The Meaning of Life

I think of myself as a scientist. I'm not an expert or a professor at some prestigious College. I'm a retired guy enjoying my retirement in Mexico.  I do have some professional experience in science. My degree in college was a BA with a major in zoology and a minor in chemistry. I attended the University of California at Los Angeles Medical School and I have worked in medical research laboratories, epidemiology and computer science (amongst other things).

I enjoy learning about and trying to understand many areas of science, such as cosmology, biology, astronomy, physics, particle physics, genetics, evolution, string theory, chemistry and robotics.  

A few days ago, I was watching one of the Discovery Channels and watched one of Stephen Hawking's programs about the meaning of life.
After the program was over, I thought to myself what does perception and the nature of reality have to do with the meaning of life?  Stephen Hawking is a brilliant physicist but I think the subject of the meaning of life should have been handled by a geneticist, biologist or maybe a philosopher.

Socrates and and Aristotle had thoughts on this subject and later on Nietzsche and Monty Python.  However, their thinking was mainly about the meaning of life for human beings and not the meaning of life in general.  I mean to propose an answer for the meaning of life for all life from bacteria and viruses to plants and all animals.

I think the answer to the question about the meaning of life is to reproduce and pass your DNA genome to the gene pool for succeeding generations.  Perhaps there is something in your DNA genome that will contribute to the evolution of the human species to the next species that will supersede Homo sapiens.

stephen hawking is not only a brilliant physicist but a not so bad philosopher as well. i also prefer monty python's version to yours.

42

I doubt we'll ever really know but evolution only seems to come into play when life forms need to adapt to survive. Once a stable niche is found evolution basically stops, like with the mosquito, alligator, shark etc. I think the bigger question is, Why? There must be a reason, otherwise why bother? So at this point I've come to this: It's just something to do, (enjoy) which fits in nicely with Carl Sagan's observation that we are a way for the universe to know it's self. Past that, I could imagine our 'spark' of life melding with the cosmic internet of strings. Wouldn't that be nice?

mommy's genes + daddy's genes = baby's genes.....

evolution is happening every day..... at ohh soo slow a pace  

the very same evolutionary process is what takes place in petri dishes in laboratories to make new drugs and diseases

( bacteria are particularly quick evolvers  )

papa chango wrote:

The Meaning of Life

I think the answer to the question about the meaning of life is to reproduce and pass your DNA genome to the gene pool for succeeding generations.  Perhaps there is something in your DNA genome that will contribute to the evolution of the human species to the next species that will supersede Homo sapiens.

The Meaning of Life

Reproduction and genetic decent is certainly a function of life, but I don't see as having any meaning. Absent a god to assert meaning - and I've no reason to think such a being exists, I'm afraid it's all what you make of it.

I'm with Pedro on this. The Python rocks.

What makes you believe that life has a meaning and is not just a random set of events?

i am reminded of joni mitchelle singing ..."no one knows, they can never get that close...
guesses at most...guesses based on what each set of time and change are touching..."

have mercy, and she's canadian !

oncesubtle wrote:I doubt we'll ever really know but evolution only seems to come into play when life forms need to adapt to survive. Once a stable niche is found evolution basically stops, like with the mosquito, alligator, shark etc. I think the bigger question is, Why? There must be a reason, otherwise why bother? So at this point I've come to this: It's just something to do, (enjoy) which fits in nicely with Carl Sagan's observation that we are a way for the universe to know it's self. Past that, I could imagine our 'spark' of life melding with the cosmic internet of strings. Wouldn't that be nice?

Thanks for your intelligent response. I was I was beginning to think only fools post on this board.

ltollefs wrote:

papa chango wrote:

The Meaning of Life

I think the answer to the question about the meaning of life is to reproduce and pass your DNA genome to the gene pool for succeeding generations.  Perhaps there is something in your DNA genome that will contribute to the evolution of the human species to the next species that will supersede Homo sapiens.

The Meaning of Life

Reproduction and genetic decent is certainly a function of life, but I don't see as having any meaning. Absent a god to assert meaning - and I've no reason to think such a being exists, I'm afraid it's all what you make of it.

I'm with Pedro on this. The Python rocks.

I agree with your post up until the part about Pedo.

artesialulu wrote:What makes you believe that life has a meaning and is not just a random set of events?

I agree.

hockables wrote:mommy's genes + daddy's genes = baby's genes.....

evolution is happening every day..... at ohh soo slow a pace  

the very same evolutionary process is what takes place in petri dishes in laboratories to make new drugs and diseases

( bacteria are particularly quick evolvers  )

Correct

zenwoodle wrote:42

Exactly correct!

(deleted by mod)

When you talk about the meaning of life, shouldn't you separate man from the animals? Once you have done that, the question of meaning becomes more complex, and ought to include the perspectives of historians and theologians.

WDBarr wrote:
When you talk about the meaning of life, shouldn't you separate man from the animals? Once you have done that, the question of meaning becomes more complex, and ought to include the perspectives of historians and theologians.  

Why?

I'm just a dumb ol house painter, but here's my take on evolution and the meaning of life.

As a devout atheist I can't bother with "meaning of life" questions as they presuppose the existence of an intelligent overseer. I prefer science to mysticism and since my primary goal is to live to a hundred, I regularly scan the longevity blogs. It looks like we are almost at the point of technological development where the changes we'll be able to make to our own biology will supersede evolution. Gene splicing, nanotechnology, organ regeneration, etc, will allow us to live longer and better. My teenaged children have an excellent chance at living to well over a hundred and perhaps much, much longer! If you can hang in there another ten or twenty years, GDF-11 (or similar) may even reverse aging to some degree. We'll figure out how to improve brain function so that the average man on the street will have the brainpower of an Ashkenazic genius. At that point all bets are off as to which direction human biology will take. Customized humans! We will become whatever we choose to be as a species, and for whatever purpose we deem important..just as I try to do on a personal level every day. The meaning of life is whatever you say it is.

Once computers have the intellegence to be self aware and replicate themselves then all bets are off. I envision a society of machines. Perhaps humans will be able to upload their conciousness and truly become immortal.

The Terminator movies are not so far fetched........

the virginian wrote:I'm just a dumb ol house painter, but here's my take on evolution and the meaning of life.

As a devout atheist I can't bother with "meaning of life" questions as they presuppose the existence of an intelligent overseer. I prefer science to mysticism and since my primary goal is to live to a hundred, I regularly scan the longevity blogs. It looks like we are almost at the point of technological development where the changes we'll be able to make to our own biology will supersede evolution. Gene splicing, nanotechnology, organ regeneration, etc, will allow us to live longer and better. My teenaged children have an excellent chance at living to well over a hundred and perhaps much, much longer!  If you can hang in there another ten or twenty years, GDF-11 (or similar) may even reverse aging to some degree. We'll figure out how to improve brain function so that the average man on the street will have the brainpower of an Ashkenazic genius. At that point all bets are off as to which direction human biology will take. Customized humans! We will become whatever we choose to be as a species, and for whatever purpose we deem important..just as I try to do on a personal level every day. The meaning of life is whatever you say it is.

Virginian, I'm a life long atheist who agrees with you as to the efficacy of science, but I have a problem with attaining an average life span of 100+ years. Through science, mainly in the guise of nutrition, sanitation and medicine, the global average life expectancy has risen from about 40 years in the early 1800s to about 70 today. Concomitantly, during the same peirod the earths population has risen from +/- 900 mil. to in excess of 7 billion today.  We don't feed everyone as it is, how will we manage with another billion or 2? I say be happy with your 80 or so years and give someone else a chance.

This lady says that overpopulation is a big old lie and we don't have to worry about it cuz the population of the whole world can fit into The city of Jacksonville Florida. So, no worries about that as long as we have geniuses like this figuring out the logistics.


https://youtu.be/xxzXlk6Z97o

I think the quesiton, "the meaning of life" itself has no meaning. Life is "being," does being have a meaning? If so, to whom?

yes, and comments are disabled.
conversely, i read somewhere that there are so many in china alone that if oriented single file and standing on one another's shoulders, they could form a human bridge
from there to the west coast of 'merica, and at least one chinaman left to do the trek.
why i had no idea jacksonville was so large !?

Ms.Thang wrote:This lady says that overpopulation is a  big old lie and we don't have to worry about it cuz the population of the whole world can fit into The city of Jacksonville Florida.  So, no worries about that as long as we have geniuses like this figuring out the logistics.


https://youtu.be/xxzXlk6Z97o

For Michelle, at least, ignorance is bliss. I wish I could be so bubbly, so oblivious, so dangerous.

Michelle Duggar is part of the *Quiverfull movment. The meaning of life is probably pretty simple for them, but they have a way of simplifying just about everything to justify their ways. ..like with overpopulation.
They are making an army for Jesus.

From Urban Dictionary:

Quiverfull Movment

A branch of evangelical Christians who take the Bible literally. They believe that one of the most important of God's commands is to "be fruitful and multiply" (it's written twice!). Quiverfull families have as many children in the least amount of time that is humanly possible. The quiverfull mission is to repopulate the world with white Christians, and the movement is one of the fastest growing segments of Dominionist Christians."

Ms.Thang wrote:Michelle Duggar is part of the *Quiverfull movment. The meaning of life is probably pretty simple for them, but they have a way of simplifying just about everything to justify their ways. ..like with overpopulation.
They are making an army for Jesus.

From Urban Dictionary:

Quiverfull Movment

A branch of evangelical Christians who take the Bible literally. They believe that one of the most important of God's commands is to "be fruitful and multiply" (it's written twice!). Quiverfull families have as many children in the least amount of time that is humanly possible. The quiverfull mission is to repopulate the world with white Christians, and the movement is one of the fastest growing segments of Dominionist Christians."

it figgers-deliver us from eviljellycoals-SNORK!