Book I: Objective Reality
Chapter: 01.14 The Meaning of Life
Dum vivimus, vivamus, Horace (Since we are living, let us live
well)
What are we really trying to say when we refer to the purpose or
the meaning of life? We use both words synonymously and both convey different
degrees of significance, signification, purpose, intent, or objective. However,
all of these terms essentially convey a search for an assigned function. The
underlying question is, why do human beings exist?
What is existence? We stipulate that an object or event exists, if
it manifests itself in an observable manner. Objects that are claimed to exist
but that do not manifest themselves in any way, form or shape, do not exist, by
axiomatic definition. Anything that human beings claim to exist must show
objective evidence to human beings that it exists; otherwise, it would be
meaningless to say that it exists. Some Thing may conceivably exist in another
space-time continuum or in an alternate universe but, if it does not manifest
itself in any form or shape to human beings, it does not exist for purposes of
human beings: If it has no effect on human life, we can and we must disregard
it.
Human beings obviously exist because they manifest themselves to
other human beings: Among other attributes, human beings have mass and
appearance that can be measured and observed, both by subjective, physiological
means and by objective, scientific standards: Human beings exist.
Since we clearly exist we may ask, where do we come from, why are
we here? Is there a meaning or purpose to our life in the sense of an externally
or internally assigned function? Alternatively, did random events place us into
this universe, without any purpose or reason?
Is our existence, our life, nothing but a random event, the leaf
blowing in the wind, the ripple in the stream? If we suggest that there is a
meaning or purpose superimposed on human life, what is the mysterious power
that imbues our life with such a purpose or meaning? If this obscure power does
exist, how does it manifest itself? If this obscure power does not manifest
itself to humans in any objective form, it does not exist as far as humans are
concerned. Therefore, it cannot convey a preordained or predestined meaning to
our life.
Biology defines human beings as animals. Do other animals have a
meaning or significance attached to their life? If only human life has meaning,
what is it that sets humans apart from other animals? The great apes are the
first cousins of humans. Is there a meaning attached to their life? Does a cow,
a pig or a monkey have a meaning or purpose ascribed to its life, except to
serve as food for humans?
How does human life come into existence? What is it that imbues
human life with a meaning or purpose during this process of creation? Can life
acquire a meaning subsequent to the creation of life? Is this purpose located
in the human body, or is it similar to a soul, ephemeral, without location and
without any evidence of its existence? Where was the meaning of my life before
I came into existence and where will my meaning go after my death?
What is the meaning of the thing we call life? The dictionary merely
tells us that life is the state of being alive. When NASA sent manned rockets
to the moon, their scientists had to concern themselves with the possibility of
extraterrestrial life that might contaminate life on earth upon the return of
the space vehicle. The first step in this analysis was to arrive at a
definition of the term life. NASA concluded that life, all life, is the
attribute of any system that is a. Capable of replication, b. Capable of energy
conversion in order to offset entropy, and c. Subject to the process of
evolution.
All life on earth must replicate under the auspices of the process
of evolution. The driving force for this basic mechanism of life is the
survival instinct, which, in turn, is rooted in the pain/pleasure principle.
This principle can be stated briefly: Every living organism, including every
human being, always acts in what it considers to be in its best self-interest:
To avoid pain and to enhance pleasure. Only organisms that perceive a threat to
their existence as an unpleasant emotion, a perception of pain, can survive and
replicate.
The existence of this pain/pleasure syndrome in all living
organisms does not imply that human beings always act in their actual best
self-interest. The genes of every human being compel him to act in what he
believes to be in his best self-interest. Any person, who does not act in what
he considers to be in his best self-interest, is engaged in self-destructive
behavior. Self-destructive persons are insane and society institutionalizes
them for their own protection. To be selfish, in the sense of always acting in
what we consider to be in our own best self-interest, is the ultimate
imperative of all life.
The essence of the process of evolution is the survival of the
fittest: The ability of an organism to cope with changes in its environment in
order to assure its survival and replication. Without this genetically imposed
instinct for survival, an organism cannot perpetuate itself or its species and
will thus eliminate itself from further replication and evolution
In the perpetual struggle for survival, all living organisms are
constantly engaged in a battle for limited resources. Lower life forms, such as
bacteria or earthworms, have little control over their inherently hostile
environment. Only man has evolved rational thought processes. Among animals,
only man can utilize his rational mind to achieve a higher degree of survival
and security in an inherently insecure world.
In an effort to enhance his ability to cope with his environment
by understanding the nature of his existence, only man has developed the mental
faculties to pose the question: Why am I doing what I am doing? If there is a
purpose to life, how can I comply with it or how can I enhance it? Conversely,
if there is no purpose to my life, if life is completely futile, if human
beings wander around without a preordained meaning or purpose, why not succumb
to the adversities of life and resolve all potential future conflicts by
committing suicide? "To be or not to be, that is the question..."
The answer is very simple: Evolution has genetically structured
human beings to render them incapable of readily committing suicide. Our
extremely powerful and all-pervasive survival instinct prevents suicide and
makes self-destruction almost impossible, unless a person is mentally severely
ill.
This deeply imbedded, genetic survival mechanism makes it possible
for the human race, or any other living organisms, to exist. Without our
all-powerful survival instinct, which also forces us to perpetuate our genes,
the human race would never have evolved and human beings would not now exist on
earth.
During the evolutionary period of man, his lack of factual
knowledge of Objective Reality severely restricted his understanding of his environment.
In order to deal effectively with events in our life we need to possess
accurate knowledge of Objective Reality: We need to know how things really are,
as opposed to what they appear to be.
In his quest to find a purpose in life that might help him cope
with the adversities of life, man has invented supernatural beings. Since he
could not cope with the mysterious forces of his environment, he invented gods
or other mystical forces that might enhance his survival and security by
responding to prayer, sacrifices or similar devotions.
Man thus invented the fiction that gods had created man and that
man was under the control and in the service of such superior beings.
Consequently, man believed that it was his purpose in life to placate and
please these gods by subjugating himself to their will in order to ensure their
goodwill and protection.
There is no objective evidence whatsoever that such omnipotent
beings actually exist or, if they existed, that they have any effect on
individual human lives, or that they can vest human lives with a preordained
purpose. If someone claims that there is a preordained purpose to human life,
such claim is merely a completely undocumented opinion, at best, or a
hallucination, at worst. Not only is such extraordinary claim without any shred
of evidence, but it also stands in contradiction to all factual evidence
available to man. Rational human beings require extraordinary proof for
extraordinary claims
Religious or mythological belief systems require faith. Ambrose Bierce
once defined the concept of faith somewhat humorously, but poignantly: "A
Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of
things without parallel". Any person who accepts as true an unverified
statement, which is also in conflict with all available factual knowledge, is
unable or unwilling to expose himself to the true nature of Objective Reality.
A person who bases his acts upon unsupported opinions has
diminished his ability to cope with his environment in an optimal and efficient
manner. This is the folly and the true price humans have to pay if they believe
in supernatural beings and try to find a preordained purpose in their
existence.
Is it possible to imbue human life with a meaning or purpose
during or after the process of its creation? The merging of an egg and a sperm
creates human life. This process usually involves one egg and several hundred
million sperm.
Two factors determine which sperm will fertilize the egg: The
first one is the proximity of a specific sperm to the egg, the mere chance that
a specific sperm, with its unique gene load, is in the optimal place at the
optimal moment in time. Secondly, of those sperm that are in the closest
position for the fertilization of the egg, only the most powerful and healthy
sperm will actually reach the egg before any other, less endowed, sperm can
arrive. The result, the survival of the fittest, is the essence of the
evolution of the species.
Therefore, there are only two factors involved in the creation of
individual human life: Randomness and the survival of the fittest. If any other
factor contributes to the formation of an individual human being, it does not
manifest itself by any means, either at conception or at any point after
conception.
Since no other factor in the creation of human life has ever
manifested itself objectively, no other factor in the creation of human life
exists. Therefore, there is no evidence whatsoever of a preordained meaning or
purpose imposed on human life. Human existence is the result of nothing but
randomness and the survival of the fittest.
This view of the evolutionary development of human beings, their
emotions, and their place on earth may be somewhat disquieting to some persons.
A scientific view of the creation of human beings does not provide any
objective evidence of a preordained meaning or purpose invested in or imposed
on human beings.
We, as individuals, are nothing but the result of a random
encounter between an egg and one of many millions of spermatozoa. If I had not
come into existence through the random merger of a specific egg and a specific
sperm, I would never have come into existence, with or without meaning.
My own existence, as an individual, is an accident based on
randomness. There is not one scintilla of evidence that any other factor was
involved in my creation. There is no meaning, no significance, no purpose and
no manifest destiny to human life.
Religious persons may counter this statement by claiming that a
god or gods must have imbued human life with meaning. Not even a scintilla of
objective evidence supports this supposition. Merely because the Bible says so,
does not make it so.
Some persons find it difficult to accept the random creation of
the genetic structure of man because it adversely affects the self-importance
and self-esteem of insecure individuals.
Some modern philosophers recognize the lack of pre-ordained
meaning in human life. However, they then try to escape the logical consequence
of their conclusions. Persons who cannot find a purpose in human life, such as
existentialists, find it necessary to invent the notion that we, ourselves,
need to give a meaning to our life.
Other escapists from Objective Reality invent imaginary concepts,
such as spirits or gods or other mythical, omnipotent and omniscient beings. By
some miraculous means, these beings inject human beings with a mysterious
concept called meaning or purpose.
If there is no preordained purpose to human existence, what are we
to do with our lives? Randomness and the dog-eat-dog world of evolution may be
a disappointing and uninspiring way of looking at life and human existence.
However, this is how life is and no flights of fancy into
delusions or illusions will alter this fact. We need not whine, merely because
there are no gods and no ghosts, holy or otherwise, that can imbue our life
with a preordained purpose. Instead, we can benefit from the utilization of our
rational mind to enhance our happiness and our joyful experience of life.
Since we owe no allegiance to a superior being who might have
inserted meaning into our life, and since we are incapable of committing
suicide, we have to contend with this existence, for better or worse. We had no
choice in our creation and we cannot readily escape from this existence by
terminating it.
Rather than search for a nonexistent purpose or meaning in our
existence, we must follow the basic principles that govern all life: We must
strive for happiness, a condition of emotional well being we can achieve by
eliminating pain or emotional discomfort.
Since human beings are not subject to the demands of illusionary
superior beings and since human beings obviously have free will, we have
complete freedom to choose how we perceive the word around us. We may or may
not be able to change the world to our entire liking but we have the freedom to
perceive the world in any way we choose.
We can say life is terrible and ugly, or we can say it is
beautiful and enjoyable. We may as well enjoy life to its utmost by taking
responsibility for the way we look at the world. The universe does not care one
iota if we perceive our lives as miserable or as wonderful: This choice resides
solely in us, as individuals.
Our individual life begins with our random creation. While we are
alive, our life revolves around our ability to minimize pain and to maximize
those of our emotions that enhance our feeling of well-being, our happiness.
When we die, randomness takes over again: The Law of Entropy, the ultimate
equalizer of the universe, provides for the proper randomization of our
constituent atoms.
Moreover, die we must, because there can be no life without
evolution and there can be no evolution of the species without the death of its
individuals. Our life is a sojourn from randomness to randomness. It is up to
us to bemoan or to enjoy the interval between these two events.
Some persons may refer to a rational worldview, free from gods and
goblins, as just another one of many belief systems. They are implying that a
rational view of Objective Reality is no more efficacious in achieving
happiness than religious belief systems. The difference between a faith-based
belief system and a rational philosophy of life rests in the rejection of
illusions and the affirmation of facts firmly embedded by objective evidence in
a framework of science and natural laws.
To declare science a faith-based belief system implies lack of
knowledge and suggests obfuscation and self-deception. Science is the very
antithesis of a belief system. There is nothing to believe in science. Science
does not need faith. Faith is only required if a person chooses to accept a
statement as true after science has already exposed it as false. Science does
not deal with miracles; science is the domain of objective facts, of precision
and repeatability. Science is the implacable opponent of pseudo-science,
sometimes referred to as Creation Science.
A rational view of Objective Reality and human existence may show
some similarities to the philosophical orientation known as existentialism.
Existentialism is a contradictory, unstructured cauldron of the supernatural in
the form of theism and atheism, and politics in the form of communism.
Existentialism is a philosophy of despair, bemoaning the lack of
meaning or preordained purpose in life. In its confusion, existentialism
burdens us with the impossible task of inserting a purpose into our lives
ourselves. It then fails to provide us with a rational explanation for the need
for such meaning. Existentialism, as espoused by Sartre and Heidegger, bewails
the dreariness of human existence, instead of simply exhorting people to enjoy
life to its fullest.
Mythology and religion also try to imbue human existence with
external meaning or purpose, however implausible and contrary to all objective
evidence. Such mystical believe-systems, although completely unsupported by
facts or evidence, appeal to many persons. They conjure a reason for living out
of thin air by creating an imaginary god who may or may not bestow his
imaginary favors upon them.
Religion charges persons with imagined sins; it burdens people
with guilt and superstition. It then urges them to pray to a non-existent god
in order to absolve themselves from sins they did not commit. This method is
clearly counterproductive to the attainment of happiness and joy in life.
Humanism is another synthetic concept which builds on the idea
that the purpose of life is to help others and to improve the world and the
human condition, without refuge to mythology and religion. Although the term
improvement is relative in itself, there is no attempt to explain what
humanists mean by terms such as good or improvement. Hitler tried to improve
the human condition in his own particular way.
Humanists then proceed to proclaim the inherent dignity of man.
There is nothing inherently dignified or undignified about man. Man simply
evolved from lower forms of life. The humanistic approach to a meaning in life
is faulty because it revolves around erroneous assumptions regarding the
evolutionary nature of human existence
By acknowledging our evolutionary need to enhance our happiness,
we eliminate all need for a pre-ordained or self-imposed meaning in our life.
The mere acknowledgment of the evolutionary roots of our emotions does not
constitute a meaning in the sense of an externally or internally assigned
purpose.
If every individual makes it his objective in life to lead a happy
life in accordance with man’s evolutionary, emotional structure, then it is
self evident that all of humanity, every individual in the world, would be
happy. It is more important to concentrate on the enhancement of our own
happiness than to find a non-existent purpose in life, or in wasting our life
trying to make other people happy.
We, as individuals, owe nobody happiness and nobody owes us
happiness. Happiness is ours to grasp or to surrender, as we choose, in any
given moment. We must not willingly surrender to other persons our ability to
experience happiness. Other persons cannot make us feel happy. We cannot make
other people feel happy. The feeling of happiness, of emotional well being,
rests solely within ourselves, within our own grasp.
The attempt to insert a non-existent purpose into human life is
counterproductive to mental health and happy living because it precludes us
from seeing reality with utmost clarity. An artificially imposed meaning will
prevent us from dealing with Objective Reality in the most productive manner.
The search for a meaning in life is analogous to medical quackery
because we are allowing superstition and inefficacious conduct to usurp our
rational means of dealing with our environment. A search for a meaning or a
purpose in our life will impair our opportunity to lead rational, effective
lives in a manner consistent with the innate nature of man.
A futile search for an elusive meaning prevents us from correctly
aligning ourselves with Objective Reality. It will frustrate our ability to achieve
the only real success in life: Optimal, lasting happiness.
The Meaning of Life: Conclusion
There is obviously no preordained purpose in human existence.
However, since chance has created us and has placed us into this world, we may
as well try to enjoy every single moment of our existence. The choice is ours
and ours alone. It is counterproductive to our happiness if we invent magical
believe-structures to support a non-existent purpose in life. A Chinese
philosopher phrased the dilemma of human purpose in these words:
"The question that faces every man born into this world is not
what should be his purpose, but just what to do with life. The answer, that he
should order his life so that he can find the greatest happiness in it, is more
a practical question, similar to that of how a man should spend his weekend,
then a metaphysical proposition as to what is the mystic purpose of his life in
the scheme of the universe."
Lin Yutang
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