I have this empty feeling in life and no matter how many times I try to question myself, the answers don't seem to emerge. I feel like I don't have a purpose to live and consider myself as just one of many in this world running a rat race.If you have any clue to this answer, Can you explain?
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1Don't expect to be handed your life's purpose. You must construct one.– Dan ChristensenFeb 13, 2015 at 4:28
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In my case, my mood effects these types of thoughts quite a bit. At times that the "glass is half full" I feel that life is meaningful and am even optimistic that I might know of the purpose someday. But a lot of piddly little things can affect my mood - good diet, good sleep, time with friends.– Jonathan DunnFeb 14, 2015 at 18:30
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@masskent Seek that the self you are viewing is an illusion by seeing that what you are observing is created by you, but you mistake it for something objective. Then see that you are that which attaches meaning to something, because you interpret. Meaning doesn't exist objective, that is, without the mind. There is nothing external to you that defines how you need to view something (and consequently, feel about something). Then understand the simplicity of spiritual enlightment: youtube.com/watch?v=ls-Ed2uvTH8 All this is a journey, take your time.– Mike de KlerkJun 27, 2017 at 7:59
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Closed as primarily opinion-based? Not really that. Yes, opinions may differ from each other, I could think differently from you; but there is an invariant reality. Quran, Muslims' book, explains this great reality in a great manner.– MAChitgarhaSep 19, 2018 at 13:44
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3 Answers
First, your emotions around this question are something that I would advise you to seek help with - whether it is with a trusted friend or relative, or someone trained to help people deal with such a sense of despair. I can tell you from personal experience, it is not an academic matter, and can be a matter of life or death. So talk to someone about how you feel, irrespective of the philosophical ramifications.
Now to the question. Generally, people seek meaning for their lives from two types of sources: objective or personal.
Objective purposes for life can be provided by the orthodox religions, some social movements, any number of collective constructs that adhere to a particular world view. In these cases, this is not a personal search of yours, but a matter of accepting a doctrine and committing to a life lived accordingly. Your part of it is deciding how you can fulfill this given purpose. Many wise and intelligent people have lived their lives according to a purpose provided to them by a school of thought, religion or other institution.
Those who are not convinced by such extrinsic influences, who have searched their own minds, explored the universe around them and found no extrinsic purpose that they believe is valid - these people have two options.
On one hand, they can adopt a lack of purpose and a kind of hopelessness as their world view, and live accordingly. Some see this as a ticket to perfect freedom. How they use this freedom is entirely up to them.
On the other hand, they can decide that a purposeless life is not worth living, and there is no power in the universe besides themselves to provide it for them. In this case, they survey the landscape of their associations - to themselves, to their family and friends, to their profession, the groups, national or ethnic to which they belong - and decide to forge a purpose for themselves out of these relationships.
This is heavy going, a tremendous responsibility. However, I will simply name for you such luminaries as Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, probably Eleanor Roosevelt, and many others as merely famous examples.
As you discuss your feelings with others on this topic - which again, I urge you to do - you will discover less famous persons who have struggled with this responsibility. They will have suggestions on how to go about finding a purpose, from either objective sources, or from within yourself.
So in the short term, reading your question, you HAVE forged a purpose - of finding a purpose. You have set your feet on a journey traveled by many of your fellow humans. Step one completed. Congratulations.
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1@memphisslim, I was going to vote to close this question as being to broad, but you provided an extraordinary summary of the different ways people have tried to understand the question. Hats off to you! Feb 12, 2015 at 18:10
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Thank you, James. Mass Kent, my aim was to travel a middle course, and take the emotion out of the question. But there never was a less academic question, I think - ever. Emotion will play a part. If you perceive my response as optimistic, that is fine, but my aim was to be as objective as possible. I personally believe yours to be a noble struggle, and I wish you the best as you pursue it. Feb 12, 2015 at 18:43
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@memphisslim You shouldn't have taken emotion out of the question, but leave it right where it is. Emotion has a function here: "Ouch it hurts, stop doing that!" kind of signal. 'That' would be: viewing life as purposeless. So emotion is like a sense (just like taste). You taste whether food will help you to keep living. Your emotional sense does the same. It is a perfect sense, always present, always accurate. Don't mistake a subjective source for an objective source. Here OP mistakes that there is no such thing as purpose, but what it observes, is its own view on things, which hurts! Jun 27, 2017 at 7:54
Before giving my two cents, I'll echo the original response: you may want to seek some kind of help if you are suffering deep emotional pain.
With that said, here is a take I agree with. I think it's the Existentialist view, a view that comes off as depressing, but in reality can be deeply liberating if we let it...
What is the purpose of a hammer? To drive nails. What is the purpose of a car? To go places. In each case the purpose of X is the greater role it serves.
This means asking about the purpose of life is asking what greater thing it serves. Therefore, unless you believe there is something beyond life to which it can stand in such a relation (e.g.: God), then the question of purpose is incoherent.
I'm not saying life has no purpose. I'm saying the question of purpose doesn't apply. So life neither has nor has no purpose.
Now, this can be deeply liberating or deeply depressing, depending on your view. The liberating part is that purpose is a double edged sword. The moment we abandon the notion of purpose, life becomes more open. Now, instead of certain narrow tracks we can tread depending on how "important" they are, we realize life simply is, and are more free to wander the field at will.
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@MassKent well, if you don't believe there's anything outside this life, then purpose doesn't apply. Another way to look at it is to stop worrying about purpose and just live. Throw yourself fully into life, get what you can out of it. If you're worrying about a purpose, then you are not living life. You are cheapening it because you are saying it must be about something else for you to engage in it. Feb 14, 2015 at 14:06
For me there is no porpouse in live. You basicly live because of evolution. There are no responsibilities that come with live (you 'need' to adopt to your environment: country, family, etc.). So basicly you have a finite amount of time you can spend however you want. After this time there is nothing for you. All your acomplishments stay on this world and disappear after a short amount of time.
The most logical thing would be to live a happy live. If you think a bit further there are 2 types of thinks that make you happy. One is good the other is bad.
If you dont want to be blind, always choose the moraly good thing.
Source: Plato
Why live: Because you can. Even if you live a bad life you dont get anything by dying.
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1HOW is this Plato?– user2953Feb 12, 2015 at 23:28
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@Keelan i cant recall the dialog out of my head but i might get back to you if i remember.– yammFeb 13, 2015 at 8:46