The Point – Part 6

I’m going to jump back into the existential rabbit hole after a brief hiatus. Let’s recap, shall we?

Part 1 – An introduction to the question, which essentially is, is there a reason for human life and existence in general, or is it just random occurrences within the universe?

Part 2 – A refinement of the question. What is the justification for human life, the why?

Part 3 – A discussion of purpose, and the question of why human beings are unique in having one, and why we feel entitled to assume that we do. The idea of existence being truly random in all ways.

Part 4 – Further discussion of the implications of truly random existence, without the existence of or interference from a grand orchestrator. The question of how free will comes into play, and if it may be an evolutionary mechanism.

Part 5 – A discussion of free will and how it may factor into a random existence.

I have been working on a personal project, and in the past couple of days, the idea of expectations came up. People have expectations of one another, and of life. But, when you really get down to it, no one in the world and certainly not life or existence as a whole, has any sort of obligation to meet those expectations. If they are met, wonderful. If not, life goes on. The world does not grind to a halt because someone is disappointed by another person or by life.

I suppose the same can be said for the question at hand. Most of us have an expectation that our lives have purpose, and that that purpose is bestowed by something else. Existence is not obligated to meet that expectation. Life is not obligated to meet that expectation. And, truth be told, no matter what, you will never know for sure if you got your purpose right or wrong. You are, after all, making assumptions on the intent of an outside force or entity. You could spend your whole life pursuing something because you “knew” it was your purpose and you wound up being wrong. Additionally, no one – not existence, not other people – is responsible or obligated to help you fulfill that purpose, should it exist.

If we have a purpose, that is, by extension, the reason for our existence. If we don’t, then an assumption is made that there is no reason for our existence. I think that may be part of why we assume that every life, every event in that life, has a reason or purpose behind it. Because we don’t want to confront the implications of the idea that our lives may not have a reason. And, though human beings are capable of enormous amounts of ego, we tend to not think that we have the ability or the power to give ourselves that purpose, it has to come from elsewhere. One question to consider though. Rather than assuming that something external is responsible for giving us that purpose, what if, instead, we give ourselves a purpose based on our own values? Nothing says we can’t do that.

If you believe in a god, great. He (or she) gives you your purpose but doesn’t necessarily tell you what it is. You have to figure that out on your own. If you believe in the power of nature, the energy of the universe, or any other thing bigger than yourself, that’s also great. But the same thing applies. You have to figure out the details yourself, and you don’t really ever know if you guessed right.

That’s really the thing, isn’t it? All this thinking and questioning and reasoning…. all for something that I will not be able to confirm, because I am not, and cannot be, omniscient. Because of that simple fact, at some point, I will have to either accept that I do not, will not, and cannot know the whole answer, or take a leap of faith into what I choose to believe. Now, I can – and plan to – spend my life trying to get closer to an answer. Faith isn’t really my thing anymore. But, I do have to accept that any conclusion I come to, if I come to one, is for me only, and is not verifiable. I posted this a while back, and it’s true. We honestly can’t actually know anything with 100% certainty, except for the fact that we can’t know anything with 100% certainty. Ironic. And paradoxical.

If nothing else, life is a smart ass. I can appreciate that.