1. Comment #98300 by ronnieharper on December 13, 2007 at 12:57 pm

I recently wrote a short paper on this question, although I didn't come at it from an atheistic point of view. Here's my paper, which isn't very concise, but at least provides a starting point for discussion of this topic, which is a very important one, in my opinion. If the non-religious do not answer this question, the religious philosopher will rest on his or her laurels (i.e., will assume they've won the argument about the meaning of life). I think there is an answer external to ultimate truths like god or other supernatural constructs - which is that life itself has intrinsic meaning, and is invaluable in and of itself.

A Short Essay on Philosophical Questions

Introduction and Observations

Over the past several days, a number of people have participated with me in an exercise designed to shed light on the thoughts of random persons regarding philosophy and existence. Specifically, six of my friends, acquaintances, and family members responded to three questions, including 'What is philosophy?', 'What is worth living and dying for?', and 'What is the meaning of life?' As one might suspect, the answers varied to a large degree.

Following are the participant's responses grouped by question.

What is philosophy?
Participant 1 "The study of life and how we live it"
Participant 2 "I don't know what you mean."
Participant 3 "Philosophy is the study of existence."
Participant 4 "The study of thought."
Participant 5 "Wisdom with knowledge put in to words."
Participant 6 "Philosophy is a belief system which attempts to explain an interconnectedness. It is a study and a statement. It is a study and a statement."

What is worth living and dying for?
Participant 1 "Your faith, your family, your friends, and your country."
Participant 2 "I don't know. Nothing is worth dying for."
Participant 3 "Flowers, kittens, sunsets, love, passion, and accomplishment are all worth living for. Freedom, honor, and integrity are worth dying for."
Participant 4 "The joy of living life is worth living for. I'm not sure anything is worth dying for."
Participant 5 "For me living is preparation for eternity, which occurs after death. So my answer is god and eternity."
Participant 6 "Everything functions as a collective physical and metaphysical fraction of larger systems. This continues from the smallest scale to the largest and is cyclic in nature."

What is the meaning of life?
Participant 1 "It is how you live your life. Without faith in God there is no meaning to our time on earth. I would hate to think this is all there is.
Participant 2 "I don't know."
Participant 3 "I'm not sure life has any particular "meaning," unless by "meaning" you mean definition."
Participant 4 "I think the meaning of life is to live happy with love and caring for one another."
Participant 5 "I pretty much answered the question already, but I have more detail. We were made to last forever, and god wants us to be with him in Heaven. This is the warm-up-act, the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by god and for god, and other wise life just doesn't make any sense. Life is a series of problems: you are either in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making my life holy than He is in making my life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life as I see it. The goal is to grow in character. My example is Christ."
Participant 6 "Ascension."

Philosophy literally means a love of wisdom. Doing philosophy is making an effort to apply wisdom responsibly, such as participating in local politics, deciding what choices to make, and assessing opportunity. To live at all means to have won the grandest lottery ever conceived. Life is worth living for the sake of life alone, because the appropriate arrangement of the constituents of matter coalesced to form an individual in the first place. Each person's life exists in the face of the unlikeliest of odds. A love for wisdom is thusly derived, as peering in to the awesome nature of the universe commands reverence, wonder, and worship. Trembling and wide-eyed, the living person resists death against the inevitable and inexorable laws of thermodynamics. There is nothing more valuable than the seemingly instantaneous and fleeting moment, in the broad context of time, which is life. Life itself is not able to be valued. The only meaning to be found in the random ordering that substantiates an individual life is the unique nature of life itself.

Conclusion

From the exercise we can only surmise that there is an inconsistency regarding the lexical definition of philosophy and that ideas about reality can be discussed and postulated in a rational, civil manner. It's also important to note that based on the thoughtfulness of the responses, people are prepared to discuss philosophy and metaphysics in a forceful and productive way – an expression of the human will that is distinguishing. It is the nature of this expression that is the essence of life and living, and serves to highlight the relative importance of community over dissonance.

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2. Comment #98315 by bartvdo on December 13, 2007 at 1:14 pm

As an atheist I divide the question in 3:

1) Why are there humans?
2) Why am I here?
3) What am I supposed to do?

the answer to 1: because we are, no reason in particular, we just happen to appear due to evolution. Evolution is basically a side effect of the chemical and physics of the universe trying to get all the energy of the univers in evenly distributed.

2) because my parents had me. Why that happend, ask them.

3) that is personal, as a human being we're just working to evenly distribute the energy in a chaotic way. So have fun!

(note, I'm not saying that we should burn up all the oil and make the earth unlivable for us, but just that the meaning of your life is up to you!)

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3. Comment #98319 by Diacanu on December 13, 2007 at 1:20 pm

The Meaning of life.

Food, sex, books, take in a movie/concert/play now and then.

If the opportunity presents itself, save a life.
That's bonus.

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4. Comment #98321 by rnewson on December 13, 2007 at 1:23 pm

Atheism says nothing about the purpose or the meaning of life, it's merely the absence of a belief in gods.

Hairdressing says nothing about the purpose or the meaning of life either.

The theist assumes that there must *be* a purpose or meaning to life. It is not obvious that it must have one and no evidence has been presented to make the case.

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5. Comment #98356 by Serdan on December 13, 2007 at 2:05 pm

Like so many things we hear from religites, the question doesn't make sense.

1.) The only thing atheism entails is disbelief in gods.

2.) There can be no objective "meaning of life", since the word "meaning" by definition is subjective.

Of course, what they usually mean by such a question is: "What meaning can there be without God?"
But the answer to that should be obvious given the above. If they cannot take responsibility for their own lives, then that is their own problem. It has no bearing on either the validity of religion or the existence of God.

Sometimes I wonder if they would prefer to live under the rule of a ruthless tyrant over being truly free.

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6. Comment #98466 by aDude on December 13, 2007 at 5:05 pm

Atheism, as in subscribing to rational and scientific arguments, teaches us that the art of living is not constrained by precepts engraved in stone or a defunct language.

That is a beginning, and we could take the argument much further. More prosaically, for me, it's about maximising my happiness, where my happiness is also a monotonically increasing function of the state of happiness of people I care about, the history of these relationships and the prospects of these relationships. ;-)

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7. Comment #98490 by automath on December 13, 2007 at 6:50 pm

Atheism has nothing to say on the meaning of life. It is a beginning from where one starts to find meaning in life itself.

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8. Comment #98621 by atp on December 14, 2007 at 12:15 am

Atheism doesn't say anything about The meaning of life. The idea that The meaning exists is a religious idea.

It is then up to every person to find meaning in his or her own life, and in the life of other people.

But the endless search for The meaning, that is a wild goose hunt religion has instilled on humanity.

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9. Comment #98744 by automath on December 14, 2007 at 7:24 am

The 'endless' search for meaning is something that is part of an evolving life. The religions you need to worry about are those that already have the meanings and propose it as the final solution.

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10. Comment #98752 by neyne on December 14, 2007 at 7:48 am

Asking about meaning of life bears the same logic as asking for meaning of water splitting in photosynthesis. Chemical reactions don't have meanings. They just happen. It is only wishful thinking, similar to belief in afterlife, that assigns meaning to life.

That said, it doesn't mean that the lack of meaning or purpose should devoid this chemical reaction from being kind to other chemical reactions or enjoying its short course. As long as dG < 0.

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11. Comment #98914 by prettygoodformonkeys on December 14, 2007 at 10:22 pm

Vonnegut:

"We were put on this earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different"

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12. Comment #99273 by adelaida_i on December 16, 2007 at 7:53 am

I don't think there is a person that can think that all this beauty we find in life, all the knowledge we get, all the loves we live are with no sense, that everything is pure random!
But there is true we cannot give the Meaning of our life as we are living it, maybe somebody will be able to tell something after it ends!
Atheism cannot give us any meaning, as it is only a theory that says that God does not exist.
Anyway, there is a search for meaning even for atheists as they are human beings and have a heart that is sensible and cannot simply think that everything has no sense. But as every art (there is no science here!!! but this doesn't mean it lacks of reason!) this search for meaning ask you to make some effort. A piece of art at the firs sight it can be nice, but if a critic and historic of art explains it to you, you understand more and you can appreciate it more. So, look for wisdom, as with it life can have more taste! And confront every answer with your heart, discuss it with your friends, do not stop at the first article in a magazine or at the first book!

PS I liked very much the question made by ronnieharper on what worth dying for, a good answer to this gives part of the answer to what gives meaning to your life also!

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13. Comment #99307 by neyne on December 16, 2007 at 9:41 am

"I don't think there is a person that can think that all this beauty we find in life, all the knowledge we get, all the loves we live are with no sense, that everything is pure random!"

But I have been good the whole year. There must be Santa Claus.

"Atheism cannot give us any meaning, as it is only a theory that says that God does not exist."

Atheism doesn't seek to give meaning. Atheism doesn't seek to give anything. Atheism is a view of life which (among other things) demands judgement of the world according to the facts. Not according to wishes or dreams or hopes. Those are important too, but not when judging life or its meaning

"So, look for wisdom, as with it life can have more taste! And confront every answer with your heart, discuss it with your friends, do not stop at the first article in a magazine or at the first book!"

I would suggest you to start with a book. Any book. Try something about logic and cause and effect. You seem to be lacking on that field.

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14. Comment #99333 by cow_2001 on December 16, 2007 at 10:34 am

There isn't, get used to it.

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15. Comment #99751 by aquilacane on December 17, 2007 at 1:29 pm

There is no inherint purpose or meaning

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16. Comment #101836 by Jake Atkisson on December 21, 2007 at 2:39 am

I speak for myself when I say the following.

"The meaning and all-consuming purpose of life is! ...."

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17. Comment #104125 by shigglebiddy on December 28, 2007 at 12:25 am

I think the reason Christians feel they have such a good argument with this question or point is that with a belief in God the meaning of life is obvious: to serve Him. But the question of meaning has no bearing on whether or not God or a god exists. Believing that some supernatural being exists to give meaning is comforting to some extent, so people argue that it must be true. But if I argued that the Holocaust didn't happen because it was comforting to me to believe those vile and evil things that were done during that lowpoint of human history never happened, I would be ridiculed even by the faithful.

We have meaning enough just in existence. Each person must determine what his or her meaning in life is. But even if it was impossible to find meaning without a Creator that wouldn't mean there had to be one.

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18. Comment #113862 by Alyosha on January 20, 2008 at 7:46 pm

Words have meaning. It's confusion to talk of the meaning of life. As far as the word 'purpose' goes, what's the difference between an object having a purpose and an object having an intended use or function? To say that your life has purpose is to imply that it is the product of some level of intension. Why can't that intension just come from you?

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19. Comment #114881 by metalrockchick on January 23, 2008 at 5:31 am

Actually I beleive that religion has a tendancy to reduce any meaning for life. Why? Because many religions see life as unimportant compared to what comes next be it heaven, Hell or some other plane of existance. As an atheist I don't look forward to being dead and going to a better place so I already know that here and now is the best place to be and that I should make sure I enjoy it and use it in a useful way until my own demise and end. I don't want to die and any religion that askes it's followers to do so is forcing them to act in a completely irrational and unnatural way. After all, does your dog look forward to dying? Of course not!

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20. Comment #114988 by 82abhilash on January 23, 2008 at 11:35 am

Like Sam Harris keeps emphasizing atheism is a term without content. It is not a world view, so there cannot be a single atheist view on the meaning of life. Most atheists live under the assumption that life is worth living. But I personally feel that what adds value to a life is the level of intellectual honesty one practices in every day living and the consequences it has on the questions we ask and the answers we receive. It is this process driven by intellectual honest that makes life meaningful and purposeful.

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21. Comment #119985 by ghost of numf-el on February 1, 2008 at 4:20 am

"I'm assuming by your question that you don't even understand the basics of what atheism is. Here, let me explain. Again. Slowly........"

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22. Comment #119993 by ghost of numf-el on February 1, 2008 at 4:26 am

Or, of course there's always the Monty Python version, taken from the aptly named Meaning Of Life :-

Gaston: You see that house? That is where I was born. My mother said to me, "Garcon. The world is a beautiful place, and you must spread joy and contentment everywhere you go". And so I became a waiter... Well, I know it is not a great philosophy but...
[pauses, looks offended]
Gaston: Well, fuck you. I can live my life in my own way if I want to.
[begins to walk away in disgust]
Gaston: Fuck off. Don't come following me.

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23. Comment #122648 by daddydowse on February 5, 2008 at 6:22 pm

We are not here for any purpose and the pursuit of this answer is futile. We are a very lucky chance effect. We are the product of a set of potentially infite sequence of events that enabled us to become. Ultimately, without our intervention, we will be destroyed (possibly by the Vogons).
We will have no impact on the destiny of our universe, therefore we have no purpose. I think the reality of this can cause a lot of people to believe that there is somekind of higher being "playing games" with us.

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24. Comment #130201 by martino on February 20, 2008 at 7:09 am

Meaning and purpose are different concepts.

Being an atheist means disbelief in god which means there is no god given purpose. That is all.

One can go further in saying there is no purpose in anything. This is different to meaning which is subjective. The meaning in your life is the one you give it.

If you decide the meaning in your life is defined by fulfilling a non-existent purpose (such as to serve your god) then your life is a facade and it has no meaning.

As usual with many of these questions , not only is the theist wrong in thinking that atheists are somehow lacking, it is, when you examine the question, the theist who is lacking. Maybe that is why they ask these questions, to deflect and to cover up their own flaws.

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25. Comment #132369 by khughart on February 24, 2008 at 4:36 pm

I'll try to be concise here. Through hundreds of thousands of years the human organism has evolved through the process of natural selection into a being that has the ability to reason and plan. As a result each human organism must continue to evolve by choosing a purpose and meaning for their existance. In other words, we've evolved to the point that we can choose our own individual paths in life.

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26. Comment #133256 by Corey Hill on February 26, 2008 at 1:39 am

Come on it doseent mater were hera i was going to say be thankfull but that dont matter its not like we were asked to be made were just a bi product of nothing.

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27. Comment #136866 by elect the dead on March 1, 2008 at 10:23 pm

That is a ridiculous question. It implies that atheism has something to say about the purpose/meaning of life. It doesn't!!! Atheism does not have a set list of beliefs. It is not believing in god an things of that sort. I don't know where they think we created a universal atheist required system of thought...requiring a certain kind of thought about that stuff is for religions not atheism.

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28. Comment #137589 by plyons on March 3, 2008 at 8:28 am

the purpose of life is reproduction. Thats the biology out of the way. Everything else is a bonus. enjoy it and stop wasting precious minutes searching for the 'meaning of life' If you really must find out look in a dictionary.

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29. Comment #138361 by 4horsefins on March 4, 2008 at 8:32 am

"the meaning of life"
life is "the ability to self reproduce"
This is why paley's watch is not a good argument for design...A watch cannot self reproduce.

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30. Comment #141937 by prospero811 on March 11, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Mr. Dawkins,

This is a debate point on which I feel I have scored several victories in the God-no-God debate. I've been asked this very question, "what is the purpose of life without God?"

My rebuttal is simple, and it starts by answering the question with a question: "What is the purpose of life?" Most of the time, the answer is just as applicable to a no-God universe as it is to a God universe. For example, "to be fruitful and multiply," is the same as "procreate." And, another answer is "to do good" is another example, which is just as applicable to a "no-God" universe as a God-inhabited one.

A bit problematic is the answer, "to do God's will." However, that of course assumes the answer to the essential question, and also avoids the "purpose" question altogether. They say, our purpose is to "do what God wills" or in other words, "to fulfill God's purpose." However, most people have no idea what God's purpose is! What does He want? For us to do good? For us to be fruitful and multiply? For us to refrain from sin? All those purposes can be our life's purpose s WITHOUT CALLING THEM GOD'S PURPOSES.

I can not lie, cheat, steal, commit adultery, etc. , as well as any Christian, Jew or Muslim. So, if God's purpose is for us to refrain from those activities and/or to do good deeds/works, I can (and do) still accomplish those purposes.

And, since we do not know the mind of God, we still have to use OUR OWN JUDGMENT and OUR REASON to parse out what we think God wants. And there are as many opinions about what God wants as there are denominations and sects of religions, and more. There is no unified understanding of God's purpose. We are still in charge of picking that purpose or those purposes!

Thus, we are back to the beginning - what is the purpose of life without God? It's the same as the purpose I've surmised, or guessed, that God has. Or, it's the purpose I've surmised, or guessed, that I should have. There's no difference.

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31. Comment #149109 by jacquesmac on March 25, 2008 at 6:03 am

Maybe I am missing something here but the question is a loaded one and why no-one has picked up on this puzzles me.

To accept that there is a purpose of life implies that someone entity has directed it to be so.

It is a trap.

What is the purpose of an Eariwig?

There is no purpose except that it has evolved to a position where it occupies a niche in the panoply of our shared biological existence; no more no less.

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32. Comment #149679 by antcowan on March 26, 2008 at 5:25 am

atheism tells me there is no supernatual creator and the only thing i really have to do is pass on my genetic material to the next generation to ensure my survival of my speicies and hope my next generation does likewise.

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33. Comment #156057 by aavanton on April 6, 2008 at 3:05 pm

Only religion would dare propose an absolute meaning of life.

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34. Comment #164397 by L-Young on April 20, 2008 at 7:52 am

There's no meaning for us to have life. It wasn't for a purpose to have life. Life just emerges when chemical bonds and formed the basic units of life. Then slowly through evolution, Humans emerged.

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35. Comment #165016 by CentabyteZero on April 20, 2008 at 11:44 pm

Atheism is the lack of a belief. The lack of a belief cannot state the purpose or meaning of life.

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36. Comment #174694 by Nichon on May 3, 2008 at 9:18 am

Atheism is the belief that a god did not create the universe,
its belief that there is no all knowing being that cares about what you do, who you have sex with and whether or not you curse that often.

What does atheism say about the purpose of life?

I would say that the purpose of life is to explore the natural world, to explore and understand why we are here and not have blind faith in 2000 year old Bronze Age books. The true beauty and poetry of life is the physical laws that govern the world.
Is a rainbow suddenly less meaningless when you know it's a refraction of light in water droplets? Is love any less real to the person when they understand it's a biological condition? Is cancer any more painful to the patient and any less a scourge on your body when you know it rises as a genetic defect and not from some divine punishment? The meaning of life is unclear, but if you're looking to atheism to tell you your place in the universe you're going to get a surprise.
The earth is 4.4 billion years old, and you are most are about 100 years old. The earth is not the center of the universe, in the fact it's the third small rock from a pretty regular looking star. The meaning of life is that we are a part of this universe; we play a role in it. But we are not the stars of this show. Our civilizations rise and fall in the blinks of time, amounting to mere nothing. Zeus and Thor as might as they were to the people at the time are now Disney movies. Islam once conquered half the known world but now lies mired in the past.
Religion seems unable to cope with a modern reality that proves to us though the scientific method that we are not the center of the world or the universe or any grand system. Atheism says there is more to life than what we know and that we can use our tools of reasoning and science to come to understand our world around us. Religion and blind faith says we know everything already, and that by closing our eyes and ignoring though purposeful ignorance we can somehow become the most important thing in this world.

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37. Comment #176081 by powerboy on May 6, 2008 at 2:07 pm

Human beings, above all else, are creators. It is just what we do. It was predetermined by nature. Everything we are responsible for, from a lawn chair to a skyscraper, has an exact purpose. Therefore, it is inherent that we will always view things through the prism of creationism. Since we know we didn't create the Earth, something must have. Since we know we didn't create the universe, something must have. Since we know we didn't create ourselves, something must have. Furthermore, all of these things must also have purpose. There is no reason to believe that there is a purpose to life to begin with.

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38. Comment #178134 by SimonPengelly on May 10, 2008 at 2:57 pm

The only thing that atheism as such says about any purpose or meaning to life is that God needn't be taken into account.

Atheists say some of whatever comes into their minds - some of it is about meaning or purpose to life but without any consistency or coordination between the different views.

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39. Comment #181640 by Barry M on May 17, 2008 at 6:46 pm

Surely Atheism does not have anything to say about the purpose/meaning of life, as that is for the individual to decide given their personal outlook on said life?

Atheism is about not believing in a supernatural creator of the universe that requires devotion to "It" through earthly organisations professing an intimate knowledge of said "Creator" but with no actual evidence.

The purpose/meaning of life can take care of itself, if there is one!

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40. Comment #181697 by SimonPengelly on May 18, 2008 at 1:39 am

Surely Atheism is believing that there isn't any 'creator being' independant of our "visible" universe. The gap between those believing there isn't and those believing there is is the agnostic domain.

Further, belief that devotion is required, that organisations are essential or there must be profession of knowledge (intimate or not) are all concepts that are irrelevant to Atheists and to the argument.

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41. Comment #182671 by LiseYates on May 20, 2008 at 8:25 pm

What is with the meaning-of-life questions? I've never been fond of them, especially when I was religious. Maybe we are just here. In fact, I'm almost sure that's the case.

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42. Comment #195832 by Andrei on June 18, 2008 at 10:21 pm

Life with a purpose is like love with a purpose, something akin to prostitution.

I prefer to think there is no purpose of life, and this is a real good thing.

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