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?

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Permalink Reply by TNT666 on November 15, 2012 at 8:37pm

IMO "purpose" is purely a religious concept. We should be just a small component of the ecosystem cogwheel. People with "purpose" and "ambition" are IMO the equivalent of original sin. Unfortunately, because there are so many morons on the planet, I have given myself a purpose, to fight those with a purpose!!! :)

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 15, 2012 at 10:22pm
Ok I get your meaning TNT666 - we need to cast off that belief that you have a purpose because it is based in religion.
Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 15, 2012 at 10:20pm
Thank you so much TNT66 - I read all your replies. Appreciate your input.
Permalink Reply by Dana Garrett on November 15, 2012 at 10:40pm
We don't need to buy into the religious notion that there is an absolute purpose undergirding all life to choose an existential purposes for our lives individually (eg. helping the needy).
Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 16, 2012 at 12:07am

Thank you Dana. I would agree.

Permalink Reply by Glen Rosenberg on November 16, 2012 at 1:44am

No fairsies, TNT snippets make him or her appear to be prolific responder, when a couple of paragraphs would have limited those numbers. Maybe is it a special purpose. One which gives meaning to the life of TNT, a person who has seen it all and done it all. And has fantasies of extra human imagination.

Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on November 16, 2012 at 2:10am

Glen, a sillygism:

TNT has found a purpose: to provide snippets for readers here.

Purpose is religious.

TNT has a non-Buddhist religion.

Permalink Reply by TNT666 on November 16, 2012 at 7:01am

Well, at least I stuck to the subject of the person I was responding to... which I think was neither of you two. Sorry if I missed the memo stating we're not allowed to address more than one person, have I stepped on your pinkie toe? hmmm. Anywho, I also didn't go ad hominem as you and your respondent are doing, so why aren't you's sticking to the subject instead of attacking my character... Could it be that you're not living up to your own mantra of "the importance of pursuing happiness and good deeds"? (rollseyes)

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on November 16, 2012 at 11:12am

TNT666 you can address as many people as you like. I am pleased you are here to add to the discussion. I value your intelligence.

Permalink Reply by JP Carey on November 16, 2012 at 8:38am

I like how this discussion keeps coming back to life -like a zombie that wont lay down :).  I'll say it again, that there's a simple purpose to life.

1. You're an animal and have the same purpose as every animal: To reproduce and raise you young to survivablility.
2. You're new "big brain" compels you to search for purpose: Find any'ol purpose that means something to you and follow it.  This will bring you happiness -especially if it helps people.  But it comes FROM you.
3. If there's a reason for life to EXIST at all, it is to evolve (refine towards specialization), to witness & experience the universe WHILE YOU'RE HERE -So literally, go have the time of your life.

Meaning is different than purpose.  If purpose is your job, then meaning is the value of that job. -Everyone's life has a meaning when they influence those around them (positively).  A life of negative influence means you're just an ape, flinging crap at the progress-train as we go whizzing by.

Permalink Reply by TNT666 on November 16, 2012 at 9:57am

1. Not all individuals in animal species breed, breeding is not an individual biological urge, breeding is simply the result of each specie's reproductive strategy.

2. It's not your brain that compels you to search for purpose, it is your parental

3. That's not a purpose, it's a consequence. In biology there is not "big" WHY?

trains... or you're the train thrashing through everything...

Permalink Reply by JP Carey on November 16, 2012 at 7:09pm

#1 as you said, it's only a reproductive strategy in some (most) animals -like cows, primates, and humans.

#2 "Modern" humans, as opposed to "early" humans, came on the scene around 75k-100k years ago.  Language and abstract thought were the big advancement.  A pandora's box of questions were opened: Where did we come from? What happens when I die? Why are we here?  are some of the really big questions we had -and they weren't going to wait for an answer -hence religion.  "what's my purpose" also arrived with our "big-brains".

#3 I'm wondering why life exists at all. It didn't have to -did it? A big universe with no one in it.  Actually, Quantum Physics has fished out some interesting results such as the observer affects reality simply by observing.  That the experiment results will change when some one is watching it (search double slit experiment).  This leads some to question, is an observer NEEDED for reality to exist.  Therefor MAYBE we truly are here to witness & observe.

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