What is the reason for Human existence?

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Surreptitious57
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by Surreptitious57 »

The ability to question your reason for existence cannot be the actual reason for your existence
Because that assumes that such an ability was inevitable when randomness suggests otherwise
A MIND IS LIKE A PARACHUTE : IT DOES NOT WORK UNLESS IT IS OPEN
Tamminen
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by Tamminen »

The reason for existence in general is the fact that "Non-being is not" is a tautology. Why existence takes the shape of Homo sapiens is another question and leads us to wonder if all the species that evolution produces are necessary or not, and what is the meaning of randomness.
Pelegrin_1
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by Pelegrin_1 »

UniversalAlien wrote:Think about this:

I can, and did, ask the question "What is the reason for Human existence?"


Now name me one other species, form of life or other known entity that can ask "What is the reason for Human existence?"
- Or for that matter can question the reason for its existence?

As far as we know - Man is the only species of being that can question the reason for his existence.

Don't you think that this ability to question the reason for your existence is a reason for your existence :?:

- Maybe even the main reason for your existence :idea:
The reason for our existence is the same as it is for every other living thing... The only difference is, as you say, that we are apparently the only species on this planet that can question the reason for our existence. But the fact that we have evolved to the point of being able to do that doesn't make us or our species have any more reason for existence than any other species.

-- Updated Sun Jun 25, 2017 8:23 pm to add the following --

We can though or do have the capacity to create our own reasons for living.
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Gabrielbtst
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by Gabrielbtst »

In gaining one's own happiness, harmony and usefulness to this world.
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Father
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by Father »

At this point in time, the existence of man seems pointless and illogical. So, after coming to this conclusion, the only logical answer is that we exist to question the purpose of our existence, so that we may one day find it.
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UniversalAlien
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by UniversalAlien »

Father wrote: June 9th, 2018, 6:05 pm At this point in time, the existence of man seems pointless and illogical. So, after coming to this conclusion, the only logical answer is that we exist to question the purpose of our existence, so that we may one day find it.
Welcome to the forum!

Why 'this point in time"? - Was there another point in time when 'pointless and illogical' was not accepted?
Of course in the eras of the Theists it was always accepted that there was an overriding intelligence - All cultures of the
past had their 'Gods' - Was there a culture in antiquity that did not have gods or a God?

But we are in the Dawkins age of Atheism - where even posting concepts that even imply a meaning and purpose to
our existence is considered a 'sin' !

'I' understand your despair - but the game is not over - meaning and intelligence will win out - This universe whether
occuring by a 'Big Bang' which is still not understand - Or by a deliberate and creative act, also not understood. is not
here by accident - ALL of science tells us nothing occurs by accident !

As Human intelligence continues to evolve, almost as if by design, discoveries that are far beyond the current limits
of Human comprehension will be made.

In my opinion we will find that not only do we have a reason for our existence - But that that reason itself is
at the root of all that exists.

Don' l let Atheism scare you - it is on the reverse side of a coin that has myopic Theism on the other side.
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LuckyR
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by LuckyR »

Father wrote: June 9th, 2018, 6:05 pm At this point in time, the existence of man seems pointless and illogical. So, after coming to this conclusion, the only logical answer is that we exist to question the purpose of our existence, so that we may one day find it.
How did you personally come to these conclusions?
"As usual... it depends."
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MrE
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by MrE »

Isn't it egocentric to say "Why does man exist?" Why do ants exist for that matter? The universe does not need purpose. Only we humans seem to be looking for it.

As far as aliens, a superior alien race would probably not consider us as intelligent.
Gordon975
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by Gordon975 »

The earth was created some 4.55 billion years ago together with the rest of the solar system.
Life existed on earth at least 3.55 billion years ago as bacteria.

There has always been a debate about the emergence of life, the chemicals that are needed can be created but putting them together in the right and a life sustainable order is an almost impossible thing to imagine happening.

The universe can be considered infinite and therefore the chemistry of life guaranteed to be created and to come together in the right order somewhere, but, as this planet at its creation would have been an extremely inhospitable place for the chemistry of life, even if it existed, to come together in the right order it is hard to imagine this happening in the early period of its existence.

Could life have come to earth from somewhere else in the universe?

There is perhaps a cycle of life that means that eventually simple life becomes self aware and able to comprehend its environment, detect other inhabitable worlds, create the technology to escape the planet on which it evolved, and even create the correct creatures in the form of bacteria to manage a journey of thousands of years to another place on which it can thrive and itself potentially evolve to become self aware, and begin the cycle of life once more.

All life tries to maximise its habitation of the environment in which it finds itself.

The purpose of all living things is to maximise their population using whatever environment is available. Life forms adapt to changes in the environment and support other species of life in the quest to achieve the maximisation of the population of all living organisms.

The Human species is part of one living entity that survives on this planet, made up as it is of all the life forms that inhabit it; each species of life relies for its survival on all others and so achieve the best outcome for the collective existence of life.

A species such as the human one may be the mechanism that life uses to propagate itself throughout the universe; its role is potentially to propel the basis of life from the surface of this planet to other habitable worlds where it can thrive.
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-1-
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by -1- »

Gordon975 wrote: June 15th, 2018, 5:54 am There has always been a debate about the emergence of life, the chemicals that are needed can be created but putting them together in the right and a life sustainable order is an almost impossible thing to imagine happening.

There is nothing to imagine. IT HAPPENED.

If a person can't comprehend that, and needs to debate it, it's not reality's fault.

It is not imagination that drives reality. It's the other way around.
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UniversalAlien
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by UniversalAlien »

-1- wrote: June 15th, 2018, 6:28 am
Gordon975 wrote: June 15th, 2018, 5:54 am There has always been a debate about the emergence of life, the chemicals that are needed can be created but putting them together in the right and a life sustainable order is an almost impossible thing to imagine happening.

There is nothing to imagine. IT HAPPENED.

If a person can't comprehend that, and needs to debate it, it's not reality's fault.

It is not imagination that drives reality. It's the other way around.
"IT HAPPENED" - But it remains to be proven as to exactly WHAT HAPPENED?

Why did a mixture of inorganic compounds so form into organic life?

Random chance? Divine will? or some other as yet unknown factor that causes inorganic matter to become life.

- What is this force that causes life to occur where there was no life before?

Is it common throughout the galaxies? - So far all of the observations of the heavens have not shown any organic
life anywhere else but hear on Earth.

Scientists are now admitting that they think it is 'probable' that there is life throughout the universe
- But to date no one has discovered life anywhere else but here on Earth.
Gordon975
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by Gordon975 »

UniversalAlian Wrote
Why did a mixture of inorganic compounds so form into organic life?

Random chance? Divine will? or some other as yet unknown factor that causes inorganic matter to become life.
The answer to your question lies in the vast nature of the universe this means that the chance that something will happen somewhere if it is possible within the boundaries of physics, is guaranteed, and will happen, even though it is almost an impossible thing to imagine ever occurring.
Life in its primitive form may have had the resources and chemistry to occur in billions of places in the vastness of the universe but failed, life in its primitive form may have had the resources and chemistry to occur in billions of other places in the vastness of the universe and happened but then never been able to sustain itself. However many billions of chances there have been that sustainable life may have had the chance to form and failed does not matter, because of the vast infinite extent of the universe there have always been an infinite number of new chances that it could. Life on this planet is proof that life can exist, humans are proof that life can evolve a primitive intellect and strive to understand the reason for its own existence and that of the environment from whence it came, it is then perhaps possible to imaging that life, with human help could move to other worlds, if humans fail to do this perhaps other creatures will evolve who will, or perhaps we will just oversee another one of the billions of failures to sustain life within the universe.
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UniversalAlien
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by UniversalAlien »

No one is disputing that life happened for whatever reason and/or cause.

But what has intrigued me for quite some time now, is the question of its probability.

Yes I know, and many scientists agree, that given the same circumstances as were on Earth, it could happen, and
probably did or will happen elsewhere in the cosmos.

But the thing is, and as much as I like to speculate about aliens, the question is still completely open as to whether
biological life is common or scarce - the scariest possibility of all is that it may be unique.


"Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."

- Arthur C. Clarke
{very famous science fiction writer}
Gordon975
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by Gordon975 »

The original proposition of “What is the reason for Human existence?” and the question of the probability of life within the universe are linked.
My suggestion is that the chance of a spontaneous and successful creation of a viable form of life within the universe is almost zero and given that there is an infinite amount of time and an infinite amount of universe might be defined as one divided by a number very close to Infinity. From this it might appear therefore that life could never inhabit anything but a few places in the vastness of the cosmos but I believe that we, or a creature like us is the means by which life can be and probably has been spread to other inhabitable worlds to evolve based on the environment of those worlds and hence potentially populate then with life.
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UniversalAlien
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Re: What is the reason for Human existence?

Post by UniversalAlien »

Gordon975 wrote: June 17th, 2018, 2:33 am The original proposition of “What is the reason for Human existence?” and the question of the probability of life within the universe are linked.
My suggestion is that the chance of a spontaneous and successful creation of a viable form of life within the universe is almost zero and............
Based upon what? - Does anyone in fact really know, given the same conditions, or similar to those that occured when
life first appeared on Earth - How often these conditions would actually give rise to biological life?

Could be common - or it could be rare, very rare, or possibly unique - As far as I know this is still unknown,

And all theories are therefore nothing more than speculation.

But if there are other forms of life, particularly intelligent life, the reason for Human existence would certainly take
on more meaning.
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