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There is no real point in life.

OP, I ask you the same question I ask everyone who says what you say: What would a real point in life look like to you? In a hypothetical world where all things were equally possible, what would or could qualify as an indicator of your life's point? What I'm getting at is, what exactly are you negating? I mean this both as a rhetorical question and one worth trying to answer.

I have a perverse fascination with the old philosophical chestnut of "What is the meaning of life?" and "What is my life's purpose?". I have tried in vain to see things from the perspective of the majority of people who've responded to this thread. Not for lack of trying, I find neither liberation nor empowerment in nihilism or any similar philosophy, at least the way most philosophers with a Western intellectual background have worded it. I have found again and again that I am at my best, meaning best motivated to get the most out of my life and be a light to others, when I entertain the notion that I am here living the life I am now as some part of greater purpose or plan. I do not know what that plan is or who the planner is, but I don't need to know and it may not be for me to know, at least not yet. Therefore I won't worry about it, and just be the best MyDoorsAreOpen I know how to be. (Same end, different pathway? Hmm...)
 
If you subscribe to the notion of animism then there is a living spirit inside every so called living and non-living thing. This means that everything has a purpose and a meaning. If you truly want to understand our role as sentient beings, it is just that, our ability to confirm and deny meaning to everything both within and outside of ourselves. Personally I believe meaning and life go hand in hand. And it is wiser to consider the meaning in life, rather than the meaning of life. When it comes to the snapshot of the present moment that we find ourselves in, there are no words or philosophies to really guide us. But personally I believe true meaning will be revealed (in time) and it will involve our relationship with ourselves, each other, and the entire cosmos. In a sense, I think meaning may only exist between us, not within us, and that is what time is for, to allow ourselves the freedom to come to terms with each other.
 
You require things outside of yourself to function, but within yourself is the source, outside is a larger unknown. Balance these forces. Merge with the unknown, but do not be fooled by the illusion of the outside world. You are part of it but it is not always what you see.
 
Meaning or point or purpose seem like completely subjective and relative to what is being experienced or focussed on. You have to choose or create your own meaning(s), and these will surely change as you do (Foreigner said it better). I vaguely think there is some overall panglossian point to it all as an optimist - i choose to vaguely think this for an easier life. When i think specifically, the personal point of it for me is to create, experience joy and discover stuff (or to decrease entropy if you like).
 
Soul Garden said:
We don't have an expectation or point to live up to. Therefore, we are completely free and can do whatever we want. We live a pointless life in a pointless universe.
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If I got this right, what you want to say is that since there is no goal in life, since there aren't, like in a game, achievements or a certain state which we have to reach in order to fulfill our reason of living, there is no point of living after all.And I think this theory is 100% reasonable. I mean playing a game with no rules, with no other players and with no challenges or goals is meaningless really. But here's the thing. Life do have a goal.
Life isn't pointless in my opinion. Unconscious matter have no point in life since they are not aware of it. But living things do. Jupiter might not even know it exists, but we are aware of our existence..as well as animals and other living organisms. Unlike tornadoes and earthquakes, our actions aren't random or just a result of some change in temperature (BTW I never really succeeded in geology so don't hate) but they are planned by ourselves because we do have a point in life and that is to evolve!
You said we have no expectations..that we are not expected to do anything by nobody..but we are!! And In every single thing in our daily life. Our parents, for example expect us to find a job, bosses expect us to work. Teachers to study..and so on. And and we expect ourselves to be in a constant evolving cycle.
You also said that we are free to do whatever we want so that also puts a question mark over whether or not life has a point. But we aren't free... Other than the fact we have rules and codes and so on... We are not free to do whatever we want when we want. That's the exact reason why you're not jumping on one leg when holding your phone while reading this comment! All of our actions are followed by reactions and, unlike the saying "live as if there was no tomorrow.", well it isn't the last day... And tomorrow you will have to deal with the consequences of your actions today. So not much for the whole freedom point, since no one will act knowing his reactions will have a negative impact on himself.
In the end, what I tried to say was, there is a point In life for us and that is to keep moving forward, to get better by the day, either stronger or smarter, and to work our ass off so that we can live a good life, because the most important person expects that from you. The person that you know most and that will never let you down, the most important being in the universe and that is yourself :)
 
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^Those are good points.

If a rock does not have any plans, then we are not like a rock, which is the natural consequence of chemical reactions and physical laws; our minds were sent here, like curious explorers.
 
Br1ngTh3Ra1n said:
Unconscious matter have no point in life since they are not aware of it
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So unconscious entities are useless?
But living things do. Jupiter might not even know it exists, but we are aware of our existence..as well as animals and other living organisms.
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Some animals, and all plants have no consciousness. They are unaware of their existence. So according to you, plants (which are unconscious living organisms) have a point in life, and concurrently don't have a point in life? You just contradicted yourself :)

to keep moving forward, to get better by the day, either stronger or smarter, and to work our ass off so that we can live a good life, because the most important person expects that from you [...] and that is yourself
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Are you saying that every person expects himself/herself to get better by the day ? Many people (some terminal cancer patients for example) don't expect themselves to get better/stronger/smarter.
 
Excuse me for not being able to use quote feature as I'm still not familiar with it but here is my response:
1. Learn the difference between "they have no point in life" and "useless". Unlike you stated."they have no point in life" means they are not aware of it as we do, it means that they do not hope to achieve goals in it like we do. They can't be useless as life wouldn't exist without them.
In case you still have problems understanding this point : unconscious entities have no point in their life, but in ours they are a priority of course.
2. I made it clear that matter like planets aren't conscious, have no point in life as they aren't aware of it. But plants and animals do it's why they evolve, and they are living beings aware of the live happening around them:)
3. If you have a problem in your life, that doesn't allow you to expect yourself to get better by the day. Than I'm sorry to say but that's not how people are. AS for the people with terminal, which by the way I would have loved if we kept them out of the subject, rest sure that all of them seek in getting better. It's called hope.
N.B: movies like my "sister's keeper", for example, doesn't reflect the true thoughts of terminal cancer patients :)
 
Soul Garden said:
Before you start reading this, I want you to know that this is not meant to be depressing in any way. It's not a, "Why should I live when there's no point in life?" thread... It's my own little philosophy I've made that many people don't seem to understand so far.
When I say there is no point in life, I say there is absolute freedom. There is no point or expectation to live up to. The point in life is not to be happy, to please religious figures, to live life in general, etc... This is simply because there is no point in life. To believe there is an actual point in life is to put limitations and restrictions on it. Every being is absolutely free. Free to act chaoticly, free to show random behavior with no real meaning, free to make any choice, free to fulfill any dream, free to do anything...
I also say this because there is no exact reason or point for anything existing. Let's discuss a planet like Jupiter or Pluto. These of course, are not living things. A similarity though, is that they are made of matter, just like living things. Do these planets have a point? No. They're there just because they are. Here comes somewhat of a mind fuck. Does matter really have a point? No. Once again, it's just there. It exists. We are a conscious form of matter with no real point. We're here because we are.
We don't have an expectation or point to live up to. Therefore, we are completely free and can do whatever we want. We live a pointless life in a pointless universe. This is not sad or depressing though. It is not negative, nor is it positive. It is neutral. I will simply state again. There is no point. And without a point, there are no restrictions or limitations on life or within the wonderful universe we live in.
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That was a really good post..
 
we are creatures seeking meaning in a universe without out meaning in of itself, therefore you must cultivate your own meaning. how? "do what thou will"
 
...shall be the whole of the LAW. :)
 
If there is no point to life than there is no point in discussing if there is a point to life.
It is wholly pointless.
Actually it is a word I can't
express because for something to be pointless a point must first exist.
At best one can believe the point in life is to do your best to not have a point.
To not discover a point.

Feel free to substitute "meaning" for "point"
 
Shrooms00087 said:
Of course there is no "point" to it. It just happened, and we can get destroyed by the universe in a multitude of ways. However, there is a purpose behind life that is devoid of a point. There is no reason behind us having any sort of purpose or forming any society or even keeping society together. However the purpose to do and sustain these things overshadow the question of "primary cause of life" because there is none. We build onto ourselves with purpose.
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It's strange how different humans are.
 
The point of life is to absorb as much pleasure as possible. Who can refute this? Do you not do the things you do for fulfilment or avoidance of misery?
 
^ and ^^Definitely not the point of mine. I cannot agree with your first statement, waffle, but I can at least relate to the second. The thing is, I do a lot of things to avoid misery for other people and for animals and the planet in general (as do most folks I know.) I know, I know, before anyone jumps in with my son's favorite old argument that in reality there is no altruism because ultimately you help the animals to alleviate your own suffering in seeing them hurt or you help others because it keeps your own subconscious bogeymen at bay and you feel righteous. I don't buy that. I work with little kids. One great aspect of my job is that every day I get to see both cruelty and empathy--both very real aspects of our human nature--played out in such perfectly clear ways. Empathy is a connection and I believe it is very real. The way I relate to your second statement is that yes, I do try to find pleasure and seek, through both my choices and my actions, to avoid misery. But when misery comes to me in the form of something I cannot control (this became crystal clear upon my son's death), I choose to accept and enfold those emotions as well. Misery is a part of life and I do love life.
 
herbavore said:
But when misery comes to me in the form of something I cannot control (this became crystal clear upon my son's death), I choose to accept and enfold those emotions as well. Misery is a part of life and I do love life.
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[Profound respond and this stood out to me the most -] Whoa bruh. That is so deep. I am in complete awe.... I am trying to imagine this; mentally replicate this scenario so I can possibly feel you on another level. I have never been exposed to this train of thought. So sick. I commend you.
 
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