Since time immemorial man has wondered as to the purpose of his existence and its relation to reality. We as humans, sentient beings capable of higher thought are born with an intense desire to discover and understand the nature of reality and our place within it. The great philosophers of ancient Greece, the wise men of the orient and the elders of the tribes of Africa have all wrestled with these questions each group coming up with their own answer, appropriate for their time.

With the arrival of quantum physics, we are now able to observe, and analyses physical systems at an atomic level with staggering revelations which we are only beginning to understand, the effect of mind on matter as seen in the double split experiment being just one of them. Despite these scientific breakthroughs we are unable to answer the golden question “why” We have come up with complex mathematical equations to explain natural phenomena, equations that often times have little or no basis in reality. Perhaps it is time we look back to the ancients for guidance.

There probably is an underlying purpose to existence, a method to the madness so to speak, but from an anthropocentric perspective maybe life’s purpose can only be discovered by living it. The universe is alive, breathing and eternal, any attempt to understand it/he/she through logical thinking alone is fallacious. The universe expresses duality in all things and as such its nature cannot be exempt. Though it may operate partially on precise laws, there is always an unpredictability principle at play. Imagine gaseous expansion within a container. It is easy to predict that the gas will expand in all directions but nearly impossible to predict the movement of a single atom within the gas.

Understanding the nature of the universe will require much more than just advancements in material science, it will require a quantum leap in thinking. This is because the universe at its foundation is immaterial, mind before matter. It has been noted recently that objects once thought to be solid are actually full of empty space, the illusion of solidity is generated by an energy field inherent to all physical objects. The atoms which constitute all matter are in fact 99% empty. In addition to this the nucleus of the atoms traditionally known to contain protons and neutrons has been further subdivided into six different sub atomic particles and I predict further sub-divisions in the future. Wavicles, energy constructs capable of alternating form between a classic particle and waveform are now the dominating theory.

Now that it is known that waves can be condensed into matter and vice versa, It should be easier to entertain the beliefs of the ancients who thousands of years ago understood that all matter comes forth from the realm of spirit, an ethereal plane finer than gases. These ancient people through psychonautic expeditions and a healthy dose of critical thinking had reached a profound truth of which we are only beginning to understand.

So, what is the purpose of man existence? to say something has a purpose is to say its exists to fulfill a function given by something greater than itself and this is true for man to an extent. We were created to act as nodes of experience that is to act as vessels through which certain events and activities may be experienced by Universal mind, in this capacity we may be seen as mere instruments. However, to fulfill this purpose, we also carry within us the divine spark, we are children of God to use Christian terminology and as such we are inheritors of he’s or her power and can act in a sovereign capacity as well. Here duality expresses itself again, the duality of sovereign and slave, pre-destiny and freewill.

In the end life is what you make it, it all up to you really, there is no wrong way to live your life, each experience is unique and precious to the universal mind. No one is useless and nothing is useless. Whether you choose to direct your life, or decide to live that to someone else is completely your choice and is completely fine. So, what is the purpose of life? well YOU ARE ALREADY LIVING IT!

I like the last statement. Our purpose in life is to create comfort for our selves, seek a mate, create offspring then die. On life's short journey we can amass wisdom too but it's optional.

AmunaNo1:
Since time immemorial man has wondered as to the purpose of his existence and its relation to reality. We as humans, sentient beings capable of higher thought are born with an intense desire to discover and understand the nature of reality and our place within it. The great philosophers of ancient Greece, the wise men of the orient and the elders of the tribes of Africa have all wrestled with these questions each group coming up with their own answer, appropriate for their time.

With the arrival of quantum physics, we are now able to observe, and analyses physical systems at an atomic level with staggering revelations which we are only beginning to understand, the effect of mind on matter as seen in the double split experiment being just one of them. Despite these scientific breakthroughs we are unable to answer the golden question “why” We have come up with complex mathematical equations to explain natural phenomena, equations that often times have little or no basis in reality. Perhaps it is time we look back to the ancients for guidance.

There probably is an underlying purpose to existence, a method to the madness so to speak, but from an anthropocentric perspective maybe life’s purpose can only be discovered by living it. The universe is alive, breathing and eternal, any attempt to understand it/he/she through logical thinking alone is fallacious. The universe expresses duality in all things and as such its nature cannot be exempt. Though it may operate partially on precise laws, there is always an unpredictability principle at play. Imagine gaseous expansion within a container. It is easy to predict that the gas will expand in all directions but nearly impossible to predict the movement of a single atom within the gas.

Understanding the nature of the universe will require much more than just advancements in material science, it will require a quantum leap in thinking. This is because the universe at its foundation is immaterial, mind before matter. It has been noted recently that objects once thought to be solid are actually full of empty space, the illusion of solidity is generated by an energy field inherent to all physical objects. The atoms which constitute all matter are in fact 99% empty. In addition to this the nucleus of the atoms traditionally known to contain protons and neutrons has been further subdivided into six different sub atomic particles and I predict further sub-divisions in the future. Wavicles, energy constructs capable of alternating form between a classic particle and waveform are now the dominating theory.

Now that it is known that waves can be condensed into matter and vice versa, It should be easier to entertain the beliefs of the ancients who thousands of years ago understood that all matter comes forth from the realm of spirit, an ethereal plane finer than gases. These ancient people through psychonautic expeditions and a healthy dose of critical thinking had reached a profound truth of which we are only beginning to understand.

So, what is the purpose of man existence? to say something has a purpose is to say its exists to fulfill a function given by something greater than itself and this is true for man to an extent. We were created to act as nodes of experience that is to act as vessels through which certain events and activities may be experienced by Universal mind, in this capacity we may be seen as mere instruments. However, to fulfill this purpose, we also carry within us the divine spark, we are children of God to use Christian terminology and as such we are inheritors of he’s or her power and can act in a sovereign capacity as well. Here duality expresses itself again, the duality of sovereign and slave, pre-destiny and freewill.

In the end life is what you make it, it all up to you really, there is no wrong way to live your life, each experience is unique and precious to the universal mind. No one is useless and nothing is useless. Whether you choose to direct your life, or decide to live that to someone else is completely your choice and is completely fine. So, what is the purpose of life? well YOU ARE ALREADY LIVING IT!

Wow, Life is what you make it? Really? You mean this is what has burgled the minds of great men past?

Oh dear. Let's begin this discussion with you telling me what this Bible verses means.

And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
Isaiah:29:11

And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
Isaiah:29:12

Tell me what you understand in the verses.

If i hand you an invention without telling you what it is or what it's purpose is, you wouldn't know what it is, neither can the invention. The only way to know is when the inventor is called in.

Anas09:

Wow, Life is what you make it? Really? You mean this is what has burgled the minds of great men past?

Oh dear. Let's begin this discussion with you telling me what this Bible verses means.

And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
Isaiah:29:11

And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
Isaiah:29:12

Tell me what you understand in the verses.

If i hand you an invention without telling you what it is or what it's purpose is, you wouldn't know what it is, neither can the invention. The only way to know is when the inventor is called in.

Unfortunately for you, i do not recognize the bible as a credible source of information.

when you want to give life a meaning, the meaning should encompass all life i.e Humans, animals, plants, bacterial etc Our problem with defining the meaning of life comes from the fact that we are anthropocentric, that is we only consider our existence as humans and that is why we create gods that look like us,dress like us, think like us and talk like us.

But look at this way, There are more than 80 organs in the human and each organ(except maybe the vestigial ones) help us to do one of these two things: survive and reproduce. so that is your function in life just like any other animal, plant bacterial etc. and its as simple as that. You reproduce because you cant survive forever and life wants to continue even without you. This explains why the two things that occupy our minds most of the time are food (for survival) and sex(for reproduction).

Our lives become complex because we live in a complex society which we created to help us survive better. learning to live with other humans makes life difficult. The internal competition which was supposed to help us grow makes life difficult and causes depression to those that cant keep up.

What i posted above doesnt answer the question "What is the meaning of life?" it instead tell us what our function is in life. I will give you an example of why it is meaningless to seek for the meaning of life.

There are 37.2 trillion cells in the human body. Each cell is specialized for its purpose i.e the cells in the heart are different from the cells in the skin which are also different from the blood cells. Most of the cells dont even know about the existence of other cells in the body. They just perform their functions which like you also include to survive and reproduce via meiosis or mitosis.

Now suppose a particular cell becomes philosophical lets call him cellcrates and starts asking the questions "What is the meaning of life?" do you think that he will ever realize that the meaning of his life is to keep a young man who lives in a country called nigeria and whose moniker on nairaland is adoyi8 alive. Never those things are beyond its scope.

And so is our predicament in this wide universe with 8 planets revolving around our star, billions of stars in our galaxy and billions of galaxies in the universe. we can never reach the other end of the universe because we cant move faster than the speed of light which is not also fast enough. We cant know the meaning of our lives but we can know our functions which are to survive and reproduce.

adoyi8:
What i posted above doesnt answer the question "What is the meaning of life?" it instead tell us what our function is in life. I will give you an example of why it is meaningless to seek for the meaning of life.

There are 37.2 trillion cells in the human body. Each cell is specialized for its purpose i.e the cells in the heart are different from the cells in the skin which are also different from the blood cells. Most of the cells dont even know about the existence of other cells in the body. They just perform their functions which like you also include to survive and reproduce via meiosis or mitosis.

Now suppose a particular cell becomes philosophical lets call him cellcrates and starts asking the questions "What is the meaning of life?" do you think that he will ever realize that the meaning of his life is to keep a young man who lives in a country called nigeria and whose moniker on nairaland is adoyi8 alive. Never those things are beyond its scope.

And so is our predicament in this wide universe with 8 planets revolving around our star, billions of stars in our galaxy and billions of galaxies in the universe. we can never reach the other end of the universe because we cant move faster than the speed of light which is not also fast enough. We cant know the meaning of our lives but we can know our functions which are to survive and reproduce.

Honestly, I can't say it better, this has always been my thought too about human purpose on earth.

adoyi8:
What i posted above doesnt answer the question "What is the meaning of life?" it instead tell us what our function is in life. I will give you an example of why it is meaningless to seek for the meaning of life.

There are 37.2 trillion cells in the human body. Each cell is specialized for its purpose i.e the cells in the heart are different from the cells in the skin which are also different from the blood cells. Most of the cells dont even know about the existence of other cells in the body. They just perform their functions which like you also include to survive and reproduce via meiosis or mitosis.

Now suppose a particular cell becomes philosophical lets call him cellcrates and starts asking the questions "What is the meaning of life?" do you think that he will ever realize that the meaning of his life is to keep a young man who lives in a country called nigeria and whose moniker on nairaland is adoyi8 alive. Never those things are beyond its scope.

And so is our predicament in this wide universe with 8 planets revolving around our star, billions of stars in our galaxy and billions of galaxies in the universe. we can never reach the other end of the universe because we cant move faster than the speed of light which is not also fast enough. We cant know the meaning of our lives but we can know our functions which are to survive and reproduce.

Your view on this is a reductionist, materialistic one. In response to your first paragraph, we do not fully understand the mechanisms through which a cell functions, we know very little about how the human body operates, infact most of what we know about the body is simply hypothetical, granted we can describe how some processes work but we do not know why they work that way. You do not know the kind of intelligence or consciousness present in the cells so it is fallacious to assume they are not aware of each other.

In your second paragraph, you personified the cell, giving it human attributes just to prove a point, this approach is ultimately wrong because simply put. cells are not human and humans are not cells, any attempts to draw comparison between the two is akin to comparing apples with oranges.

Once upon a time, people believed the earth was flat, travel across continents took months, medical operations were basically death sentences. The people of yesteryear would look upon us today as gods. Just because you cannot figure out how an object can travel faster than light at the moment does not mean it is impossible to do so.

In conclusion, it can be said that the function of our physical bodies is to survive and reproduce as you have mentioned. However, our ability to act beyond this primal desires is proof that they are not the paramount purpose, a monk can stay celibate for life, activists can go on hunger strike for weeks, people put themselves in harms way and deprive themselves of physical gratification all the time for intangible, immaterial ideas. Why? The reason is simple, we are more than just a clump of cells, we are much more than our physical bodies. We think and we feel, we are human.

AmunaNo1:

In conclusion, it can be said that the function of our physical bodies is to survive and reproduce as you have mentioned. However, our ability to act beyond this primal desires is proof that they are not the paramount purpose, a monk can stay celibate for life, activists can go on hunger strike for weeks, people put themselves in harms way and deprive themselves of physical gratification all the time for intangible, immaterial ideas. Why? The reason is simple, we are more than just a clump of cells, we are much more than our physical bodies. We think and we feel, we are human.

Well this is possible because of a part of the brain called prefrontal cortex which evolved quite recently. It is the seat of our will power and self awareness which helps us function better as social beings. It is the prefrontal cortex that makes me not to steal my neighbours food even though I am very hungry because I know that stealing has social consequences. it is also the prefrontal cortex that makes me not to sleep with my neighbors wife even though i want to reproduce because i know that it also has social consequences.

Fortunately we can develop our prefrontal cortices through meditation and other exercises. That is why some people can remain celibates and others can go on hunger strike.

In summary, our instincts as living things is to survive and reproduce. but as social beings, we are able to control these urges thanks to the prefrontal cortex in our brains, in order to avoid social disasters.

A person whose prefrontal cortex is damaged cannot be celibate or go on hunger strike. you can google up effects of damaged prefrontal cortex when you have the time.

adoyi8:


Well this is possible because of a part of the brain called prefrontal cortex which evolved quite recently. It is the seat of our will power and self awareness which helps us function better as social beings. It is the prefrontal cortex that makes me not to steal my neighbours food even though I am very hungry because I know that stealing has social consequences. it is also the prefrontal cortex that makes me not to sleep with my neighbors wife even though i want to reproduce because i know that it also has social consequences.

Fortunately we can develop our prefrontal cortices through meditation and other exercises. That is why some people can remain celibates and others can go on hunger strike.

In summary, our instincts as living things is to survive and reproduce. but as social beings, we are able to control these urges thanks to the prefrontal cortex in our brains, in order to avoid social disasters.

A person whose prefrontal cortex is damaged cannot be celibate or go on hunger strike. you can google up effects of damaged prefrontal cortex when you have the time.

What powers the pre-frontal cortex? How was it discovered that this portion of the brain affects these behaviors? Why will nature create something contrary to its own objectives? What is the purpose of the pre-frontal cortex from your reductionist perspective? Humans are not the only social creatures on earth. How do these creatures behave in comparison?

Think outside the box. Science produces successful theories not true ones.

AmunaNo1:


What powers the pre-frontal cortex? How was it discovered that this portion of the brain affects these behaviors? Why will nature create something contrary to its own objectives? What is the purpose of the pre-frontal cortex from your reductionist perspective? Humans are not the only social creatures on earth. How do these creatures behave in comparison?

Think outside the box. Science produces successful theories not true ones.

Oh! I see that you are not a fan of science. I guess this is where I am suppose to stop replying to your posts but for the sake of others reading lets continue.
You can check up all of the above questions online. Medical experts and psychologists have teamed up over the years to give us a lot of information about the functions of different part of the brain. Please dont undermine the sweat of these hardworking and honest people.

The prefrontal cortex does not work against natures objectives i will explain why if you ask me.

I owe you a medal because "Science produces successful theories not true ones" is the lamest sentence I have heard this year. congrats.

adoyi8:


Oh! I see that you are not a fan of science. I guess this is where I am suppose to stop replying to your posts but for the sake of others reading lets continue.
You can check up all of the above questions online. Medical experts and psychologists have teamed up over the years to give us a lot of information about the functions of different part of the brain. Please dont undermine the sweat of these hardworking and honest people.

The prefrontal cortex does not work against natures objectives i will explain why if you ask me.

I owe you a medal because "Science produces successful theories not true ones" is the lamest sentence I have heard this year. congrats.

I was just like you a very long time ago. When you are ready for truth you will probably look for this article and not find it. Good luck anyways bro

AmunaNo1:


I was just like you a very long time ago. When you are ready for truth you will probably look for this article and not find it. Good luck anyways bro

so tell me sire, What is this truth?