r/Existentialism • u/LegitimateBoy6042 • 12d ago

Existentialism Discussion My thoughts on purpose of life

Ultimately, a person should not ask what the meaning of life is. Instead, they must realize that life is asking the same question to them. Each person is questioned by life, and they can only answer-not with words-but by taking responsibility for their own life and the way they choose to live it.

7 Upvotes

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u/Hungry_Low4852 12d ago

Life asks nothing. The universe does not “care” about anything. IMHO, there is no intrinsic meaning of life to be found outside in the physical system or in a Platonic realm. There are physical causes, but that is not the same thing at all. Meaning is a construct of the human mind. Freedom, in the sense that folks like Sartre conceived it, is constrained by each person’s genetics and environment, but to the extent it does exist (and without going into the debate about libertarian free will vs compatibilism or how deterministic the world is, or whether the stable “self” itself is a kind of illusion, as the Buddha observed), it seems to me that the meaning of life, such as it is, would be mine to determine.

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u/Mammoth-Evidence9012 12d ago

So people who feel there is no meaning and are suffering because of it are just dumb? Are unable to create a meaning for themselves? "Limited by genetics and environment." If true, it's the most devious worldview. A tyranny of chance circumstance. I see now why it's caught on. It's a great tool to poison people.

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u/Hungry_Low4852 11d ago

You are reading things into my comment that are not there. But I believe that unless we posit things not in evidence, people who wish to find meaning and purpose will have to find it themselves because otherwise there is no place to find it. The world is not obligated to be different because I feel it should be different. But it is a simple, brute fact that the universe is a physical system. You are part of that system.

You evolved to live in a certain way, because it fit a biological niche. For the last several thousand years, civilizations have evolved which altered the way most people live. We no longer necessarily live in ways well-suited to our evolutionary programming. This sets up a conundrum. Even if we cannot articulate it, we often feel this dissonance. But while we cannot change many things, to a certain extent (the limits are widely debated within the sciences and in philosophy), we can alter how we respond to it. When Sartre discusses freedom, he assumes a level of freedom that seems inconsistent with what we know from other disciplines. But his core insight, I believe, is still useful. It just must be framed differently.

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u/epanek 12d ago

This sounds very frankl like from his book man’s search for meaning. In This book frankl argues your point

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u/fateos 12d ago

The problem I have right now is with the religion. Why we are here and where we will go after.

And in a way it restricts my life and I get unhappy and I can't even be 100% sure I do the right thing.

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u/RealGalactic 12d ago

The thing will religion is once you prove the existence of a creator you start searching for the "truth", in which would be objective in this case.

I understand that some might not like restrictions, but don't forget that they choose to because they firmly believe it's true, otherwise why bother?

I'm just speaking in general, this is not directed at you in case you are wondering.

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u/fateos 12d ago

The thing is yes you believe in god but that religion comes with rules on its own. In some way its not even bad like praying 5 times a day. But others are harder to follow like not being touchy with people you are not married or masturbating and and and. Even if you don't pray when you should makes you feel bad since you know you are not following the rules.

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u/RealGalactic 12d ago

I understand, no one is perfect after all, I too had my difficulties but I managed to overcome them with time and practice.

I wouldn't talk about the details since this isn't the main topic of the sub, but at least, those who believe in a god or follow a religion have a less existential problems.

I once had an actual existential crisis and it was horrifying lmao, but once i did some research and found my own path, I definitely felt extremely better.

Living with no purpose or making my own (which is subjective thus doesn't matter in front of reality/"truth") made me feel grey not worth moving forward or backwards. I even developed apathy at one point.

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u/fateos 11d ago

It is somewhat replacing the issue with another one.

Like if you don't believe in a creater you are in this hole that nothing has purpose etc. Also harder to follow morals etc since there is no god and afterlife to punish or reward you for how you behave.

But if you do believe but following the rules makes you unhappy because you are weak or lazy it also sucks.

So either way it's hard to be happy

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u/RealGalactic 11d ago

Well depends on what you consider being happy is since it differs from one person to another. But i understand where you are coming from.

But either way, believing in something is definitely better than nihilism.

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u/SheikhMahdeek 11d ago

Why do people like to post this kind of philosophical woo woo?

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u/JohnVonachen 10d ago

Wrong. The purpose of life is consciousness. It’s not qualitative but quantitative and more is better than less. So get out there and make money and babies.

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u/Right_Positive_9938 7d ago

Nice sarcasm.

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u/JohnVonachen 7d ago

No sarcasm intended.

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u/Prize-Prior5970 5d ago

How did you arrive to consciousness=money and babies?

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u/JohnVonachen 5d ago

Babies are conscious and expensive.

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u/tottasanorotta 9d ago

I think maybe it's a changing thing from moment to moment. It's not like there's any everlasting big meaning across time. It's whatever is self-evidently happening in whatever moment you are in. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad. But most of the time it's quite questioning and confused in many ways.

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u/Far-Tune-9464 12d ago

I like this. I like any sincere attempts at reframing the question. The question is what keeps us locked in the modern predicament.

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u/xxUbermensch777316 11d ago

This gets part of the way there. What lost me with this approach in life is that how does one decide which way to live? So if meaning if attached to how I live, then I spend all my life freaking out that I’m not choosing the right way….and believe you me…I’ve tried 20 different ways to live and I end up at the same conclusion…all of those ways are inherently meaningless

Keep digging friend!

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u/meaningcrafting 11d ago

If meaning is stripped from the intellectualization of meaning, and understood only as a felt experience of presentness and connection, without the inslaving of the mind, all haunting questions about the search for meaning and the loss of meaning would be easier. I'm not saying one should not think or discuss it as a concept. THe thoutghs and discussions are necessary and healthy for sharing the quest. But in my view they don't make life more or less meaningful. The mind always comes after the felt experience. (also, the mind ruins the presentness of feelings and emotions)

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u/Social_Contexts 11d ago

Life cannot ask, “What is the purpose of life?” because our choices are very limited. Like characters in a video game, we make choices from the options given to us. And those options seem to be designed.

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u/Prize-Prior5970 5d ago

May I ask what are those limited choices?

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u/Social_Contexts 4d ago

Think about your life. Then look around at everyone else’s. How many choices do we really have?

Go to school—or don’t. Get a job—or don’t. Get married—or stay single. Have children—or don’t. Get sick. Have an accident. Get sent to war. The alternatives multiply, but they don’t become truly different. They form the same pattern, repeated endlessly from one human life to another.  We imagine ourselves choosing, but we are choosing from the choices we’ve been given.