning of organic life in the only universe we happen to be familiar with actually is cannot possibly be broken down into anything the human mind is capable of comprehending at its present state. That particular question rests on a mantle piece above similar rhetorical questions along the lines of "where did the big bang come from" and "where will I go when I die?".

I will add, however, that I find myself believing conformity to modern society is wasteful (although mileage may vary depending on your personal satisfaction with your circumstances). Similarly I believe having children is not an end nor is it a means to an end with regards to our 'ultimate' purpose. Procreation, in my opinion, is Man's attempt to secure his immortality by drawing out his bloodline as far as he can. If a man can't find an ultimate purpose he can live up to or die for before he reaches a certain age many people default to believing they exist for their families or that life exists to preserve life, but I can't imagine there's anything even remotely logical about the idea that we simply breed ourselves to breed... I find it far more reasonable that man simply breeds when he feels he can't personally accomplish something in his life capable of justifying his own reason for being here on the planet. This accounts for about 99.9999% of all the men on this planet.
 
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i have no better place to be, apparently...
 
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Hah, here's a mind-puzzler for you - maybe we're not here, but somewhere else. Maybe none of us exist in the first place.
 
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I'm not an aethiest, but I don't really believe in a meaning of life, a reason why we exist or anything related on that matter.

To me existence is just something to accept and live with, not a never-ending quest for the truth. The answer "42" from the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy perfectly sums this up. A meaningless number.

In short we exist most likely due to some accident or some other incident that spawned primitive organisms, has it happened somewhere else in the vastness of space? Most likely but we'll probably never find out about it.
 
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While I agree that our purpose varies from person to person and may or may not be attached to the concept of destiny, I also believe mankind has a destiny that should supersede our own personal ambitions. Each one of us is capable of changing the world in a very big way, but most are content to go through life doing nothing more than following the status quo and living what I personally believe to be an empty life. Yes, there are things that we do that make us happy or inspire us momentarily and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but what have we accomplished by the end of our lives? I speak of a much larger scale that affects us not as individuals but as a sentient species.

What have we done to benefit humanity during our lifetime? What have we done to further the human race? What have we done to ensure that the people of tomorrow are cared for and will live in what we can only hope to be a better world that that in which we live today? How have we made a difference? How have we affected the people around us? How have we affected the Universe? Can we affect the Universe? How far down the rabbit hole are we really willing to go?

Chakra brought up an interesting point that I think is representative of most people. He doesn't like the idea that he has to do something big. He doesn't want the responsibility. I can understand that. It is, indeed, a great weight to bear but if not you then who? Someone else? At this point it seems to me that everyone is waiting for someone else to change the world or their government or their lives. If everyone is waiting for that person, that person will never come to be unless he's willing to take several thousand hits for the team. Sometimes the hardest things in life are the ones most worth doing. Waiting for that savior or turning someone you believe speaks the truth or can bring about change into a savior in the way that Ron Paul's supporters have deified him just doesn't seem right to me. I would rather it be me out there that gets lynched; not my friend or some other unfortunate fellow. I find that this mentality isn't found very often and it's kind of depressing.

There are bigger and more important things in life than just you or just me. The survival of our species is of paramount important. The furtherance of our evolution, be is biological or technological in nature, is of paramount importance. Reaching out to the stars and making our presence known to all who seek a friend in the big black abyss is of paramount importance.

I'm sure most of the other posts are going to cover a much more personalized approach to the meaning of life, so I figured I'd throw this out there.
 
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The argument could also be made that even in changing the world we would simply be retreading over the same roads our ancestors have tread for thousands of years. Humans expand, their technology evolves, and they live longer, to help them expand, and to increase the speed at which their technology evolves (http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html). I can't help but see the whole process in the same light as our endless cycle of birth and procreation... it's a means, not an end. There has to be another road we can take.
 
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Were here for the same reason why every other living organism is here. Because evolution happened to make us here. I dont see any point in wasting my time in life to actually think about the meaning of life.
 
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To me, it's simply a step in a long flight of stairs. One of the things I'd like humanity to accomplish is becoming a Class III or IV civilization. Along the way, and certainly after we've already attained what can be described as Godhood, we'll have changed considerably and may not need or be forced into the kind of social structure that exists today. If people refuse to change, then perhaps we're a lost cause. However, I don't believe that society will remain static. Every so often a technology is created that transforms not only the people using it but the very fabric of society and how it is viewed. If we were to get another Tesla but with more business sense than the original, he'd have the potential to transform the world. Of course, I can't be certain that such people will ever exist, but great minds are born every century and it's more probable than not that such a person will exist. I know I talked about deifying individuals, but sometimes we need someone who can think so far outside of the box, that he'll realize we can't find what we're looking for because we're standing in it.

At some point the cycle will end, either due to our destruction or due simply to the fact that the kind of life we have no just isn't necessary anymore. I'm hoping it's the latter, but knowing our self-destructive tendencies, it may very well be the former.
 
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I have wondered why we exist, what's the point of having a universe, a earth, a mind, etc.

I...Just don't know. I think the meaning of life and reason of life are two completely different things for the most part.

I firmly believe that there are just some things the human mind can not comprehend, this maybe one of them. I know it seems like a cheap, quick answer, but I can't for the live of me think of a remote reason.
 

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I firmly believe that we can comprehend whatever the **** we want. We just don't know the answer.
 
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I believe the only thing that is holding us back is our minds/time.

The universe considers us a developing species/planet that can't be harmed/manipulated under certain galactic laws.
 
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I'll try and answer this without religious reference...

I think the reason we're here is to prove through our own freewill that in the midst of a chaotic Universe, peace, reason and love can emerge even from such primitive beings as the human species.
 

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I also don't believe we are primitive beings.
 
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I also don't believe we are primitive beings.
But, what if we are? What if there is another planet, or even another dimension, or hell even whatever surpasses the system of a dimensions, that is far beyond our current level of society and intelligence?
 
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hmmmm, why r we here , well, being a religious guy,i'd say we dont need to know that cuz if we needed God woldv told us allready, so usualy i dont bother my head with this stuff , but thats still a big qewstion and i'l give it a shot with the siplest ansewr i can come up with, maybe God wanted to share the joy of life with us by createing us so we r here ,and a meaning of life create for our own for some it means to love God and for some sex, i could go to rly profound stuff and tipe 100 lines ,but that wold be a waste of time cuz i wold come to the same concluzion , only God knows , where we go after we die , ofcourse heven or hell, or we might hont our relitives (that shiat rly happens >_<) ,
oh and i firmly belive that the whole planet includeing me ,we are just a big buch of stupid ppl, we have all we need allready from nature but we have to creatre radioactive thing's ,xplodeing and burning stuff thats eating slowly our "habitat" and in the end eather we have a armaghedon sent from God (i shurely hope it will happen in my life time)eather we move to the moon or grow ghiles(hope i writen it right) and move to the ochans , simple as that
 

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But, what if we are? What if there is another planet, or even another dimension, or hell even whatever surpasses the system of a dimensions, that is far beyond our current level of society and intelligence?
Steven Hawking is smarter than I am. Does that make me primitive?

If there is another species out there that is more advanced than us, which I'm sure there is, then good for them. They've either had more time to develop as a species to become that advanced, or their inherently smarter. Either way, we'll get there eventually, people don't give humanity nearly enough credit.

Who says a species needs to have the best society or have the most technology to not be considered primitive?
 
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Steven Hawking is smarter than I am. Does that make me primitive?

If there is another species out there that is more advanced than us, which I'm sure there is, then good for them. They've either had more time to develop as a species to become that advanced, or their inherently smarter. Either way, we'll get there eventually, people don't give humanity nearly enough credit.

Who says a species needs to have the best society or have the most technology to not be considered primitive?
Perhaps I should have said "relatively primitive". Humans have cracked the smallest unit of life that we know of, which is pretty damn advanced. We can decimate entire cities and fix microscopic nerves in our body. We've managed to turn pulses of electricity into programs, which still blows my mind today.
It's to say the human race is advanced, the most on this planet.

But, is everything really in our reach? Is our potential really infinite?

And as for being "relatively primitive", what if there was such a race, or being (not a God euphemism), had an accelerated speed of growth, born after humans, yet still managed to surpass us in every way tenfold, to the point that our status would be seen as primitive to them? Like, the water pump for instance. Relatively primitive technology for us right now. At the break of humanity, a water pump would be a miracle.
 

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But, is everything really in our reach? Is our potential really infinite?
I believe so. Does that make me crazy? Maybe, but I don't see any reason that humanity is unable to accomplish whatever we set our minds to.
 
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When all is said and done at the end of the day I have a feeling that our 'purpose' here is whatever each person makes it out to be for themselves. That's somewhat of a side-step to the question of 'why are we here,' but in my mind's eye human beings are part of a bigger plan than we can possibly understand. We can talk philosophy all day, but at some point we have to acknowledge that we are ultimately limited the hardware sitting in the rigs we walk around in.

When people believe they have found their own personal purpose they seem to instantaneously evolve a little bit. People like -insert prophet here- walk around relaxed and groovy, explaining what they've found to everyone else without fear of persecution or death. To me that has to be the next step of human evolution, particularly since medical science has butchered human genetic natural selection.
 

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