yesso - philosophy - meaning of life
"What is the meaning of life?" This is a question that has achieved much fame, and has come to be the standard representative of unattainable knowledge. In fact, the question is so legendary for its impossibility to answer that many people will automatically reject any explanation of the answer, or will dismiss the answer as being one of many equally valid or invalid views. I will attempt to analyze the question and provide an answer that seems obvious and self-evident. The real challenge, which I believe I am powerless to accomplish, is to convince the reader to recognize that the obvious truth is, in fact, the truth.
One of the reasons why the question "What is the meaning of life" (which I shall henceforth refer to as the subject question) is rarely answered with a satisfactory reply, is the fact that when people ask it, they usually actually mean to ask something else. There are several common, completely separate and unrelated things that people want to know when they ask the subject question. I believe the best way to solve this problem is to separately answer each of the most popular questions that people actually mean to ask when they ask the subject question.
If you were to ask a robot "what is the meaning of life", it would answer with the dictionary definition of the word "life". I have often given this answer to people, and their reply is usually something like "Ha-ha", or "I mean seriously." But the dictionary answer is not a joke. It is the most direct, correct and logical answer that can possibly be given to the question. The dictionary is a good place to start, and scientific information in the field of biology provides a further description of "life".
One of the popular questions people really mean to ask when they ask the subject question is "why are we here?". In this case, the field of biology describes the origins of humans and life, and the field of physics describes the origins of stars, planets and other constructs that are necessary for life. If you wish to have answers about the beginning of space, time and causality, you should read the discussion about God as the Creator where I have explained that the word "why" cannot be applied to the beginning of the universe, and therefore "why or how did the universe come to exist?" is a meaningless question.
This is a form of the question the answer to which requires a bit of explanation. We must understand exactly what "purpose" is, and how it comes to exist, before we can describe the purpose of life. The concept of "purpose" is described in terms of the concept of "intelligence", which is described (in this discussion) in terms of "causality". For a description of causality, see the discussion God as the Creator.
In the normal operation of our universe, all events (except initial events) are the effects of other events which are causes. That is, "cause" leads to "effect". The past leads to the future. For example, if you turn a doorknob and then push, this will cause the door to open, which will cause it to be possible for you to walk to the next room.
Intelligence is a phenomenon whereby an object (ie. an intelligent being) effectively causes an effect to lead to a cause. That is, "effect" seems to lead to "cause". The future seems to lead to the past. For example, the fact that you wish it to be possible to walk to the next room is what causes you to turn the doorknob and then push. An intelligent being controls the future by predicting the future (to some degree of accuracy).
Purpose is "what something is used for". Objects are used by intelligent beings to control the future. Whenever an object is used by an intelligent being to control the future, or is designed and created by an intelligent being to be usable to control the future, the expected effect of the use of the object is the purpose of the object.
In either case, purpose is a consequence of intelligence. If there were never any intelligence at all in the universe, then there would also be no purpose at all in the universe. The purpose of a can-opener, since it was created and designed by intelligent beings, is to open cans, and it is very clear from its design that its primary function is to open cans. Its purpose still remains to open cans even while the can opener is floating through space long after intelligent life has ceased to exist. However, if an intelligent being uses the can-opener to prop up a window that opens vertically and that keeps falling closed, the can-opener now has a new purpose—to prop open a window. That purpose persists for as long as the can-opener is used to prop open the window.
Since it is satisfactorily clear, thanks to science, that life was not created by an intelligent being who predicted the future and created life in order to control the future, we can be certain that life has no purpose of the type that is assigned to an object when the object is created and designed by an intelligent being. The purpose of life, then, is derived from the current use of it by intelligent beings.
In plainer terms, the purpose of our lives is essentially up to us. We may use life in any ways that we want, and these acts of use give our lives purpose. The purpose of life is different for each individual. Furthermore, there may be no purpose, or more than one purpose of an individual's life. The purpose of the life of a particular individual may also be derived from the use of the life of that particular individual by another intelligent being.