h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Man was born to suffer and die."
Is that true?
Is there any option on that?

I don't think it is as simple as all that.
We must be here for something. Even if we were just an experiment by some mad scientist from another planet. There has to be a reason. Unless we were an accident and just occured. Then there is no meaning.
Although 42 has been accepted by many over the past few years as the true meaning of life, this may just be something we have made up to satisfy our need to know.

Amanda Out.

I wish !
thje answer has to be in the multiple
Everyone has a different meaning of life and you spend all the time on earth learning it.

You are right. Each individual has their own goals and in those, make their own meaning. Ie, what they want top do as a career. There meaning in life is to get that job and make a difference. Think?

Amanda

maniac1701d wrote:
"We must be here for something"

Why?

Ste

I did add that we could be a mistake or just an occurance.

Fair enough. I am just sometimes puzzled by that angle on life, that because we exist we must exist for a reason.

Isn't it better though to imagine that we do exist for a reason, as there seems more point to it all then.
Life can be really naff, but if we are heading somewhere, the naff bits are not as bad?
If we are here for nothing, then why bother?
I am not a religeous person, never have been, but I am unable to comprehend the Big bang theory either.
There are far too many unanswered questions and many impossibilties.

"Isn't it better though to imagine that we do exist for a reason, as there seems more point to it all then"
I would not be able to delude myself presonally so that my life was made more bearable. I think it's far more constructive to realise the inherant meaninglessness of life and deal with it. So what if there is no grand purpose to it all? Just get on with it and make what you can of the stupidly small amount of time you have alive. Meeting people, buying stuff, falling in love, travelling, whatever, can bring meaning and purpose into one's own life. But that doesn't mean there is meaning to life. The question doesn't make sense to me.

It helps a lot, personally, that I'm a biologist...



Ste

A scientist's view is always the best I think.
You look at things through fact filled spectacles.
I personnaly do not think that I working my way towards anything. I do not think that there is a purpose although I do think that a lot of people need to beleive there is a meaning to keep going.

Amanda

I think I may have contradicted myself there.

I don't think so, makes perfect sense

You are so kind.

Look at this from another angle perhaps.

The question is not why do we exist, but why do we have the power of thought which requires we ask the question.
Looking at many other life forms on the planet, they don't go in for this kind of introspection. Their highest thought is; when do I get to eat next?
If we lived like that, we wouldn't have this kind of questioning, but we do have the ability and perhaps because we have it we should be using it.

"The question is not why do we exist, but why do we have the power of thought which requires we ask the question."
And then when it comes down to the answers to these questions we're supposed to give up these remarkable powers of reason and turn to faith. Hmm.



Ste

One apparently can't tell anything from being 42. But maybe the answer's not 42, maybe it's 0. As in a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, and signifying 0.

experience - that's why you all ( and me ) opted to exist here.
Roo.

Hi, I think this subject is closely tied in with space exploration. I believe that we were placed on this one planet to learn about our surroundings and make progression, expand to other planets.

If we were born just to suffer and die as someone so mildly put it surely happiness wouldn't exist.

Who said we were here to suffer and die? Did I miss something?
Can't we here to be happy, suffer and die?

to Amanda,

You're RIGHT ON, as far as i'm concerned .
There is no intrinsic meaning in life.

We were not "put here" for a "purpose". i mean, we, as individuals, and we, as in humanity.

i'm going with the assumption that we, in fact, are the products of millions of years of evolution on a small planet that just happened to be able to evolve life, somewhere in a vast universe that just happened to "follow" those laws of physics in which life could develop somewhere and some time. so, we just happen to be here.

now, we've developed sufficient "intelligence" to ponder these questions, to create God, and to have a natural desire to have some sort of deep meaning or purpose in life, for comfort.
but, as you've said, there IS no deep meaning. All any one of us can do is to define a purpose in our lives that makes us happy, satisfied, fulfilled, etc... for as long as possible... so, the best we can do is to create this "meaning"... for most folks, having kids is a fundamental part of this "purpose", as this is biologically hard-wired. it had to be, if we think about evolution.

it's a pretty grim way to go about life, in my opinion, but i can't help but think of life as such. at least, i'm not alone

My purpose in Life is to do whatever it takes to maximize the duration and intensity of my happiness in life.

Peter out!
hope you don't mind my rip off of your "____ out" thing. it's cute