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What is the purpose/meaning of life?

Azna

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There's also a theory that God created human beings because They were bored.

There's also a theory that God created human beings on a dare.

There's also a theory that God created human beings because They were lonely.

There's also a theory that God created human beings on a bet.

There's also a theory that God created human beings by mistake.

There's also a theory that there is no God and that we are the natural evolution of single cell organisms.

There's also a theory that man is the decendent of apes. (If this were so, why are there still apes!?)

There's also a theory that Earth was seeded from somewhere in space. And that Earth was probably not the only planet seeded this way. (Panspermia)

What's your purpose? Why were you created? Or are you dreaming, and all of us are just a manifestation of your creative delusions?

It's fun to think about questions that there are no difinitive answers for.
 
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elman

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Randall McNally said:
That's fair. I read your post wrong.

So what are we not-intelligent in comparison to? A metaphysical standard?
What we know and understand is so small compared to what could be known and understood. I think that is the comparison that indicates our lack of intelligence.
 
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Marz Blak

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comana said:
Why is there life on earth and human consciousness?

The short answer is, no one knows.

My $0.02? Life on earth? No idea, and my best estimation is that if we ever do gather sufficient evidence to begin to answer this question it will be far in the future, long after I'm dead, if at all. So I can't worry about it much.

Human consciousness? My best guess is that consciousness is just an emergent property from the intelligence, self-awareness, and a tendency toward pattern recognition/system modeling that people seem to have evolved. This one we may be beginning to see some movement on, but I still think it will be a long time before we are able to answer it with any confidence.

Is there an answer and if not does it matter?

Matter to whom?

What if there is no purpose? We are all still here and nothing changes.

True enough.

On the other hand, though, if there is some 'purpose for it all,' e.g., extrinsically imposed by some transcendent entity (or at least some entity of vastly superior intelligence, scope of awareness, and personal power), then it certainly would matter to it, and to the extent it had the ability to mess around with you, to you too.

But all I can go on, personally, is what I can figure out, and I see no reason to believe in any such concerned deity, either to pick out one of the myriad of conceptions of it currently adhered to by people, or to puzzle one out for myself. Just not enough info.

I bring this up because I am currently embroiled in such a debate on another forum and thought it would be interesting here as well. The variety of responses should at least be more here than there if nothing else.

I DO find such discussions interesting, the more breadth of views contributed the better. But I don't think it's, ultimately, much more than the intellectual equivalent of [self-gratification].

Not that there's anything wrong with [self-gratification], intellectual or...otherwise. :) At least in my view. I mean, I'm here, aren't I?
 
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Randall McNally

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elman said:
What we know and understand is so small compared to what could be known and understood. I think that is the comparison that indicates our lack of intelligence.
Is that a fair representation of intelligence? Because it seems like the only thing separating an intelligent species from a less intelligent species is time.

By that measure we are a much more intelligent species than we were 1000 years ago, and given another 1000 years, we will be much more intelligent still. Is this the idea you are trying to convey?
 
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Randall McNally

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Old Soul said:
There's also a theory that man is the decendent of apes. (If this were so, why are there still apes!?)

It's fun to think about questions that there are no difinitive answers for.
I hope that one is a joke. Because it is not fun at all to think about Hovind-esque misrepresentations of evolution.
 
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