Finding Purpose in Life: An Epicurean Perspective

[Loren Booda]

Or, what is your reason for living?

 

[Evo]

Or, what is your reason for living?

My daughters. Maybe a certain special someone that might come along.

 

[Cyrus]

To pay taxes and die. Honestly, no damn clue.

 

[loseyourname]

While I understand the evolutionary reasons for that maternal instinct, I'm damn glad that something I could easily lose is not my reason for living. The simple joy of existence does it for me. Whatever else comes constitutes my reasons for doing things above and beyond simply living.

 

[zoobyshoe]

To find and kill the great white whale that bit my leg off.

 

[chroot]

To make myself happy; secondarily, to make others around me happy.

- Warren

 

[Gokul43201]

To make the most of the time and opportunity I have.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Just live I guess. I'd like to think that I have helped others and made them happy along the way too.

 

[Moonbear]

I don't really have a reason for living, it's just the one thing I know how to do really well, and the alternative doesn't sound nearly as fun.

 

[Dmstifik8ion]

To actualize my potential to do the following:
Define, justify and realize my own happiness.
Make the world a better place than the one I was born into and raised to despise by demonstrating the errors in thinking which lead people to despise themselves and the world they live in.
Teach myself and others how to earn self-respect and obtain the respect they deserve from others.
Determine and expose the roots of war and injustice.
Die knowing that I have lived and that it was a meaningful, worthwhile and well-deserved experience.

 

[sporkstorms]

Everything you all are saying sounds nice, but it's all like something out of an Oprah book of the week.

Let's be real here: The reason we all get out of bed in the morning is so we can be around to see the day when sharks have lasers, and robots do all the housework.
Oh yea, and I'm still waiting for the flying car.

 

[Archon]

Well, there's this girl...

Alternately, to test the limits of human endurance by drinking cranberry juice until I pass out.

But honestly...there really is a girl, and she's the closest thing I have to a purpose in life. Indeed.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I have an animal who depends on me. I have to feed her every morning. It's my responsibility. Other than that, my death would probably bring great sadness to my family. So I go on.

 

[PerennialII]

Continue nihilistic ways.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Well, according to my cats, I pretty much exist just to kiss their little butts. According to Tsu, I exist to kiss her little butt. According the the government, I exist to pay taxes.

I think that about covers it.

Oh yes, to solve problems.

 

[franznietzsche]

To work. I like working. If I didn't have work, I'd substitute drinking. If I didn't have vodka either, I'm sure i'd find some excuse.

 

[Shahil]

we live to reproduce

our offspring can then figure out what's the real reason...

 

[Lisa!]

Getting tired and sick of everything and everyone in the world!

 

[Kazza_765]

To paraphrase Arthur C. Clarke, The only important things are to learn and to love.

 

[marlon]

Or, what is your reason for living?

My sole purpose in life is to get rich or die trying.

marlon

 

[Shahil]

My sole purpose in life is to get rich or die trying.
marlon

You're listening to WAY too much 50cent:rofl: :rofl:

But then again, I think 50cent is living the life...he sings crap music about the same subject and he's probably richer than everyone on PF combined.

There's a life lesson their...do we live to enlighten and advance humanity OR is the real purpose of life to find a way to find the easiest way to live a life of luxury and excess with minimal regard for anyone else...

hmm...

 

[CosminaPrisma]

I think my purpose in life is whatever I make it to be. That I haven't decided yet.

 

[Astronuc]

To be.

To serve family, friends and humanity to the best of my abilities and to provide for the future.

To make the world a better place than when I came into it.

 

[Entropy]

Well, according to my cats, I pretty much exist just to kiss their little butts.

That's my purpose too. I wish I could see my cats right now. I'm going drop out of college and abondon my aspirations of being a physicists then move back in with my parents just so I can see my kitties again.

 

[Echo 6 Sierra]

To be.

To serve humanity to the best of my abilities and to provide for the future.

To make the world a better place than when I came into it.

I knew I liked you for some unknown reason! Since I'm not rich, famous, or handsome, (I KNOW! I can't believe it either!) I believe I'm to be here to be good and help someone. My secondary quest is the search for spiritual creaminess.

 

[marlon]

There's a life lesson their...do we live to enlighten and advance humanity

That's the life purpose for the all-time great minds of our day and age, as it has always been. Only geniuses like Mozart, Einstein, Bohr, etc etc are able to achieve that purpose. WE ARE NOT.

OR is the real purpose of life to find a way to find the easiest way to live a life of luxury and excess with minimal regard for anyone else...

hmm...

YES, it's called surviving. The average Jo Schmoe (which most of us are) can, at best, achieve this goal.

marlon

 

[inha]

To crush my enemies -- See them driven before me, and to hear the lamentation of their women!

 

[Entropy]

That's the life purpose for the all-time great minds of our day and age, as it has always been. Only geniuses like Mozart, Einstein, Bohr, etc etc are able to achieve that purpose. WE ARE NOT.

Bull. You don't have to be famous to improve humanity. Anyone can make improve the world, just not nescessarily to the extend they did. Plus, it can be easily argued that Einstein had just as much of a negative effect on society as he did a positive one. I mean, without him we wouldn't have the nuclear bomb.

YES, it's called surviving. The average Jo Schmoe (which most of us are) can, at best, achieve this goal.

There is no such things as an average individual. You say that like "regular people" (which don't actually exist) are like the scum of the Earth and that the famous are gods among men. Which is complete nonsense. Maybe you see yourself as insignificant, but that's not what I see in myself.

 

[Evo]

Oh yes, to feed my cats (and the possums of the world) and bring home fresh fruit salads for my fruit bat.

 

[daveb]

Well, mankind was put here to invent plastic so cats could lick it (why do they do that?) Other than that, I'm just a byproduct of that process.

 

[Bladibla]

To preach death and decay to the world

To make everyone atheists

Eat all living whales

Become a kick-ass engineer/scientist

 

[Dawguard]

To ease the pain of death.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Oh yes, to feed my cats (and the possums of the world) and bring home fresh fruit salads for my fruit bat.

When did you adopt a fruit bat?

 

[Evo]

When did you adopt a fruit bat?

It's my dog, Ricco.

 

[Kazza_765]

That's the life purpose for the all-time great minds of our day and age, as it has always been. Only geniuses like Mozart, Einstein, Bohr, etc etc are able to achieve that purpose. WE ARE NOT.


YES, it's called surviving. The average Jo Schmoe (which most of us are) can, at best, achieve this goal.

marlon

I've got to agree with entropy here, that's Bull. The world would be a much better place if every "Joe Schmoe" had the desire and the motivation to live for the advancement and preservation of humanity, rather than hoping one day they can afford to buy a nice new shiny SUV with a sunroof and live in a big house with a pool and tennis court. Most of us can not make the difference Einstein or Bohr or Gandhi or Nelson Mandella did, but if we all have the attitude you expressed above, then everything they did doesn't count for s***.