What is the purpose of life - Essay Example

What is the Purpose of Life? Table of Contents Outline 2 Introduction 2 Thesis ment 3 ment of Problem 3 Objectives 4 LITERATURE REVIEW 4 Religious View on the Meaning of Life 4 Atheist View on the Purpose of Life 5 Relevance of Life 8 Conclusion 9 Works Cited 10 Outline This paper is divided into three major sections which include introduction, literature review, and conclusion. The introduction part of the document introduces the various points of view discussed in the paper with regards to the purpose of life and the relevance of life to both religious and non-religious societies. The literature review comprises of the main text of the essay and explores the different arguments presented from scholarly sources on the purpose of life. This section is subdivided into three subparts which include religious, atheist, and modernity views on life. The literature review presents an argumentative perspective on the topic as the sources used in this essay have contradicting perspectives with regards to the purpose of life. The conclusion part summarizes the contents of the literature review and presents the author’s take on what can possibly be a personal account of the purpose life – choice made with regards to the sources. Introduction The purpose of life is a mixture of mental reactions and personal perceptions as people and societies have tried to be productive to fulfill their personal needs. Three views exist with regards to the purposes of life and personal perceptions as they affect different portions of the society. For example, the purpose of life with regards to possessions has been projected by societies as the major goal of life as people and the community as a whole fight to be successful, productive, and wealthy within the society. On the other hand, an opposing view on the purpose of life goes beyond the possessions that human beings consider to include the spiritual stances that a community believes in. For example, spiritual people live to embrace the guidelines provided by their religions and their goals in life include the ultimate reward of spirituality, life after death. It is obvious that people in a society try to achieve as much as they can to fulfill their desires (Nostra, 12). One of the most controversial views on the purpose of life comes from an atheist perspective as it sets the benchmark of understanding life and making priorities with regards to life and its rewards. While Christians and other spiritual denominations appreciate the lives they live as a function of their spirituality, atheists take life as an experiment the human race is subjected to. One of the most phenomenal vies of the atheists is that God has no place in defining the purpose of life as everything in existence is a result of sheer circumstances. The result of all the views regarding the purpose of life is a conflict rather than a solution to the question, ‘what is the purpose of life?’ Some societies live to thrive in terms of possessions, others in terms of spirituality, and another group subjects its beliefs to chances as they believe there is no purpose of life. Thesis Statement The purpose of life is a function and an extraction of meaning from routine beliefs that societies have with regards to spirituality, material possessions, and unexplained phenomena perfected by chances. Statement of Problem Understanding the purpose of life is a difficulty undertaking as different societies have different views regarding the purpose of life and life itself. For example, suicide bombers represent part of a society whose believes do not sync with majority of the society’s view. Anybody considering death as a function of his beliefs can be a subject of misinformation, lack of understanding, or a victim of brainwashing. Therefore, to understand the purpose of life, a decision has to be made amongst spiritual, atheist, and contemporary views (modernity). Objectives To understand the purpose of life, this research does not embark on case studies or sample groups to sort out cohorts or groups sharing the same belief. However, this research aims at; Differentiating spiritual from atheist views on the purpose of life Defining the relevance of spiritual and atheist views on the purpose of life Considering the shape and meaning of life had nullification of spirituality and opposing views been attempted Choosing the most appropriate view to measure and weigh the purpose of life with regards to opposing and conflicting views LITERATURE REVIEW Religious View on the Meaning of Life According to Nostra (25), there is a significant relationship existing in all walks of life with regards to the purpose of life if the church or the religious sector is considered. In as many reasons as to why people exist in this world, the presence of a Devine figure watching over them is an area of concern and special interest. In many instances, all walks of life with regards to religious teachings have a similar destination whose importance to the individual human being is to ensure that self-actualization is achieved by defining a more significant destiny than the current life. The Muslims, the Christians, and the Buddhists have definite teachings that define their destinies after death and that promote a meaningful living in the current life. A Christian account on the purpose of life is taken from the purpose of the church and the teachings of the bible. The bible describes the human body as the temple of the Holy Spirit while a temple in Christian definition is a place of worship where God is praised. In this case, the assumption that the temple of the Holy Spirit is a place of worship means that the purpose of life is a function of Devine role and spiritual responsibility. Hence fore, from the definition of the temple in Christian context gives a vague idea of what human beings should aspire the meaning of life to be. The meaning of life according to Nostra (26) is simple in definition but complex in realization. The meaning of life is simply the valuing and appreciating of all the variables that matter in one’s life. How to identify what matters and how to classify it, is a complex task that most people have been unable to figure out. The meaning of life does not define the purpose of life as the two variables are functions of other variables. For example, the Buddhist’s view on the meaning of life is to attain self-actualization while the purpose of life is to acquire harmony by treating people in all walks of life in a manner similar to how one would like to be treated. An Islam account on the purpose of life is centered on the fact that God is the creator of all that exists – this includes material things that are a result of human minds. All religious views are important to the denominations that follow varying concepts of appreciating life and drawing meaning out of it. Atheist View on the Purpose of Life “We are the machines build by DNA whose purpose is to make copies of the same DNA… That is exactly what we are for” (Gould, 11). Gould (24) claims that we are the accidental result of an unplanned process. The above claims drawn by these scholars cultivate a number of conclusions whose view with regards to the meaning of life takes the entire relevance of God or Godliness out the picture. The claim that humans are propagators of DNA means that besides making copies of itself, there are no other duties the human race is entrusted with. This claim, combined with the claim that humans are the result of accidental process lead to the conclusions that God’s existence cannot be scientifically proven, the emergence of the universe is natural and so humans evolved naturally, there is no meaning to the existence of the universe, and there are no reasons that point to the purpose of life as human beings are simply carriers of DNA is required for future generations. From the claims and conclusions drawn above, it is obvious that the belief in the existence of God and acknowledging a purpose and meaning go together. However, an atheist view on the purpose of life simply contradicts with the religious view on the same. If the religious view on the purpose of life draws conclusions that God’s existence is a variable determining the purpose of life, then it takes away the purpose of life considering human beings as DNA propagators. The atheist views on the purpose of life takes a lead in accounting for specific tasks that human beings are entrusted with. Taking God out of the picture means that human beings exist as a function of their own making and choices. A man can make the choice to father a child with a woman of his choosing because he is in charge of his choices. The choice to not father a child means that the man can influence the population on earth by simply ignoring biological needs. However, the choice of not making babies undermines the purpose of life from the atheist view – if the purpose of life is to make copies of our DNA, not doing the same means taking the relevance of life out life itself. Therefore, if humans are entrusted with the responsibility to make their own choices, then it is obvious that we are accidental results of a complex process that does not have a definite direction or meaning. There are three levels of understanding life with regards to combining religious views with other views such as atheist. The three levels are considered the pillars of a meaningful living. Purposeful living is one thing while the purpose of life is another. For example, a businessperson aims at being successful with regards to running and generating revenue from a business. In this case, the meaning of this person’s goal in having a business is to generate revenue while the purpose of the business is to be successful. Hence fore, the purposeful venturing into the business is drawn from the meaning of the business which is to generate revenue. However, drawing a purpose from this meaning is defining the consequence or expected result from the business. The three levels of defining meaningful living include the meaning, value, and purpose of living. According to a material view on the purpose of life, the meaning of life is drawn from adaptability to life and variables that define life itself. The meaning of life in this case is a process through which the human race is supposed to adapt to different challenges, opportunities, and gradual changes. For example, all children are a product of their respective biological processes involving their mothers while their adaptability to living is a function of the family and community input. As the child grows, he/she needs clothing, food, and shelter. All these things can be classified as material although in the category of basic things. On the other hand, the child is required to attend school to be successful in his/her later life. Hence fore, the meaning of life for a developing child is to create an adaptability space to invest efforts and reap success. From an adaptability level of living, the value of life is its progress. From a child, a man or a woman develops, and this can be seen partly as progress. On the other hand, human beings transform from being humble to being rich as most people invest in businesses. The lack of success on anything means stagnancy or negativity (Hesse, 46). For this case, the value of life defines the purpose of life as the obligation to move forward. Lastly, the purpose of life is considered the attaining of balance in personality. Balance in personality means that an individual should focus on a variety of factors at the same time and cultivate progress in all. In this case, a personality is not a result of financial success but rather a mental state that balances beliefs with personal choices that affect others and one’s own life. For example, choosing to be an armed robber is a personal choice whose personal result is illegally acquiring wealth or material things. The effect of this choice to others is the creation of mayhem through contribution to murder and increase to the government spending security – this undermines the definition of value and meaning with regards to the relevance of living (Hesse, 47). The modern view on the purpose of life does not differ much from the tradition view. The modern view is not explained by a set of definite variables but rather through an accumulation of factors that affect human life on a real-time basis. Economies have led people into being more careful with investment and work than they are with their families and religion. However, while religion is not a new concept to the lives of human beings, it has been ignored to a sizeable extend making life to appear as a limited space where thriving is a function of the efforts applied. However, according to (Hesse, 22-34), life is purposeful if a subjectivity perspective is considered. Hence fore, a modern view on life shows that life is as purposeful as the variables pressing on an individual. Relevance of Life From all the accounts projected by the various views on the purpose of life, the relevance of surviving in a world dominated by economic challenges, diseases, terror and criminal activities, draconian laws, and uncertainty of remaining alive, is drawing meaning. Since all people cannot make sense of their lives in the same manner, the relevance of life can be concluded as the development of objectives and deliverables. For Christians, living again after death is an objective and eternal life is the goal. For an atheist, being alive to spread DNA is an objective and creating future generations is the goal (Gould, 113). For a materialist, the objective is creating opportunities while achieving success is the goal. For a modern individual, the goal of life is balancing priorities with respect to influential factors while objectives differ with regards to the rank of a priority. Conclusion The purpose of life is a function and an extraction of meaning from routine beliefs that societies have with regards to spirituality, material possessions, and unexplained phenomena perfected by chances. Since atheists cannot pin the meaning of life on God, they pin it on the responsibility of spreading their DNA while religious people pin the meaning of life to serving God. While atheist views are considered anti-Christ in nature, they raise an important point in answering questions related to creation or evolution of man and the ultimate destination of the human race. Materialists thrive to make their lives meaningful by investing resources on beneficial material things while modern people are scattered all over, shifting the relevance of life through the difficulties they go through. e. Material and modern views on the purpose of life extract meaning from objects, subjects, and objectives that influence the current lifestyle of an individual. Works Cited Gould, Stephen. ‘Extemporaneous Comments on Evolutionary Hope and Realities’ in Darwin's Legacy: Nobel Conference XVIII, ed. Charles L. Hamrum. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1983, 101-102. Aetate, Nostra. Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, Vatican Council II, 28 October, 1965. 3. Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. NY.: New Directions Publishing Corporation. 2002. Read More