What is the essence of living.
If all leads to death without any reward or punishment, why don't I just end it now( note I have no intention of ending it now) .
Why do I have to bring kids into this world if the end product is be born, eat sleep, grow, work ,reproduce, grow old and die.
What really is the essence of living.

Please let this be from a logical point, not a religious point.


Modified .
This is about a discussion I overheard some people saying all die na die.
While someone saying he would rather die young than go through the pain and humiliation of old age because essentially after everything he would still die.
Ironically he is a medical practitioner.

Proudlyngwa:
What is the essence of living.
If all leads to death without any reward or punishment, why don't I just end it now( note I have no intention of ending it now) .
Why do I have to bring kids into this world if the end product is be born, eat sleep, grow, work ,reproduce, grow old and die.
What really is the essence of living.

Please let this be from a logical point, not a religious point.

Why watch a movie if you know it would still end?

Why eat a very delicious meal if you know it would still finish?

Why listen to a song if you know it would end?


You see, just because something would end, doesnt mean you shouldnt do it!

The duration of a thing is not what is important, rather the quality and the feeling felt right in the moment of that thing. So live life to the fullest, be good and kind, and let your brief light shine so brightly when it can.

donnffd:


Why watch a movie if you know it would still end?

Why eat a very delicious meal if you know it would still finish?

Why listen to a song if you know it would end?


You see, just because something would end, doesnt mean you shouldnt do it!

The duration of a thing is not what is important, rather the quality and the feeling felt right in the moment of that thing. So live life to the fullest, be good and kind, and let your brief light shine so brightly when it can.

That doesn't answer the question.
Why should I be good if I know, at the end my goodness does not benefit me( in totality ) .
What are the essence of morals , charity et al . if at the end I cease to exist. Why should I live a positively quality life.

Proudlyngwa:

That doesn't answer the question.
Why should I be good if I know, at the end my goodness does not benefit me( in totality ) .
What are the essence of morals , charity et al . if at the end I cease to exist. Why should I live a positively quality life.

You ddnt ask about morality, you asked about the essence of life and why live if it would end

Anyways, to answer your second question, if you go about doing what you like without regards for others, you would make enemies of the society and would surely regret. Why spend the rest of your small life in jail?

donnffd:


You ddnt ask about morality, you asked about the essence of life and why live if it would end

Anyways, to answer your second question, if you go about doing what you like without regards for others, you would make enemies of the society and would surely regret. Why spend the rest of your small life in jail?

That is not what I meant.
My main question still remains what is the essence of living and in that process living a moral life.
A car is built, with the end product being to be driven.
Food is cooked with the end process being to be eaten.
Animals copulate with the end process being reproduction.
People marry and reproduce but to me that is no purpose .
I believe I have a purpose in life, but if after everything when I die , all about me ( not my generation ) why should I continue.
As for the making enemies with society, what if I can get away with it till death ,what will be the essence for my victims if they feel death is not a justifiable punishment.

Proudlyngwa:
What is the essence of living.
If all leads to death without any reward or punishment, why don't I just end it now( note I have no intention of ending it now) .
Why do I have to bring kids into this world if the end product is be born, eat sleep, grow, work ,reproduce, grow old and die.
What really is the essence of living.

Please let this be from a logical point, not a religious point.

So you need promise of reward or punishment for you to continue living? So tell me what is this promised reward that keeps you from ending your life. What if this promised reward is not attractive to others, for example, i do not find the promise of christian heaven enticing. I find no pleasure in praise worship, I can't imagine myself clapping and jumping and shouting in euphoria in praise of anything. I used to enjoy loud disco music and dance when i was younger, but i do not any longer. I am not interested in gold or mansions of gold. I just want somewhere comfortable i can rest, sleep and play with my family.

What else do you want from life outside eat sleep, grow, work ,reproduce, grow old and die? Oh! you want to live forever. Why would you want to live forever? Well nothing and i mean nothing will live or exist for ever.

Proudlyngwa:

That doesn't answer the question.
Why should I be good if I know, at the end my goodness does not benefit me( in totality ) .
What are the essence of morals , charity et al . if at the end I cease to exist. Why should I live a positively quality life.

OP... I answered a similar question like this on this thread.. here is the answer

Wilgrea7:
OP .. Your question is funny.. but i will answer it.. well some religious people will say its because of your final destination.. either heaven or hell. i believe you're an atheist.. so it won't apply to you unless you believe in reward and punishment after death.. but as for me, even if heaven and hell didn't exist, and i just cease to exist after i die, i would still choose to live and do good and show love...
permit me to finally answer your question with a question

why do you bathe if your body will still get dirty again?
why do you eat if you will still get hungry again?
why do you wash your clothes if they will still get dirty again?
why do you drink water if you will still get thirsty again

the simple answer is that.... it's worth it.
there are so many good things in this life... if you can't find one, then create one.

as you can see, its worth it... even without heaven or hell, you still reap what you sow.. the law of karma still exists.. do unto others what you want others to do unto you.. believe me... its worth it

wirinet:


So you need promise of reward or punishment for you to continue living? So tell me what is this promised reward that keeps you from ending your life. What if this promised reward is not attractive to others, for example, i do not find the promise of christian heaven enticing. I find no pleasure in praise worship, I can't imagine myself clapping and jumping and shouting in euphoria in praise of anything. I used to enjoy loud disco music and dance when i was younger, but i do not any longer. I am not interested in gold or mansions of gold. I just want somewhere comfortable i can rest, sleep and play with my family.

What else do you want from life outside eat sleep, grow, work ,reproduce, grow old and die? Oh! you want to live forever. Why would you want to live forever? Well nothing and i mean nothing will live or exist for ever.

I am simply trying to find the essence of life and living from a logical perspective not a religious angle.
And am seeing it more of as a destinationless journey. If there is no afterlife, why am I putting effort to be good, if both the good and the bad both have the same ending.

Wilgrea7:


OP... I answered a similar question like this on this thread.. here is the answer



as you can see, its worth it... even without heaven or hell, you still reap what you sow.. the law of karma still exists.. do unto others what you want others to do unto you.. believe me... its worth it

You bathe because your body feels dirty. Bathing being the end process of wanting to bath.
I agree with the reap what you sow.
But very many people don't reap what the sow, with their comfort being that they will get their reward in the afterlife, now if their is no afterlife, just the end when you die. Why put in effort living. When all your good works come to nought when you die.

Proudlyngwa:

You bathe because your body feels dirty. Bathing being the end process of wanting to bath.
I agree with the reap what you sow.
But very many people don't reap what the sow, with their comfort being that they will get their reward in the afterlife, now if their is no afterlife, just the end when you die. Why put in effort living. When all your good works come to nought when you die.

your good works don't come to nought when you die... they live on in the lives of people.. when everywhere is bad, that thing/place loses meaning, value and purpose.. we can choose to either make the world a better place or destroy it ourselves.. the latter makes no sense... doing good, and living good, is worth it.. always is... always has... and always will be

Proudlyngwa:

That doesn't answer the question.
Why should I be good if I know, at the end my goodness does not benefit me( in totality ) .
What are the essence of morals , charity et al . if at the end I cease to exist. Why should I live a positively quality life.

This is Wisdom in the form of questions.

Proudlyngwa:

That doesn't answer the question.
Why should I be good if I know, at the end my goodness does not benefit me( in totality ) .
What are the essence of morals , charity et al . if at the end I cease to exist. Why should I live a positively quality life.

Easy. So you can help others, advance human progress, reduce suffering e.t.c
If you do good for reward then you were never good in the first place.

Wilgrea7:


your good works don't come to nought when you die... they live on in the lives of people.. when everywhere is bad, that thing/place loses meaning, value and purpose.. we can choose to either make the world a better place or destroy it ourselves.. the latter makes no sense... doing good, and living good, is worth it.. always is... always has... and always will be

Of course, I know my good works live on, what benefits does it do to me, if am dead and if none, why do I stress myself to have good works.

Lennycool:

Easy. So you can help others, advance human progress, reduce suffering e.t.c
If you do good for reward then you were never good in the first place.

We are not talking about who will benefit from my goodness, we are talking about why shouldn't I be selfish , if selflessness does not establish any end product for the individual involved.







This topic is not about advocating for people to stop putting effort into good things of life, but to see if there is any reason from the " self " perspective to (1) keep living and (2) keep toiling when at the end it just ends.

Proudlyngwa:
What is the essence of living.
If all leads to death without any reward or punishment, why don't I just end it now( note I have no intention of ending it now) .
Why do I have to bring kids into this world if the end product is be born, eat sleep, grow, work ,reproduce, grow old and die.
What really is the essence of living.

Please let this be from a logical point, not a religious point.


Modified .
This is about a discussion I overheard some people saying all die na die.
While someone saying he would rather die young than go through the pain and humiliation of old age because essentially after everything he would still die.
Ironically he is a medical practitioner.

You are not being yourself if you do things for rewards. You are basically a reward prostitute.

In order to enhance the minds of a barbaric people,rewards are often promised them to make good behavior a pattern. Like the Oni of Ife granting rewards for the cleanest street in Ile Ife. It is just to make sure people keep the street tidy....and when they get used to keeping it clean,rewards probably gets withdrawn.

The reason for gods in religion is to keep people in check. The fear of the unseen eyes of a deity watching you when no one is there puts fear in lots of people,helps them behave as if all eyes were watching them

But death is only an end to a certain journey,which happens when the body stops functioning well.....no big deal,no reward needed.

felixomor:


This is Wisdom in the form of questions.

I hope I can also get Wisdom in the form of answers, so far people are only saying why we should be good because others will benefit from it, or you will benefit from it while alive.
But the main question remains if it all comes down to nothingness, why do we toil ,sweat and undergo sorrow.Why don't we just end it.

Proudlyngwa:

We are not talking about who will benefit from my goodness, we are talking about why shouldn't I be selfish , if selflessness does not establish any end product for the individual involved.







This topic is not about advocating for people to stop putting effort into good things of life, but to see if there is any reason from the " self " perspective to (1) keep living and (2) keep toiling when at the end it just ends.

You know you changed the question right?
You first asked why you should live if you're just going to die.
Well there's no real reason to why you shouldn't be selfish, you can be anything you want, good or bad, you simply have to choose to be what you want to be, most humans are predisposed to helping others.

Proudlyngwa:

I hope I can also get Wisdom in the form of answers, so far people are only saying why we should be good because others will benefit from it, or you will benefit from it while alive.
But the main question remains if it all comes down to nothingness, why do we toil ,sweat and undergo sorrow.Why don't we just end it.

You make ending it seem like some painless process, you just flip a switch and your dead.
Well its not, we live to make what remains of our lives as happy as possible, even though we could end it we don't because we don't want it to end. No biological entity wants to die, we evolved to survive, its in our biological structure to continue despite what we feel.

Lennycool:

You know you changed the question right?
You first asked why you should live if you're just going to die.
Well there's no real reason to why you shouldn't be selfish, you can be anything you want, good or bad, you simply have to choose to be what you want to be, most humans are predisposed to helping others.

My original question still stands
I only added an edit to what brought about the question.

Am also trying to gain an insight into why people tend to become sucidical when all purpose in life is lost.
If there is no afterlife , what is the essence of living.
That's just what I seek to know.

... This is really not a question anyone can answer for you

They can only proffer possible reasons/ purposes for your continued existence.

You can then deem those reasons as either good or unsatisfiable.
Your cup of tea.

Lennycool:

You make ending it seem like some painless process, you just flip a switch and your dead.
Well its not, we live to make what remains of our lives as happy as possible, even though we could end it we don't because we don't want it to end. No biological entity wants to die, we evolved to survive, its in our biological structure to continue despite what we feel.

Actually ending the process is easy, reason to end the process is the real pain.
A lot of people toil and sweat, go through pain because the feel that there is an afterlife and the keep going on for that reason, if they do discover there is no afterlife (am not saying there is none, I believe in it) what will be the driving force.

SirWere:
... This is really not a question anyone can answer for you


They can only proffer possible reasons/ purposes for your continued existence.


You can then deem those reasons as either good or unsatisfiable.

Your cup of tea.

Thanks,
But it's not actually about me.
I believe in the afterlife.
I also believe in doing good and living a good life. But assuming I can be convinced there is no afterlife, why should I go on living, I can just decide to die because the end doesn't justify the means.

Proudlyngwa:

Actually ending the process is easy, reason to end the process is the real pain.
A lot of people toil and sweat, go through pain because the feel that there is an afterlife and the keep going on for that reason, if they do discover there is no afterlife (am not saying there is none, I believe in it) what will be the driving force.

The ending process is actually the hardest. The reason is the easiest. That's why people with guns commit more suicides, it's painless and easy compared to other methods.
I don't believe in an after life I haven't killed myself. Neither has a lot of people on Nairaland or around the world. Animals don't believe in an after life why don't they just commit mass suicides on a daily basis.
There are insects that live only for 24hours and then die, yet they make every hour count.
Living is a part of being alive, its in our DNA to continue even if its futile.

Proudlyngwa:

Of course, I know my good works live on, what benefits does it do to me, if am dead and if none, why do I stress myself to have good works.

because its better to do good than bad.. people will be affected positively by your deeds.. its always worth it.. life isn't all about yourself.. its about others too... its about how our lives affect others..

i know you will probably ask.... why be good when you're still going to die

its the same reason you eat even though you're hungry...

cux it will help you... and its worth it

Proudlyngwa:

I hope I can also get Wisdom in the form of answers, so far people are only saying why we should be good because others will benefit from it, or you will benefit from it while alive.
But the main question remains if it all comes down to nothingness, why do we toil ,sweat and undergo sorrow.Why don't we just end it.

I agree with u.
The question is to atheists who claim we all came from a random big bang explosion.

Likewise,
I also wonder why we cant just keep colliding and exploding.....

The question is not on me bro.

Lennycool:

The ending process is actually the hardest. The reason is the easiest. That's why people with guns commit more suicides, it's painless and easy compared to other methods.
I don't believe in an after life I haven't killed myself. Neither has a lot of people on Nairaland or around the world. Animals don't believe in an after life why don't they just commit mass suicides on a daily basis.
There are insects that live only for 24hours and then die, yet they make every hour count.
Living is a part of being alive, its in our DNA to continue even if its futile.

Animals and insects do not have the level of consciousness and self awareness that we have, if they did, they'd be faced with this same existential quandary.

Opting out of existence is actually the rational thing to do, if one is to be intellectually honest. Living despite understanding the futility of one's existence is foolishness. But like you rightly pointed out, we have been designed to opt for this foolishness.

Lennycool:

The ending process is actually the hardest. The reason is the easiest. That's why people with guns commit more suicides, it's painless and easy compared to other methods.
I don't believe in an after life I haven't killed myself. Neither has a lot of people on Nairaland or around the world. Animals don't believe in an after life why don't they just commit mass suicides on a daily basis.
There are insects that live only for 24hours and then die, yet they make every hour count.
Living is a part of being alive, its in our DNA to continue even if its futile.

Thanks for that.
Animals are more instinctive than humans. The have limited thought process, so I rule them out
You are right that living is in our DNA as is many other things, but that doesn't answer the question why should I keep on living( this is not about me personally ) .Why should I bring forth offsprings to continue this meaningless endless process .

Proudlyngwa:

That is not what I meant.
My main question still remains what is the essence of living and in that process living a moral life.
A car is built, with the end product being to be driven.
Food is cooked with the end process being to be eaten.
Animals copulate with the end process being reproduction.
People marry and reproduce but to me that is no purpose .
I believe I have a purpose in life, but if after everything when I die , all about me ( not my generation ) why should I continue.
As for the making enemies with society, what if I can get away with it till death ,what will be the essence for my victims if they feel death is not a justifiable punishment.

Sincerely, i dont fully understand you but i would try and take a crack at it...

We give our own lives meaning... its has simple as that, we are cosmic accidents, yes but that doesnt mean life is hopeless, life could have meaning, your own meaning, whatever gives you joy and fulfillment, find it and make that the meaning of your life.

As for being moral, being good just for goodness sake is the best feeling one can have, it truly speaks highly of the individual who does good not for some kind of reward but because he chooses to be good and moral, but if you want to be bad, be sure you wont get away with it, because the society wont allow it and even if you get away with it, you just die without any impact on the human race except for destruction, is that really a legacy you want to leave behind?

Proudlyngwa:
What is the essence of living.
If all leads to death without any reward or punishment, why don't I just end it now( note I have no intention of ending it now) .
Why do I have to bring kids into this world if the end product is be born, eat sleep, grow, work ,reproduce, grow old and die.
What really is the essence of living.

Please let this be from a logical point, not a religious point.


Modified .
This is about a discussion I overheard some people saying all die na die.
While someone saying he would rather die young than go through the pain and humiliation of old age because essentially after everything he would still die.
Ironically he is a medical practitioner.

There is no real essence for living. This is the bleak truth.

Deciding not to exist is the logical path to tread. But a surrogate for this is creating subjective meaning for ourselves and trying to make the best of our lives. But this is all self deceit anyway.

Proudlyngwa:


Thanks for that.
Animals are more instinctive than humans. The have limited thought process, so I rule them out
You are right that living is in our DNA as is many other things, but that doesn't answer the question why should I keep on living( this is not about me personally ) .Why should I bring forth offsprings to continue this meaningless endless process .

And you go on and on again.
Just because something is futile to you doesn't mean it is to others.
And just because its futile doesn't mean you shouldn't it.
We are humans, we love we hurt we die. And repeat.

If you or anyone don't want to live again, then its fine.
I'm just trying to tell you that not believing in an after life doesn't equate to not finding meaning in life.
We are all meant to go as long as possible.

Wilgrea7:


because its better to do good than bad.. people will be affected positively by your deeds.. its always worth it.. life isn't all about yourself.. its about others too... its about how our lives affect others..

i know you will probably ask.... why be good when you're still going to die

its the same reason you eat even though you're hungry...

cux it will help you... and its worth it

First this is not about others, this is about " self " ( note not me )
If dying today and dying in 50 years makes no difference, and I have been suffering and it doesn't seem like it will get better any soon, why not die now, if I have the resources to end it as I am so sure , there is nothing beyond that. This could alsovapply to a fulfilled man who feels there is nothing left for him as he has seen it all.

Proudlyngwa:

I am simply trying to find the essence of life and living from a logical perspective not a religious angle.
And am seeing it more of as a destinationless journey. If there is no afterlife, why am I putting effort to be good, if both the good and the bad both have the same ending.

I think you are spending more time thinking about the destination rather than about the journey itself, The essence of life is to Live and let live, the process of living is what you should be focused on and not what happens after its over, a movie is not judged by the contents of the credit scene rather it is judge by the content of the storyline itself.

The journey of life is what counts and not the destination, enjoying this journey and also helping other do the same should be the ultimate purpose of life, and even though there is no destination, atleast it would be worth the ride.