The meaning of life?
Being an extrovert, I like to do my thinking out loud, in conversation with other like-minded individuals. Not having regular access to such individuals can be pretty crippling. That's what you get when you move to Hermitville. So when I have to ponder questions like the meaning of life, I have to find alternatives. This blog should do nicely...
(I should point out that I have been lost from this blog for a year now. I don't know how long this return will last, but I have some catching up to do. May as well start with a 'big' one.)
Those who are a bit closer to me, know that I have been wrestling with some pretty large philosophical and socio-economic issues of late - a 'paper' or series of essays for my own amusement on money and value systems. So I've had some lofty thoughts running around in my head.
Last week, a former colleague (now getting into the motivational coaching market) posed his new trademark question to me: "What do you think your purpose is?" I suppose the timing of the question is everything. I wondered if I could come up with an answer. I stalled by asking him his. Of course, being in the business, he had a nicely prepared and rehearsed response, involving helping others to discover their true purpose, etc. Not helpful. Taking over his laptop, I called up my web site, hoping that my mission or vision statements would help. They held him off for a while, but I was still not convinced that his question had been answered. The seed, however had definitely been planted.
What began to emerge was a more empirical, objective answer than I expected. After all, it would be easy to make up some answer that suited my personal perspective, but being only one of a few billion people, surely there must be some common thread to connect all of those purposes together.
Those of you who recall my earliest posts to this blog a year and a half ago, might also recall that I am a beekeeper (among many other things). So it was natural to simplify the question first by turning to my small winged workers: What is the purpose of a bee? Hmmm...
The purpose of a bee can have a few perspectives in the natural world. I think the easiest answer is a continuation of the species. Bees exist so that more bees can exist. It is certainly undeniable that survival and propagation are at the very core of every living being's programming. Bees have the advantage of having their daily purpose conveniently programmed for them as well. Every stage of a bee's short 1 or 2 month lifespan comes with specific duties programmed in, and their role in the hive changes every few weeks.
On a larger scale, you might say that bees exist to pollinate flowers, make honey, and participate in the overall balance of the ecosystem in which they live, but I don't think that is part of their capital-P Purpose. Being a part of the balance in the natural world is a consequence of being in it - we all impact that to some extent.
If you believe in an omniscient being (God) who created everything you see around you, then you might argue that bees were created as part of the wonder and magnificence of our world. That might be a fine 'purpose' too, but it is not something that the colony or individuals can focus on, so I don't find it a useful answer.
However, if one were to follow the evolution of bees (or any other life form for that matter), you can see that the species does not so much 'continue' as 'evolve', adapting to new conditions (if possible) and (presumably) improving as it goes. I like to think that the purpose of a bee then, is:
Once I had that, I began to wonder if the same thing could be applied to humans. After all, on the great scale of things (such as the existence of humanity), if I'm looking for a one-size-fits-all base-line purpose to suit every individual human, then I'm looking for something simple and comprehensive. This seemed to be a good place to start.
Of course, humans are always the exception, aren't they. Many would be offended to think of a human's purpose in life as being comparable to that of a simple honeybee. To a certain extent, I agree. I don't think it too conceited to suggest that Homo sapiens is truly unique among nature's creations so far. Our abilities, knowledge, conscience, cultures, arts, achievements, etc. are truly wonders. We don't know for certain that our advanced evolution is unique in the universe, but it certainly seems to be rare.
If you next accept the proposition that nature is constantly striving to improve itself, inherently (so to speak) favouring the next best thing and weeding out the bad experiments, then perhaps we hold a certain obligation not to mess with that. Certainly when unique individuals in history have lived to their full potential, humanity has often been the better and moved forward because of it. There are also examples of individuals who might have set us back. I like to think that those ones might not have been adhering to the purpose I proposed.
If nothing else, it has given me (and now you) something to think about. It has also given me an interesting Purpose that just might help guide me through 'stuff'.
What do you think?
(I should point out that I have been lost from this blog for a year now. I don't know how long this return will last, but I have some catching up to do. May as well start with a 'big' one.)
Those who are a bit closer to me, know that I have been wrestling with some pretty large philosophical and socio-economic issues of late - a 'paper' or series of essays for my own amusement on money and value systems. So I've had some lofty thoughts running around in my head.
Last week, a former colleague (now getting into the motivational coaching market) posed his new trademark question to me: "What do you think your purpose is?" I suppose the timing of the question is everything. I wondered if I could come up with an answer. I stalled by asking him his. Of course, being in the business, he had a nicely prepared and rehearsed response, involving helping others to discover their true purpose, etc. Not helpful. Taking over his laptop, I called up my web site, hoping that my mission or vision statements would help. They held him off for a while, but I was still not convinced that his question had been answered. The seed, however had definitely been planted.
What began to emerge was a more empirical, objective answer than I expected. After all, it would be easy to make up some answer that suited my personal perspective, but being only one of a few billion people, surely there must be some common thread to connect all of those purposes together.
Those of you who recall my earliest posts to this blog a year and a half ago, might also recall that I am a beekeeper (among many other things). So it was natural to simplify the question first by turning to my small winged workers: What is the purpose of a bee? Hmmm...
The purpose of a bee can have a few perspectives in the natural world. I think the easiest answer is a continuation of the species. Bees exist so that more bees can exist. It is certainly undeniable that survival and propagation are at the very core of every living being's programming. Bees have the advantage of having their daily purpose conveniently programmed for them as well. Every stage of a bee's short 1 or 2 month lifespan comes with specific duties programmed in, and their role in the hive changes every few weeks.
On a larger scale, you might say that bees exist to pollinate flowers, make honey, and participate in the overall balance of the ecosystem in which they live, but I don't think that is part of their capital-P Purpose. Being a part of the balance in the natural world is a consequence of being in it - we all impact that to some extent.
If you believe in an omniscient being (God) who created everything you see around you, then you might argue that bees were created as part of the wonder and magnificence of our world. That might be a fine 'purpose' too, but it is not something that the colony or individuals can focus on, so I don't find it a useful answer.
However, if one were to follow the evolution of bees (or any other life form for that matter), you can see that the species does not so much 'continue' as 'evolve', adapting to new conditions (if possible) and (presumably) improving as it goes. I like to think that the purpose of a bee then, is:
to continue the existence of the species and to contribute to the improvement of the species where possible, by: surviving (if appropriate from an evolutionary sense), facilitating the propagation and survival of other members of the species, and living to the best of its abilities so that natural selection will favour any subtle 'mutations' (or unique characterisitics) inherent in that individual that contribute to overall species enhancement.
Once I had that, I began to wonder if the same thing could be applied to humans. After all, on the great scale of things (such as the existence of humanity), if I'm looking for a one-size-fits-all base-line purpose to suit every individual human, then I'm looking for something simple and comprehensive. This seemed to be a good place to start.
Of course, humans are always the exception, aren't they. Many would be offended to think of a human's purpose in life as being comparable to that of a simple honeybee. To a certain extent, I agree. I don't think it too conceited to suggest that Homo sapiens is truly unique among nature's creations so far. Our abilities, knowledge, conscience, cultures, arts, achievements, etc. are truly wonders. We don't know for certain that our advanced evolution is unique in the universe, but it certainly seems to be rare.
If you next accept the proposition that nature is constantly striving to improve itself, inherently (so to speak) favouring the next best thing and weeding out the bad experiments, then perhaps we hold a certain obligation not to mess with that. Certainly when unique individuals in history have lived to their full potential, humanity has often been the better and moved forward because of it. There are also examples of individuals who might have set us back. I like to think that those ones might not have been adhering to the purpose I proposed.
If nothing else, it has given me (and now you) something to think about. It has also given me an interesting Purpose that just might help guide me through 'stuff'.
What do you think?
Labels: bees, evolution, meaning of life, purpose, species
posted by Andrew Welch | 3:38:00 PM
7 Comments on "The meaning of life?":
I would like to think that our purpose in life is what we decide it is, or what we accept it to be. Because human beings exist on a plane (for lack of a better term) that allows for independent thought beyond instinct, we have the ability to mold our own purpose. Failing that, we have the option to accept the purpose that is foisted upon us.
That general statement shouldn't change whether or not we believe in a higher power. That belief might guide us in figuring out what our purpose is, but in the end, it's still our choice to make.
Alas, I don't know if I'm being a cynic or just the Devil's advocate on this one...
I don't think 'purpose' is something we really do have a choice on, regardless of how uniquely independent our plane of existence is. I think we agree on this. You say that there is a "purpose that is foisted upon us" - a externally-imposed concept, and we must figure out what it is. True, and if we have to figure it out, then it is not something that we are making a choice about - it already exists.
If we validly have the ability to mold and change that purpose, then we could rationally say that every human is fulfilling their 'purpose' because they have made choices to do exactly what they are doing. It's not much of a purpose if it is fulfilled automatically.
To explore the extremes for a moment, if I'm a pathological CEO who decides that my purpose is to rape the earth of every resource that I can trash in my lifetime, or a genocidal dictator who believes my purpose to be the attainment of ultimate dominion over my region of the world, I have trouble believing in the validity of those purposes.
We may be talking semantics, but perhaps the critical difference between humans and bees (to refer back to my original post) is that we independent-thinking humans have the choice to accept our purpose or not, and the choice of how we wish to fulfill it (or what we intend to do instead). (Hmmm - I guess we also have the choice to believe in one purpose, or another, and how that might be known to us. It gets complicated when you are an independent thinker!)
In my quest for 'purpose', I think that it is something bestowed upon us (or mankind in general), not something that we choose or create. To place all of the choices in our hands leads to the kind of thinking that separates us even further from our own biosphere, and our very existence.
We do have a role to play on this planet - an assigned role, and if we don't figure out what that is and play the game by the rules in place, we will eventually be replaced by something else. That's my opinion.
So, do you believe that we have a destiny that we are meant to fulfill? And our purpose is to discover that destiny, whether it be beekeeping or dictator, and decide if we want to accept that destiny?
Allow me to take the role of devil's advocate and ask, "What happens after the ring is destroyed in fires of Mt Doom?"
Destiny?! Who said anything about destiny? Did you have to introduce a new term just to setup the punchline? Please, I was enjoying the discussion on the earlier level. (I find this feedback really useful.)
There is a big difference between destiny and purpose. Even a hammer or a hinge has a purpose. I don't believe my tools and door parts have a destiny.
On second thought, I should blame myself for being unclear about my position.
I don't know if we have a destiny or not - that is an entirely different philosophical discussion, populated with determinists, parallel universes, existentialists, etc.
Asking if there is a reason that humans exist is not the same question at all. There are clearly rules of the game in nature, and it seems to have taken mankind hundreds of years to learn that mankind did not make the rules, does not operate above them, and is susceptible to their consequences.
Are we doomed to accept some pre-determined destiny or perish in Mordor? I don't think so. We are, however, subject to the laws of nature, which are pre-determined. To my mind, figuring out our 'purpose' might be equivalent to figuring out how we can play within the rules. Sure, we can choose to ignore them. But bad players are likely to be simply ejected.
To put it within the context of your first comment, I reiterate that I agree we have a choice about how to fulfill our purpose. Our future is ours to change and mold. At the same time, I believe that it is not a free ride - there are acceptable and unacceptable choices. Acceptable choices are aligned with our natural purpose, unacceptable ones are not.
Does that clarify anything?
Anyone else out there reading?
Speaking about "purpose" requires a (for lack of a better term) higher power. A hammer or hinge was made by someone with a specific goal in mind. However, I think that too would be an entirely different discussion.
One could argue that the rules of the game in nature is Darwinian, survival of the fittest, and nothing more.
The rules are if you make the right choice or face the right circumstances, either by accident or on purpose, your species gets to survive another generation.
Our greatest attribute is our ability to adapt, to innovate, to right the wrong choices/circumstances in order for the species to survive. It is probably also our greatest weakness because, as a species, we lack the foresight to predict the possible consequences of that adaption.
And speaking of hammers, I think you hit the nail on the head, Frank.
It was along just such Darwinian lines that I was thinking on myself.
You are also right that to get into a discussion of "purpose" is to implicitly invoke the suggestion of a "higher power".
However even we just focus on species survival and the natural laws of the game - even if it is survival of the fittest and nothing more, we humans still have this apparently unique ability to try and reason out what those terms mean and attempt to make appropriate choices for our actions. Does the species-survival imperative mean I act totally for self-preservation (being a member of the species) or act for the better good of the species as a whole?
One might even argue that the mere presence of that choice implies at least a strong potential for a "purpose", even if it is only a way to frame our best choices, and not something imbued by a higher power.
(Come to think of it, what is the innate programming of the various species that apparently do not have the same consciousness of choice for their actions? Are there examples of "taking one for the team" as well as just self-preservation? I think so.)
I sat on this one for a while, trying to find the right wording for "Maybe humans disprove the theory of evolution". But now I see that perhaps it's better to say that humans have moved evolution in a different direction. It used to be about the physical and hence the concept of "purpose" was more clear. For example, the animal that had better fur to protect it against the cold would survive the bitter winter to mate again in spring.
Now, it is about the intellectual, and we start to throw in these concepts of sacrifice, conscience, and awareness. It is no longer about survival of the fittest because we see everyday people willing to sacrfice their lives for loved ones.
Individual thought gives us the ability to be aware of the natural "rules", and to decide if we want to abide by those rules or live with/ignore the consequences.
We think, therefore we are, therefore we can create purpose?
Post a Comment
<< back to .:. fuck decaf .:.