Existence Theories

[Derald]

[FONT=Lucida Console][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]...why am I here? Is there some purpose to my existence? Is there a purpose to anything in the universe? Why was it created?

I am not sure of anything anymore. Before, when I didn't know any of this, I had such a peaceful life. In 6th grade I was the top student in my cluster, but now my grades are slipping, I have no goals, and it's all because I found no point to my life. Sure, to ensure the survival of the species. Yeah, right. The human race will die out soon enough due to its own actions (i.e. overpopulation, exhausting resources, pollution, nuclear weapons, etc.). I also hate to think of my life as part of someone's recruiting plan (i.e. holy war - to those who are religious out there). Plus, I keep thinking of new theories although in the end I find some flaw.

(Now you see the meaning of my title.)

Could someone out there please give me some theories?


(Also, do not assume that I am an unstable, suicidal person. Because I am not. I still enjoy life.)[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Mitch]

Life in the short-term is purposeful, but it is overshadowed by the daunting facts of the far away future; that is, the long-term.

Because existence is short-term, and mankind as a race cannot last forever, every moment is a waste of time. Everyone's effect on anything will eventually disperse into the abyss of time. Therefore it would be better we had not existed at all, because we would not have to suffer through life, a pointless debacle that has pleasure in its just being but is superseded by the fact that it is more painful than enjoyable.

Life has no meaning, but the human mind is incredibly prone to desire structure and meaning. Thus there are religions and other ideaologies which brainwash a meaning and have killed more people than saved due to this (just look at how many people have been killed by or for organized religion in the past up to now). Thus there is education, jobs, and other systematic and organized institutions designed to make life seem as if it has a purpose.

The world we live in is a human one, one that wants there to be meaning where there is none. We are completely ground in the physical, and trying to look into the spiritual world or anything beyond the physical world is grasping at straws and trying to see specks. From a completely physical perspective, the above theory cannot be denied.

[SilentSecurity]

Oh boy.

For awhile in my life I was extremely paranoid, I still sort of am. Of course now they let me out of my cage to post here and eat, just kidding. Actually I was paranoid and I thought this world was created for me. That I'm the only real living thing and everyone else is just data in this whole world. That as soon as my head turns the world evaporates into a series of 0s and 1s. Now of course, I'm thinking more clearly. Now I can't really decide. At least before I knew the answer, now I don't really know if I should trust the facts, or my religion.

As of now, I'm going with religion.

[Brasil]

[QUOTE=Mitch]Life in the short-term is purposeful, but it is overshadowed by the daunting facts of the far away future; that is, the long-term.

Because existence is short-term, and mankind as a race cannot last forever, every moment is a waste of time. Everyone's effect on anything will eventually disperse into the abyss of time. Therefore it would be better we had not existed at all, because we would not have to suffer through life, a pointless debacle that has pleasure in its just being but is superseded by the fact that it is more painful than enjoyable.

Life has no meaning, but the human mind is incredibly prone to desire structure and meaning. Thus there are religions and other ideaologies which brainwash a meaning and have killed more people than saved due to this (just look at how many people have been killed by or for organized religion in the past up to now). Thus there is education, jobs, and other systematic and organized institutions designed to make life seem as if it has a purpose.

The world we live in is a human one, one that wants there to be meaning where there is none. We are completely ground in the physical, and trying to look into the spiritual world or anything beyond the physical world is grasping at straws and trying to see specks. From a completely physical perspective, the above theory cannot be denied.[/QUOTE]
[b]Translation[/b]: You're going to throw that train ticket away when you reach your destination anyway, so why buy one in the first place.

[b]Answer[/b]: Because the destination doesn't matter; it's the ride that's the fun part.

And interestingly enough, the answer sums up my take on the subject.

[TheShinje]

Well, I belive in the existence of God, and I regularly worship God. That is my purpose and I find it fulfilling.

I'm not religious, however, and I think that the organised stuff has really dented our rep a bit. But, like Mitch said, we live in a human world, humans in nature are fallen and prone to stuff up one in a while. Organised religion, mostly the stuff that kills people, is abysmal, and I distance myself from it.

When you know God is there for you, as a saviour and friend, rather than some despotic overlord out to ruin your life, life seems just that much brighter.

[Derald]

[quote name='Shinji'] When you know God is there for you, as a saviour and friend, rather than some despotic overlord out to ruin your life, life seems just that much brighter.[/quote]
[FONT=Lucida Console][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]I thank you for your concern, after all, I am catholic. However, I still do not like the concept of someone over you deciding when it is "your time." I like to think that I am living for myself and those I care about, not for someone else's plans against an evil that he allows to exist (assuming that you read some parts of the Bible).

I am starting to form a possible purpose for myself. Please keep the theories coming.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Eva10]

Im not trying to get too religious here, but I belive that God has a great plan for everyone. Think about it if you live a bad life but still remain faithful to christ after you die every day will be great.

[MangaFan007]

By analysing the composition of a human being, it can be seen that the common elements found in the Earth's litosphere are in our bodies as well. There is an expression that says "from earth we come and to earth we shall return," in that sense, this expression is very true. We humans are just a machine that needs survival. That is what all animals are designed to do: born, eat, reproduce, die. That is what life is all about.

This is then what I think of life: Life is nothing useful. Why should there be such thing as DNA and RNA? Why should there exist a living being, a moving complex of organic chemical reactions and electric impulses? I see no point on being born, eating and reproducing just then to die, as if we never existed. For this not to be true, then there has to be a Higher Presence on this world, a presence that manipulates it all. Then I must live for this Presence. If there is no such presence, I might as well be dead, for there is no point in living at all. Also, this is why I called humans foolish a while back. Why do we bother in trying to know the answers to what we do not know? Here, I am sitting in front of my computer, writing a bunch of symbols that we interpret as text messages, while other species are either resting, trying to rest, trying not to be eaten, or being eaten, but not thinking about this issues. That is why I called us humans fools. But in any case, if it were not for God, existance will be useless.

[Attimus331]

[COLOR=DarkRed] [FONT=Trebuchet MS]Well, as far as your grades slipping, i don't actualy think you need any reason besides you'll be a poor loser bum working at McD's for the rest of your life if you don't get with it. You don't have to believe in god to have incentive to get decent grades.

As for the rest of the stuff....i can very easily see the human race simply creating god, to have a place to go to when they die, better than the shithole that they were currently living in. Did god create us or did we create god? Right? Well, there's no real penalty to believing in god, and there's a reward in believing in him, although if you don't believe him there's possibility of a penalty, hell. If that makes any sense to you.... Although i don't think you should simply believe in god because you're afraid of hell. All in all i think you just need to ask yourself what you believe in, rather faith alone is enough or if you need proof. Seeing or feeling. It's up to you. Don't fret young one, you have your life to figure things out.

Later.

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[Derald]

[quote name='Eva10']Im not trying to get too religious here, but I belive that God has a great plan for everyone. Think about it if you live a bad life but still remain faithful to christ after you die every day will be great.[/quote]
[FONT=Lucida Console][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]I understand where you're coming from, however, that exact statement is what I receive from everyone that is even partially religious.
I shall state this:
I [B]hate[/B] the concept of being someone's pawn, regardless of whether they are a divine being or not. If I help someone, I want it to be from my own soul, not someone else acting through it. This way I have proof that I am my own being and that I have control over my fate.

As for [B]Attimus331's[/B] opening statement:

It's kind of hard to work towards anything when you know it'll all be for naught in the end. (However, good point.)[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Pumpkin]

[SIZE=1]Personally I'm not religious so I can't say much about god, I fear I will offend someone here. I have to agree with what [b][COLOR=#CC6600]Brasil[/COLOR][/b] said for the most part, as he hit home to me, as its the closest to how I feel. As most of you put it, life is a waste. Why do so many feel this way? Usually because we have jobs, education and other stressful harships in our life. God is a way for most people to think of the future, what joyous thing that could be afterwards. But what keeps us from trying to live if we're in a building that was hit by airplanes? Why live? Why even if theres little possibility of you living would you even try if life is useless? Most people would anwser simply "To survive".

It's what makes us human. Everything thats living, has a survival existinct. As long as we survive, I think thats enough reason to live right there. As my midterms pile up and I become agitated with life and think things like whats the point anyway if I'm going to turn to dust in 50 or 60 years? It wasn't until I saw my grandma who is now dying of lung cancer, and watching her waste away. The funny thing is she wasn't depressed but instead said to me " Yeah, I had a good life. I didn't do everything that I wanted, but I'm still happy with it. "

The truth is still life is short and you need to atleast [b][COLOR=#CC9933]try[/COLOR][/b] to make the most of it, so that when you are in your final years, your looking back and saying the same thing. Atleast thats how I think. Don't sweat the small stuff get to you, it may seem tough but when you look at the reality of it, it's really not going to bug you 5 to 10 years from now. I definately want to be satisfied at the end of this journey called life, it's what it's all about.[/SIZE]

[Guest kuroinuyoukai]

[quote name='Eva10']Im not trying to get too religious here, but I belive that God has a great plan for everyone. Think about it if you live a bad life but still remain faithful to christ after you die every day will be great.[/quote]
I agree with you. I feel like god put me here. Although I feel like God gives you the ability to make your own decisions. We are not His pawns- we are his creations. He lets us do what we want. Now there might be consequences for what we do, but he doesn't control us.

[TheShinje]

[QUOTE=Derald][font=Lucida Console][size=1][color=DarkRed]
I [b]hate[/b] the concept of being someone's pawn, regardless of whether they are a divine being or not. If I help someone, I want it to be from my own soul, not someone else acting through it. This way I have proof that I am my own being and that I have control over my fate.[/color][/size][/font][/QUOTE]
Oh yeah, God has a plan for all of us, but we are in no way his pawn. being a Christian is almost the opposite of beign a pawn. We have a lot of freedom in the way we worship God, and, while we fulfil a purpose, it's a God-given purpose that's meant to come naturally anyway.

[Red]

My theory is that if you want to spend all your time making theories and trying to deduce reasons as to our existence, you're wasting your time. The best answer to the meaning of life or why we're here, for me, has always been Hitchhiker's 42.

Personally, I have very little respect for religion, or a desire to join one. My mind remains open about whether or not there's such a thing as God, but I'm not going to constantly ponder as to whether or not he/she/it exists. It's not like I can whip out the ol' deity detector, wiggle it & wait for the beep, then start asking myriad questions about the meaning of life, so I'll just keep on living mine.

Who knows, maybe there is an afterlife, where the bread never goes mouldy and country music doesn't exist - but the beauty of that perception is that there's only one way I'll ever find out, and (hopefully) it will be a long time before I receive that answer.

We all could have some massively grand purpose for being here, not that we know what it is, even if we were to fulfil it. Until we're specifically told what that purpose is (if there's even one in the first place), we won't know. There is certainly no religion, person or group that can be sure of what we're here for.

[AnimeFront]

IMO, there is no point to life. I think that we just randomly ended up the way we are today. When the earth is destoyer by meteors and the suns explosion, nothing would change. Ok thats it its over nothing else changes.
I enjoy living but there is no point to life or our existence.

[Guest kuroinuyoukai]

[QUOTE=AnimeFront]IMO, there is no point to life. I think that we just randomly ended up the way we are today. When the earth is destoyer by meteors and the suns explosion, nothing would change. Ok thats it its over nothing else changes.
I enjoy living but there is no point to life or our existence.[/QUOTE]
You make life seem such a waste! A little morbid and dark, are we? We don't know what's waiting for us when we die. The only way to know is if we're already dead and the last time I checked I was among the living. :animeangr

11/01/05
Oh please God let this thread die! :animesigh

[AnimeFront]

[quote name='kuroinuyoukai']You make life seem such a waste! A little morbid and dark, are we? We don't know what's waiting for us when we die. The only way to know is if we're already dead and the last time I checked I was among the living.[/quote]
You have your opinion and I will have mine. But yea I am morbid and dark, that is what makes me me.

[Guest Warmaster]

[quote name='SilentSecurity']now I don't really know if I should trust the facts, or my religion.[/quote]
ROFLMAO

You can find purpose in your life quite easily, as long as you think of others and not just yourself. Anyone who devotes his or her life to the betterment of others' is serving a true purpose, regardless of how "valuable" others' lives may be.

In the end, though, the only think you can do with life is live it. So, do it as well as you can.

[Attimus331]

[QUOTE=AnimeFront]IMO, there is no point to life. I think that we just randomly ended up the way we are today. When the earth is destoyer by meteors and the suns explosion, nothing would change. Ok thats it its over nothing else changes.
I enjoy living but there is no point to life or our existence.[/QUOTE]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=DarkRed]There is a point to life, or in my life anyways. It's make money, be happy, and above all find somebody that loves me and love them back. ^_^ [/COLOR] [/FONT]

[Lafleur]

[COLOR=DarkRed]My existence theory is bleak and my existence theory might make you cry, but here it is:

Humans don't have a purpose - we can't have a purpose aside from death. We're a flaw in a perfect universe and we should not exist. We're a bad rash on an otherwise beautiful, sexy planet. But we do exist - so there is only one thing too do - just enjoy life, man, because it isn't gona last. [/COLOR]

[Derald]

[FONT=Lucida Console][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]In regards to [B]Attimus331[/B]'s statements over my grades earlier:

Sorry, I forgot to clarify. By grades slipping, I meant from an A+ down to a B, and in worst cases a C+.

Anyways, although I have made a decision on how to live my life, I am still interested in hearing your theory on why we're here and what you think our purpose might be.

Please keep posting, everyone, and thanks for everything.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Al-araaf]

I I see the possiblility of one if not many of these theroies to be correct in the end. So I dont see the point in wondering about it. If the answer does ever come then we will know. If not and if there is a "god" of some kind then maybe it will give the explaination if there is anything to be explained. Also maybe if there is a meaning we shouldnt know it. The way mankind is we will end up finding a way to change it and at first it may seem like a good change but then it wil end up biting us in the ***.

[AnimeFront]

Even though i dont think there is a point to life, I am no slacker, I go out work hard in school and I am am active in my interest, but i just dont think there is a point to life. That makes me apathetic some what to somethings, but I am no lazy asss.

[MangaFan007]

[quote name='AnimeFront']Even though i dont think there is a point to life, I am no slacker, I go out work hard in school and I am am active in my interest, but i just dont think there is a point to life. That makes me apathetic some what to somethings, but I am no lazy asss.[/quote]
My good sir (or madame) you remind me of Voltaire's Candid, a book I read once every year to evaluate myself and how I have changed.

[SIZE=3][i]Cela est bien dit, répondit Candide, maïs il faut cultiver nôtre jardin[/i][/SIZE]
(all that is well said, Candid replied, but we still need to cultivate our garden)

[Fyxe]

[size=1][color=slategray]The Earth just happened to be in the right position from the sun to hold such possible life forms that exist, well, on Earth. Animals evolved. We happened. So, now, we go around trying to find a meaning to life while we [I]are[/I], actually, in the middle of life's meaning... which is... to... well... [I]live[/I]. End of story.

So, my theory... live how you want... it's your own life to waste or use. You are your own descision maker. And, one more thing to add... a very common quote... "Life is what you make it." Which is totally true, no matter how you slice it.[/color][/size]