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 Tom Sarbeck on August 12, 2012 at 3:19am

Existentialism was in the 1950s so disliked by philosophy professors that I took to saying that while they debate free will and determinism, what matters is Who goes to jail.

Permalink Reply by Edward Teach on August 14, 2012 at 8:19am

LMAO!!! That's great! Reminds me a little of the saying, "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?"

Permalink Reply by Richard Goscicki on August 11, 2012 at 11:02am

Quite right, I forgot.  Janice Joplin. 

A funny anecdote, being we're on the subject.  When she was starting out and getting a lot of attention and air time, I took in her show at the old Fillmore East on Second Avenue.  When I first saw her on the stage I could scarcely believe my eyes:  She was white. 

I heard her on the hippie radio station, WBAI, a few times but it never even dawned on me she might be a white girl.  See what pot does to you.  Lol

A bit of nostalgia:  When you walked into the dilapidated theater, the heavy hemp smoke hit you like walking into Aunt Jamima’s kitchen.  You didn’t even need to bring anything; just take a few lusty inhales and you were set for the evening.

 

 

Permalink Reply by Elissa Bernheim on August 12, 2012 at 11:35am

well this is a complicated subject. as a humanist, i think that our interactions with other people and the world around us give meaning to our lives. in that way we can control whether our life has meaning. for example, a person who builds charity organizations gives meaning to their life by helping others or giving back to the community just as a mother gives meaning to her life by raising her children and a nobel prize winner gives meaning to their life by helping the world progress.

Permalink Reply by Norma Lee on August 12, 2012 at 7:32pm

We are the same as everyone else except we don't believe in super natural powers. I personally am very upset when believers say if I don't believe I am evil. I am not evil. I see believers as making it up as they go. We can see why things happen without god.

Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on August 13, 2012 at 3:32am

Norma, don't be upset.

To say nonbelievers are evil is one way that believers who feel weak protect themselves.

It's a simple form of protection: an attack.

Good and evil are simple concepts; they are a first step away from the use of physical rewards and punishments. People who feel strong can say "I like...." or "I don't like...."

Believers who feel strong might critique your beliefs. You can engage them or not.

Permalink Reply by Alan Carter on August 13, 2012 at 1:48pm

No God .. no evil...just cruel stupid greedy humans the meanest baddest  animal on the planet 

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on August 14, 2012 at 6:09am

Thank you Alan and I would have to agree.

Permalink Reply by Thinking Sapien on August 17, 2012 at 7:44am

I think the question is dubious. Conversations on this question usually have to do with the eternal vs the finite with the implication that the latter has no significance while the former does. The question also glazes over that "meaning" is a relationship between a mind and an object or concept.  Usually when this question is presented there's some bias towards treating an eternal mind as the only one that matters while finite minds have less significance.  When engaging this question I would first nail down who is/are the minds that are assigning purpose and meaning?

For me those minds are myself, my friends, and loved ones. Does my life have meaning and purpose to them? Certainly! in unenumerable and evolving ways. Does it have meaning and purpose to some one tha tlived 10,000 years ago or 10,000 years into the future? Probably not. And I'm okay with that. 

Permalink Reply by Dr. Allan H. Clark on August 17, 2012 at 8:57pm

The problem with Christianity's view of this life's purpose and meaning is that it is only a trial run for the afterlife. If you deny yourself a full life now and devote your time to praising a non-existent being, you will gain eternity of harp-tuning and singing God's praises.

It's a one size fits all purpose. By definition one-size-fits-all takes from your life any individual meaning, but in the meantime you spend the few short years you have here in worthless pursuits, neglecting the life you could have.

Permalink Reply by Richard Goscicki on August 17, 2012 at 9:19pm

Quite so, Doctor Clark,

Ironically, Pascal’s Wager appeared to be a good bet.  Compared to eternity, why risk one’s immortal soul for the pleasures of this short life?  But it’s a sucker’s bet because this life is all there is.  Humans had it all, but threw it away because this life wasn’t enough. 

 

The Bible should have listed ingratitude as the most grievous sin, instead of pride.

 

Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on August 18, 2012 at 3:51am

An interesting post, Richard.

I first heard of Pascal's Wager when I was leaving Catholicism's plantation; a college pal who was staying on the plantation posed the question.

After twelve years in Catholic schools, I was not yet thinking clearly enough to analyze the wager and see its four choices. It seemed suspicious, so instead of placing a bet I went on gathering information about Catholicism, other Christianities, and finally other religions. Existentialism was just reaching America and its demand that I take responsibility for my choices helped immensely.

Years passed before I again heard of Pascal's Wager. I was by this time thinking clearly enough to see the bets it offered and decided that I had bet correctly.

My conclusion: religion requires people to be unhappy. (Catholicism, the religion I know best, makes demands that keep its followers too busy to ask important questions.)

With a variety of neuroses from which to choose, most believers achieve lives of quiet desperation.

On ingratitude, one believer I know insists that gratitude makes happiness possible. I once asked him what he has gratitude for but he refused to engage. I concluded that he is protecting himself the best way he knows.

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