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As An Atheist Can Your Life Have Purpose and Meaning?
I was wondering what other people thought about this.
I realize we weren't born with a purpose. No creator or "higher calling".
But as a non believer can your life have meaning and purpose without god?
I realize we weren't born with a purpose. No creator or "higher calling".
But as a non believer can your life have meaning and purpose without god?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Carter on -
so what???
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Permalink Reply by Alan Carter on
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BUDDHA WAS A PAMPERED THUG WHO LOST HIS MARBLES
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Permalink Reply by Rudy on -
That's a good question and the answer to it will vary greatly from person to person. Individuality is the advantage atheists share in this regard. Unlike our theist counterparts, purpose in life is not mandated in scripture.
The only true purpose you have in life is to find and give meaning to it. After long periods of self-examination over a lifetime you reach your own conclusions. This position is one of the few that I have thought about where relativism seems to be an acceptable answer.
If relativism, in regards to the meaning/purpose of life, is not a sufficient answer then I can only think of two possible alternatives (then again, I haven't given much thought to the topic):
1) The purpose and meaning of life has a definite, undeniable answer. Any other meaning(s) you think you have discovered is misguided. [Theists and biologists might agree with this one, though for drastically different reasons]
Or...
2) Life has no purpose, any self determined "meaning" is only an illusion created by the individual (or masses) for personal benefit. [This one holds more ground but falls prey to this exception: at the very least, our purpose in life is to die.]
One thing to note is that I define "meaning" as something that one discovers through thought and leads to happiness. Also, it is not bound to morality. There are those who make it their purpose in life to benefit from the misfortunes of others, but that is an entirely different discussion.So yes, an atheist can have purpose and meaning in their life. More so than their devote theist counterparts in my opinion.
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Permalink Reply by Steph S. on -
Thank you so very much Rudy. Very thoughtful reply.
You have to discover the meaning for yourself.
There are no gods or anything to believe in or have to follow.
You are free to think things for yourself. No dogma to follow.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Carter on
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The Universe is meaningless pointless as far as the Earth is concerned
we that is the human animal is cruel stupid pathetic and just about the most ugly
on this ball of rock
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Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on -
Alan Hobbes(?) Carter:
Folks who'd been born to violent or abusive parents can be all that.
Their lives can be nasty, mean, brutish and short.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Carter on
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Labels Labels without religion there would be no need to be called an atheist
lets call ourselves morons stupid morons and morons
we live short and meaningless lives full of bullshit incapable of anything but self
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Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on -
whoa.. just realized the 3345 views! ha..
how about one more comment in a podcast:
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Permalink Reply by amer chohan on
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Life is full of meaning. We all spend multipurpose lives.
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Permalink Reply by James M. Martin on -
It depends on whether you are a nihilistic atheist, doesn't it?
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Permalink Reply by Alan Carter on
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Self the human animal is murderous just look what we do to the weak and defenceless creatures other than to its own kind psychopathic more like
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Permalink Reply by Tim on
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My life has more meaning now that I've abandon any dogmatic security blanket of an eternal father to guide me like a fucking puppet on a string. I was born, I will die, then as Bertrand Russell said "rot in the ground". But what happens from this moment till then is all up to me, an me alone. That's the beauty, the freedom.. To be the sums of my own choices. To rise into this world an define myself. I find with a little introspection, discipline an belief in myself there isn't much I cant achieve or rectify.
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