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(01-03-2011, 02:51 PM)Lawrence Wrote: Why, to use what sets us apart! To not use it would be such a waste of..of...a species!
yes i agree but is that our purpose, to be creative?
if it's so and all we do is be creative without being procreative we won't last long as a species. creativity and imagination may set us apart, but at the end of the day those things are traits, may as well say our purpose is to use language or to wind surf or any other thing we can do other species can't do.
i belive the purpose of all species is the continuation of it.
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If the purpose of life is to use what sets us apart, then those of us who can't draw up schematics for a bridge, paint the Girl with a Pearl Earring, or write a moving sonnet should be euthanised presumably, as there is no purpose to their lives. Whereas someone like Adolph Hitler, who used his genocidal megalomania to such great effect, was an example to be striven for.
Personally, I wish he'd just fucked around some more and had some kids. And although I'm not entirely happy that my tax dollars are used to support girls who drop out of school at 15 to have a couple of kids and live on social security, I couldn't bring myself to put a bullet in their brains to end their pointless lives.
"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."
Of course not! The main difference is is that birds and ants and cats don't really choose their purpose like we do. I'm completely drunk right now, but I'll get to it tomorrow.
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Fair enough, I was a little aggressive.
I stand behind my point though--we may have more highly developed abstract thinking abilities than a chimp (which in turn can think more abstractly than a a kangaroo), but we are all just animals, merely points on a continuum. The purpose of our lives is exactly the same as the purpose of a porpoise or a porcupines life.
[But there's no rush...I can wait until you're sober.  ]
"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."
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I guess I could accept that the purpose of life could be to pass something on, whether its just your genetics (procreation) or something more abstract like a piece of art, books, wisdom, etc... anything that we can build on and that allows us to progress in the future. Of course that means the purpose of our existence is ultimately just for our own self-serving benefit (as a species) but that's a whole different issue 
PS. If you can, try your hand at giving some of the others a bit of feedback. If you already have, thanks, can you do some more?
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I don't think it's a whole different issue, I think it's the issue. We are just another species. Nothing less, but nothing more. Like every other species we make use of the genetic advantages we have and our numbers increase until they become unsustainable and then they decrease, and we reign as the dominant lifeform on earth until another lifeform replaces us.
It's ridiculously egotistical to consider ourselves to have surpassed nature. We are not Gods. We can do whatever the fuck we want, and we can tell ourselves that that thing is our "purpose" but the fundamental purpose of life, of all life, is perpetuation of the species. That over-rides even self-preservation (as any praying mantis will tell you).
[Incidentally, perpetuation of the species isn't exactly reproduction--most bees for example, never reproduce.]
"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."
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we (all species) according to darwin evolve and will eventually become extinct. the reason we evolve, ie; learn to do complex things and be more creative than the next species, or in a different way than the next species is done in order for us to survive as a species. our singular purpose as a species is to procreate in the best way that helps us survive as a species. creativity isn't just about art and language, look at how animals hunt. that has to be creative in many respects. the same as language is to us. look at mating rituals of birds. the more creative ones get the mate. chimps groom each other as a family unit. but at the end of the day that is not purpose. it may be a means to end but it's not purpose.
as for human creativity, did you ever think we learned to be creative because we realised we enjoyed it, or because it helped us hunt or express or get a mate (thats a nice cave painting harold can i be your mate?). that it passed time when we were bored. as we evolved we had more time on our hands. what was done by a few became common place. now everyones a poet.
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Excellent point...so painting girls with pearl earrings, or writing poems helps people get laid! [Never quite worked out that way for me, but then you've seen my poetry and my painting is worse than that.]
So, ultimately, saying the purpose of life is the creation of the greatest art we are capable of is actually the same thing as saying it's to get one's leg over.
Flippantly stated (by me) perhaps, but I think you're absolutely correct.
"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."
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art is the purpose of life,hey ,what you guys have to say about that eh?
- the partially blind semi bald eagle
Bastard Elect
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art is a pastime, an aid or a tool to/in life. it's not the purpose of it.
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