What is the point of life? (atheists only please)

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If you believe there is no god, then presumably you believe there is no heaven... what then is the point of life? If there is no moral reason to do or not do anything, and most desires are instincts to perpetuate this seemingly pointless phenomenon, why then do we bother?

Depending on which version of heaven you're talking about, they mostly feel like an eternal punishment anyway. I'll ask you in a billion years if you're bored of thanking god, or sneering through the gates at the hell-bound, or accompanying virgins (who won't really know what they're doing, right?)....

So the point of this life is to look after the place for the next bunch who come along. In the meantime, have as much sex as you can, eat great food, make your heart race, read Plato and Kierkegaard, be nice to people, do something that has a positive or useful impact on another/s.

Reply 721

chaimeep

I dont think there is a point of life... its like asking whats the point of a rabbit's life . were here as animals, nothing more . we live, we die .

Reply 722

solitaireegg

i would ask religious people the same thing. life is all about pleasing and worshipping your creator? for a higher place in which evil does not exist aka heaven? i feel that loving people equally, feeling happiness and pride and sadness and passion for something is extremely rewarding. to reproduce, to take part in the advancement of humans and make your mark on your history along with your ancestors?

Reply 723

Nihilisticb*tch

The answer is that there is no point. We're just a series of chemical reactions happening on a small planet in an unimaginably large universe. So yeah, in a concrete sense there is no point. However, the point, a personal sense, of being alive is that humans generally want to be alive. Humans have evolved to want to stay alive and that is the point- in the sense of how people justify it - of being alive. But I think what we need to remember is that although there is no point, there's also no point in dwelling on that. It doesn't matter that there is no point in the grand scheme of things because there is a point on a personal level. I stay alive because I have the capacity to feel happy, i do things because they make me happy. Yes there is no definite morality but as a human I have a conscience, doing things that harms other people makes me unhappy, doing things that help other people makes me happy. That's how we've evolved. Basically, the philosophy of life in my opinion is this: make the most of it, do what makes you happy and even though there is no definite morality, try not to ruin things for other people. If everyone ruined things for everyone else then there really would be no point in being alive on a personal level

Reply 724

poppycock

i think therefore I exist

Reply 725

Logical_Son

" Some people like to go out dancing
And other people, (like us) they gotta work
And there's always some evil mothers
They'll tell you life is full of dirt.
And the women never really faint,
And the villans always blink their eyes.
And the children are the only ones who blush.
'Cause life is just to die. "

Lou Reed
(BTW I'm an agnostic)

Reply 726

Sophie-oliver1

Original post by Sovvy

To reproduce, to continue the species, to provide the next steps for gradual evolution, to help the advancement of humanity, and most of all to make the most of it and to make your existance mean something. Thats what I'd say.

But if you do not want to reproduce because you feel even that is pointless, what is then your point? We are born we go to school, we work, we morgage, marry, retire and wait to die.

And most peoples lives will follow a similar routine,
This has now became a routine of human existence.
Only existing for personal matter, if there was no humans on this earth at all, what would be the point in earth with all the rest of the animals? We do not have a killer instinct like animals. We simply thrive for pleasure and materialistic ****.
My mind is constantly asking questions like ‘is a end to the universe’ but then ‘how can there even be a end’ and then ‘how can it even go on forever’ us humans obey time and ‘endings’ such as death, but how can it really be the end? I dont even know what to call ‘life’ anymore because I simply do not understand it, opening your mind can cause you serious problems in your mental state, but then you also have the ‘well whats the point in school,work,retire. Curiosity can be come your worst demon.

Remeber that saying ‘death is only the beginning’ thats where i feel like ill find my answers, this 3 dimensional PHYSICAL world limits us to our 5 senses, how can find the answer to something NON-PHYSICAL (example ghosts) by physical objects? You cant!? Your mind or conciousness is not ‘your brain’ it is something NON-PHYSICAL, once your physical body is dead all physical limitations are no more and only the non-physical part of you is left. Scientists are still not able to understand conciousness properly, even dreams? Or even the universe.

If anyone has a open mind as much as me, hit me with a question or something!

Reply 727

Axiomasher

Original post by Sophie-oliver1

...Your mind or conciousness is not ‘your brain’ it is something NON-PHYSICAL, once your physical body is dead all physical limitations are no more and only the non-physical part of you is left. Scientists are still not able to understand conciousness properly, even dreams? Or even the universe...

In the scientific community, consciousness is regarded as an emergent property of brain activity. It might be reasonable to claim that consciousness is not your brain but all the evidence suggests that without a brain there can be no consciousness. Yes, scientists still don't fully understand consciousness, that's not surprising as brains are very complex and difficult to study directly, but that's not an argument in favour of a 'metaphysical' consciousness. It's very possible that the 'experiential non-physicality' of consciousness is simply an illusion. What exactly would a non-physical consciousness be made of? How would it stay connected to a person's body? After all, when you go around a sharp corner on a bicycle your consciousness seems to come right along with your physical body, how would you explain that? Cosmic string?

Reply 728

Sophie-oliver1

Original post by Axiomasher

Thankyou for replying its nice to be able to talk to someone with a open mind, havent really come across many open minded people in my life so far,

I believe the brain, as the worlds strongest computer in the world is like a shell, or something that can hold a conciousness, when we are born where does our conciousness come from? Does it just randomly ‘start working’ when our brain is fully developed in the womb? To me conciousness is pure energy, and we all know energy is all around us, im very interested in spiritual sides of things, the soul, i have been researching topics such as astral projection and dreams/lucid dreams for a while now and even trying them my self in which i have succeeded with astral projection, it will completely change your perspective on life, a hole new world at the tip of our fingers tips, when we sleep our bodys become paralysed so we do not act out in our dreams, how can we see things when we are sleeping if our physical eyes are shut? Our consciousness is completely seperate from our bodys or brains, if you havent already read up on astral projection i believe you should! Its extremely interesting! Thousands of people are now telling their storys with astral projection on youtube and all over the internet, the younger generations like myself (21) are starting to open their eyes and its creating higher vibrations! Maybe my purpose in life is to open up peoples minds im not sure, like my boyfriend (very closed minded) he asked himself the other week (what even is life) and as crazy as this sounds to people with open minds😂 that was the first time he even questioned life! But i want to be expand peoples minds! Curiosity can come with alot of stress but, people like einstein or stephen hawkings, einstein was made out to be crazy for theories , as crazy as things may sound, there is always a possibility

Reply 729

gjd800

To argue about pointless assertions with zealous theists.

Reply 730

ChaoticButterfly

There isn't one. So you have to try and make one for yourself in order to stave off cosmic madness.

Reply 731

OxFossil

Original post by Sophie-oliver1

What is your definition of a "soul" or "spirit"?

When we see things, the optic nerve isn't transmiting pictures to the brain, but electrical impulses exactly like the electrical impulses that our brain recieves from our ears, nose and so on. It is our brain that turns them into "pictures", "sounds", "tastes" and so on. When our eyes are closed, our brain remains active and can continue interpreting its own electrical activity - as well as inputs it continues to recieve from the body - in terms of pictures, sounds and so on eg by activating established neural pathways to recreate those experiences.

How do you account for the fact that we can change what we see, hear or feel by altering the structure or physiology of the brain? We can even predict some of the changes that will occur. For example, a stroke that damages a part of your frontal lobe is likely to produce more "extrovert" behaviour, like undressing in public; giving someone MDMA produces feelings of euphoria, heightened emotion and increased mental clarity; taking LSD results in profound alterations in perceptions of sound vision and time. Doesn't that mean that our emotions, behaviours and perceptions are fundamentally a product of brain chemistry? Doesn't it refute your statement that "our consciousness is completely separate from our bodies and brains"?

You ask about how consciousness emerges in the womb, but it's not an "all-or-nothing" process. We can track how self-consciousness gradually develops as we get older. For example, infants don't understand that another person might experience the world differently from them - a robust "theory of mind" develops only bit-by-bit, and predictably as they age. These developments correlate with changes in brain architecture, including neurone proliferation and pruning, that we can see in brain scans etc. Isn't that more evidence for a material basis for consciousness?

Reply 732

no-reply

Original post by lazzarus

we meet again Donald ****

Reply 733

Abaddon rex

Original post by Sophie-oliver1

Remember an end is also a new beginning

Reply 734

QE2

Original post by Sophie-oliver1

But if you do not want to reproduce because you feel even that is pointless, what is then your point?

Ultimately, there is no point. The universe is oblivious to our existence.

if there was no humans on this earth at all, what would be the point in earth with all the rest of the animals?

Exactly the same as it is with humans on it. We are no different from other species, we only think we are because we have evolved the ability to think we are.

We do not have a killer instinct like animals.

Yes we do, to a certain extent. And not all animals have a "killer instinct"

We simply thrive for pleasure and materialistic ****.

Some do, some don't. People are different.

My mind is constantly asking questions like ‘is a end to the universe’ but then ‘how can there even be a end’ and then ‘how can it even go on forever’ us humans obey time and ‘endings’ such as death, but how can it really be the end? I dont even know what to call ‘life’ anymore because I simply do not understand it, opening your mind can cause you serious problems in your mental state, but then you also have the ‘well whats the point in school,work,retire. Curiosity can be come your worst demon.

We are products of our environment as much as our genes. Our lives are given meaning and purpose by the society we create and inhabit.

Remeber that saying ‘death is only the beginning’ thats where i feel like ill find my answers,

That saying is a meaningless platitude. All the evidence suggests that death is the end.

this 3 dimensional PHYSICAL world limits us to our 5 senses,

Our world is 4 dimensional (time) and we you can add imagination to the 5 physical senses.

how can find the answer to something NON-PHYSICAL (example ghosts) by physical objects?

If something is undetectable and has no effect on anything that can be detected, how is it different from nothing?

Your mind or conciousness is not ‘your brain’ it is something NON-PHYSICAL, once your physical body is dead all physical limitations are no more and only the non-physical part of you is left. Scientists are still not able to understand conciousness properly

All the evidence suggests that consciousness is a function of the physical brain. There is no evidence that it can survive physical death.

If anyone has a open mind as much as me, hit me with a question or something!

Being open-minded doesn't mean just uncritically accepting anything. It means that you are prepared to alter your position if that is what the evidence requires.

Reply 735

mmmonowar

There’s no meaning in life itself. It’s us who attribute meaning to it. We can choose not to. But it just makes it harder to live on.

Reply 736

solitaireegg

if u want to trace back to biology and animals' purpose: I'd say we, as mammals, are supposed to reproduce and survive. I don't necessarily agree with this because we are incredibly intelligent; too intelligent for our own good. The question isn't what is the purpose of OUR lives? It's: What do we do with human intelligence?

Reply 737

Vinny C

To make a difference, hopefully for the better.

Reply 738

SoulZKnight

...

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 739

ChaoticButterfly

Original post by solitaireegg

I'd say we, as mammals, are supposed to reproduce and survive.

Says who or what? It is all an accident of nature. I don't see why natural selection mechanisms of the biological word are any different to the laws of nature that mean mars orbits the sun. We have just as much purpose (or lack thereof) as a lump of rock orbiting a star.

If we are suposed to survive we are basically doomed to ultimately fail. The vast majority of species that ever existed are now extinct and if by some miracle we survive long enough were are going to need to be able to get out of our solar system before then Sun kills us. Even then there is still the problem of entropy and the heat death of the universe.