What's the meaning of life?

[Belindi]

Sculptor wrote:

H/g societies tend to have horizontal hierarchies, rather than vertical ones. Who was the best flint napper, furrier, hunter, tent maker; game tracker. Though examples of conspicuous consumption and potlatch were well known.

Do conspicuous consumption and potlatch pertain to nomadic H/g groups? I'd have thought that the more the groups were territorial the more they needed conspicuous consumption and potlatch.
Graves that have survived are of course for high status individuals and number extraordinarily skilled individuals such as those who could forge metals, and those could use bows and arrows.

[godblog]

Why because YOU say so?

I can provide Evidence Logic and Reason.
To prove god does … and does not.. exist.

[Pattern-chaser]

I can provide Evidence Logic and Reason.
To prove god does … and does not.. exist.

"I can provide Evidence ... to prove god does … and does not … exist."

No, you cannot.

[LuckyR]

Why because YOU say so?

I can provide Evidence Logic and Reason.
To prove god does … and does not.. exist.

Can't wait to find out what passes for "evidence", "logic" and "reason".

[Pattern-chaser]

Why because YOU say so?

I can provide Evidence Logic and Reason.
To prove god does … and does not.. exist.

Can't wait to find out what passes for "evidence", "logic" and "reason".

I think you'll find it's unjustified assertion, although I would be happy to be proven wrong...

[Gordon975]

The original post in this question was :
What's the meaning of life? What's the purpose?
I have taken this literally in my previous posts on this subject.
Other posters in this forum seem to be interested in the reason for human life. In the context of the meaning of all life, human life, is not important, its existence is just a very quick blink in the 3.5 billion years that life has existed on this planet, the only contribution that humans can make, if any, is, through their intellect, enable the preservation of all life.
Life on this planet will eventually go the way of the Dinosaur and into extinction, whatever we do eventually this planet will become just dust in our part of the universe, my argument is that the meaning for the existence of all life forms and their eventual evolutionary destinies and reason for existence is to preserve the seeds of life before this happens. Humans may be the mechanism or it may be another creature that evolves to have intellect and carry out the task, however within the billions of years of this planets existence to come there is no guarantee will happen.

[Belindi]

Meaning implies a meaner. Purpose implies a purposer.

[AgentSmith]

There are a thousand and one reasons why we must live. Perhaps we're looking in the wrong places. You won't find a teddy bear in a gun shop. Perhaps you will, who knows? We've all been there.

[LuckyR]

Meaning implies a meaner. Purpose implies a purposer.

I agree that in order to make sense you need to add "... according to X" to define whose perspective is being evaluated.

[Whitedragon]

How many regular people know how a cell phone works, inside, the hardware...

Reminds me of Matrix when they go down to the machines that keep the city going, "no body cares how it works, as long as it works."

Can we be sure life works? I know there are many motivations for asking the OP question, one of them may be, because we think life is broken ... is it?

[Pattern-chaser]

How many regular people know how a cell phone works, inside, the hardware...

Me? ... And I'm "regular people", I think?

Can we be sure life works? I know there are many motivations for asking the OP question, one of them may be, because we think life is broken ... is it?

We're alive, so "life works", yes?

[Whitedragon]

How many regular people know how a cell phone works, inside, the hardware...

Me? ... And I'm "regular people", I think?

Can we be sure life works? I know there are many motivations for asking the OP question, one of them may be, because we think life is broken ... is it?

We're alive, so "life works", yes?

Lol, is my best reply and thank you.

And you're definitely not regular people if you know cell phone hardware.

Seriously, if life works, shouldn't we be asking why it works as it does. Why is mortality and suffering necessary. It seems for as long as we think those are a broken system, we'll be asking the wrong questions.

I can understand how some people say, to be happy is the meaning of life and I can agree to a point. Is happiness life in its completion is a diffrent question.

Lastly, when we speak of the OP question, we might talk about life as it belong to us, that by discovering the meaning we simply need to change something in ourself. What if life is something completely apart from us, since life did not "create" itself, but was driven and is driven by other forces.

[Pattern-chaser]

How many regular people know how a cell phone works, inside, the hardware...

Me? ... And I'm "regular people", I think?

Can we be sure life works? I know there are many motivations for asking the OP question, one of them may be, because we think life is broken ... is it?

Lol, is my best reply and thank you.

And you're definitely not regular people if you know cell phone hardware.

Surely there are things you know, that most people don't? My speciality happens to be electronics hardware and software.

We're alive, so "life works", yes?

Seriously, if life works, shouldn't we be asking why it works as it does.

"Should"? If we are curious — and we are! — that would seem to be a good reason. But I can't think of another reason why we 'should' ask "why?" Perhaps it (life, the universe, and everything) just is?

[Whitedragon]

How many regular people know how a cell phone works, inside, the hardware...

Me? ... And I'm "regular people", I think?

Can we be sure life works? I know there are many motivations for asking the OP question, one of them may be, because we think life is broken ... is it?

Lol, is my best reply and thank you.

And you're definitely not regular people if you know cell phone hardware.

Surely there are things you know, that most people don't? My speciality happens to be electronics hardware and software.

We're alive, so "life works", yes?

Seriously, if life works, shouldn't we be asking why it works as it does.

"Should"? If we are curious — and we are! — that would seem to be a good reason. But I can't think of another reason why we 'should' ask "why?" Perhaps it (life, the universe, and everything) just is?

Perhaps it (life, the universe, and everything) just is?

Cosmologically, do the conditions that created everything still exist? If they are the makeup of everything now it is these conditions that created everything that "just is." To find why life exists we would have to turn to these conditions for an answer, let's call them s for now?

[Pattern-chaser]

Perhaps it (life, the universe, and everything) just is?

Cosmologically, do the conditions that created everything still exist?

As things have changed since then, I can't see how all of those conditions could still be in place. But some of them could be...?

Does it matter, do you think?

If they are the makeup of everything now it is these conditions that created everything that "just is." To find why life exists we would have to turn to these conditions for an answer, let's call them s for now?

I came to this realisation quite recently: that a "why?" question can only be answered if we have complete knowledge of the whole context, the environment, of the "why?" question. With that knowledge, the answer to the "why?" question is obvious. Without it, an answer is quite impossible. There's no mystery in that last sentence; it's simply because we don't have enough information to answer the question. Just that.