Whut wrote:What is the purpose of human life?
I know... it's a cliché question! The reason I'm pondering it at the moment is I've been reading into virtue ethics, and one of the things every virtue theory needs is some sort of teleological goal. (Eg. The purpose of a knife is to cut. Therefore: sharpness would be a virtue, bluntness would be a vice.)
Aristotle proposed that the Eudaimonia was the proper goal of human life. Eudaimonia translates as something like 'well being' or 'happiness', basically it characterizes the 'well-lived life'. So a virtue would be something that helps one towards Eudaimonia. Some other popular answers to the question are things like:
> to chase your dreams, to become the person you've always wanted to be.
> to survive or live as long as possible.
> some biologists conclude that if there is a primary function to life, it is the replication of DNA and the survival of one's genes.
> 42!
> to seek wisdom and knowledge, to try and understand the universe
> to seek spiritual enlightenment
> to make the world a better place
> there is no purpose
Now, I'm aware that everyone creates their own purpose, and that there isn't something we could really say is an intrisic purpose to life. However, I don't think it's a completely arbitrary question either. For instance, it's very possible to rule out what definately isn't the purpose of human life, i.e anything that is beyond human capability. So we know the purpose of life lies within human capability (I know, not exactly a profound realisation, lol :P)
I want to create a virtue theory for fun, so first I need to think of a teleological goal. I spent a little time trying to write one. here's what I got so far:
The purpose of life is to strive for your ultimate potential. Guided by your capacity for understanding and feeling, one should act towards a fulfilling life. To experience satisfying fulfilment and sustained well-being, and to create that: which best reflects your ultimate potential.
Any thoughts or criticisms? Anything that you think is worth adding? I tried to be as flexible with it as possible, so it could apply to anyone, not being to specific, though it might be to ambiguous.
My main idea was something like: the purpose is in aiming for the best you can be, your ultimate potential, something that's impossible to fully grasp, in a way it is "infinite" I was thinking about defining that "ultimate capability" as the the 'True Self', it's the capacity which encompasses you, whereas your current Self, is the form of being which defines you. So it's all about trying to define yourself as close to your ultimate self as possible.
I added "and to create that: which best reflects your ultimate potential." because our ability to create all sorts of things is one of the distinct aspects of human capability, I think. And the closer you get to your ultimate potential, the better quality your creations will be, sort of by default.
Is there any, more recent, teleological goals that philosophers have used in virtue theory that work well? I've been searching for things regarding the purpose of life etc. but I keep getting things like "the meaning of life", "the meaning of existence" and all the baggage that comes with that, not really what I'm after.
What do you think is distict when it comes to human capability? Any thoughts regarding any of this are welcome really, just milling over ideas at the moment :)
Why bother being the best that you can be? That takes work, struggle, and effort. The government will tax your efforts, and give the "money" you earned to someone else.
Welfare recipients get free food, housing, and entertainment courtesy of the federal government. They do not have to do squat, except to evacuate the used-up food, and maybe show up in a government-sponsored protest group waving a sign that they cannot read.
Unless you can justify some continuity of post-death consciousness in which higher intelligence makes a difference, it seems smarter to become a loyal Democrat and maximize the bennies for which the stupid working people must pay.