Life and it’s Purpose. Why are we really here?
It has been roughly 300,000 years since Homo sapiens first emerged on this ball of dirt we call home, and the age-old question of “Why are we here?” has echoed through each and every one of our minds, from time to time, without a doubt. We have tried to make sense of it in many ways, through philosophy, religion, science, and countless other lenses. Humankind’s search for purpose has been relentless. But dare I say, we are yet to arrive at a universally satisfactory conclusion.
The beauty and perhaps the burden of the meaning of life is that it remains open to interpretation. Each of us is left to construct our own answer. And from that answer, whether consciously or not, we derive our behaviors, our ambitions, and our tolerance for suffering.
Biological standpoint
From a strictly biological perspective, the “meaning” of life becomes almost unromantic. Evolutionary biology suggests that life’s fundamental drive is survival and reproduction.
Considering Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, that organisms best adapted to their environment are most likely to survive and pass on their genes, the purpose of life can be reduced down to the continuity of the human species, ensuring that your genetic material persists beyond your lifetime.
From the act of finding a suitable healthy mate, settling down and raising children, it’s a no brainer to say that a huge part of our brains is wired for it. We are here because our ancestors successfully reproduced, and our biological drive is pretty much to do the same.
With this point of view, the meaning of life can be defined as purely functional and no more. But as cognitive creatures that live beyond just our simple instincts to eat, sleep and mate, I believe many of us would find this conclusion unsatisfactory. There surely has to be more to it. Right…?
Religious point of view
And that’s the cue for our imaginary friends in the sky, who surely must have had some purpose in mind when they designed us. Not to sound like an atheist, for I myself am a devout Christian, believing in one true almighty God.
But the existence of so many religions and even more diverse religious views within the same religion should imply that we have very little understanding of what we preach about and we try to make sense of life with whatever little information we have.
Across a majority of religions there is a common thread which is that life is not random but designed purposefully and guided with a moral structure, with an end goal to attain. Either eternal happiness in heaven, or the end of the cycle of suffering. For most religions don’t just answer why we are here. They also tell us how to live while we’re here.
Through religion we tend to seek intent besides simple explanations to fill that gap for our purpose in life. Beyond just being a biological machine, we try to look at ourselves with our individual images, or egos in mind, and we try to use whoever the deities or philosophers we believe in to provide us with that intention.
Identifying with a religion has been statistically proven to play a major role in shaping our human experience. Reading into global surveys by organizations such as Pew Research, it’s fair to conclude that over 80% of the world identifies with a religion and studies have shown that individuals with strong religious beliefs often report higher levels of life satisfaction, resilience, and social support. There’s also neurological research that suggests, religious practices like prayer and meditation activate brain regions associated with calmness and emotional regulation, which I believe many of us could vouch for.
Christian philosophy
As a believer in Christ Jesus, I am more versed with the meaning given to one’s life within Christian philosophy, which is deeply tied to one’s relationship with God and the salvation of one’s soul.
According to Christian philosophy life is not merely about existence, but about aligning oneself with God’s will, embodying love, spreading the word of the lord and seeking salvation. The teachings of Jesus Christ emphasize compassion, sacrifice, and humility, not simply as abstract ideals, but as a way of living with purpose. A purpose of saving one’s self and the others around us from eternal damnation.
The notion that “we are here for a reason” is not metaphorical in Christianity it is literal. We were created intentionally by God, and our lives have intrinsic value beyond material success or biological function for the fulfillment of his kingdom, and it instructs us to seek God, submit to his will which is to love God above all and love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and eventually prepare ourselves to receive salvation on judgment day.
A man’s search for meaning
While pondering on the meaning of life it is also crucial to take a look at the psychological aspect, which interestingly sits somewhere between biology and philosophy.
The book “Man’s Search for Meaning” written by the Austrian neurologist and holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, probably offers one of the most compelling modern psychological perspectives to the meaning of life.
“He who has a why to live for, can bear almost any how.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
In his book Frankl argues that the primary human drive is not pleasure as suggested by Sigmund Freud or power as proposed by Alfred Adler, but meaning. A meaning connected either to someone or something, or a goal that needed achieving such as one’s life’s work. According to Frankl’s observations having a meaning to one’s life led individuals to endure even in the most brutal conditions imaginable within the concentration camps, whereas those who lost their will to live quickly, did not have a strong enough meaning to hold on to.
While not being in concentration camps ourselves, we still have the toils of day-to-day life to suffer, and when faced with stressful situations created by either our finances, relationships or even our academics and occupations we tend to question the reason to undergo such situations.
“Why us?”, “What’s the point to all of this?” and similar questions, have breezed through almost all of our minds, and almost all the time, having an answer to it gives us the hope and strength to keep moving ahead. It is well observed that not having a significant reason or meaning for our sufferings leads to mental complications, eventually leading to depression and even giving up on one’s life.
As the unstated universal truth of inevitability of change, one’s meaning for life could change or evolve from moment to moment but having a meaning to one’s life, it seems, is not a luxury but a psychological necessity.
Meanwhile, I…
Meanwhile, like all of us I believe, I have visited this thought many a time: “What is the meaning of my life?”, pondering on it by myself or annoying my friends with the topic, which led me to write this article in the first place.
It’s fair to say that as a believer in Christ Jesus, my perspective on life is heavily biased, and I do believe all of us are called to seek God and align our lives with his will. But how do you really do that? Well by reading the Word of God and through prayer and communion, and being obedient to the laws of Christ “Love thy God” and “Love thy neighbor”.
But is that truly enough? We are after all creatures driven by our primal instinct to ensure the continuity of our genes, and I too feel the biological urge to do so.
Besides that, a profound conversation that I once had with a friend seems to have had quite an impact on the way I perceive the meaning of our lives. During our conversation my friend made a statement that “The meaning of life is for us to touch the people around us, with the light that is within us”, which I interpret as an altruistic thought of using our talents, skills, knowledge, values and morals, that we have to make the world a better place.
I believe that we are more than the sum of our cells and thoughts. That we are here with the purpose of using whatever energy we have to make ourselves righteous and good, and to use that goodness, combine it with our knowledge and skills, to build a future for the next generation that we ourselves would bring forth to this world for the continuation of mankind. And that possibly is the will of God.
It all boils down to…
There is no one answer to the meaning of life, but it is clear that having one is necessary. At the end of the day, as an individual the meaning for your life is for you to discover and construct. And that perhaps is the beauty of life. That you have been provided a blank slate and you may give whatever meaning to it that suits you.
Science tells us how we exist.
Religion tells us why we might exist.
Psychology tells us how we cope with that existence.
But none of them can fully dictate what your life should mean. While that is both terrifying and freeing, it gives you the opportunity to learn and create, and change and evolve the meaning for your life.
Because in the absence of a universal answer, you are left with the responsibility, to define your own purpose, to justify your own suffering, and to decide what makes all of life worthwhile.
Still a very junior observer of life, here’s hoping that you will find your life’s meaning and as always wishing you all the best for your future.
Signing off!
