What is the purpose of life? This philosophical question has plagued man since as long as time. Originally, every living being has the same purpose, to reproduce. Our most fundamental need is to extend our species. But here in 2014, with the human population reaching capacity, procreation is not of supreme importance. This leaves us to speculate why we are here. For most people, those who are not struggling for survival, I question the meaning of the word living. We can go through life eating, breathing, and sleeping, but if we never push boundaries, are we living?
My intuition is to say no, being alive is not living. By being alive, we have succeeded in fulfilling the bottom portion of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. As members of a first world society, we no longer need to focus on basic survival skills, so we are forced to search for more. The ultimate goal for everyone is happiness, which is really an abstract and profoundly unattainable idea. By striving towards the idea of creating happiness, we will live more worthwhile lives. These two ideas translate because our presumptions regarding the things that will make us happy are ever-changing. To decide which things in life we think will truly make us happy, and are therefore worth our time and effort, lots of self-examination is required. In this process of self examination we are forced to question our presumptions about happiness and about ourselves. By looking inward we will become more adaptable and thoughtful, turning us into better human beings.
It is interesting to note that we are being forced to reconsider our natural purposes and find meaning in things that are less concrete.
ReplyDeleteWe both talked about Maslow! Pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteGood point about how change mandates self-reflection. We have to recognize when we start to value different things in order to fulfill those values.