I had some interesting thoughts while I was taking a shower just now. This might be something others have pondered themselves but here it is regardless. You'll have to forgive any science terminology that doesn't work like compound vs. molecule. I think the question "why are we here?" is possibly answerable. Instead I would focus more on the question "how did we get here?" because it would probably answer the other question. Here's my thoughts.
If we look at how we exist right now one might describe our world as "many small things forming larger things". We have many small atoms which all come together and form a larger object. That object is then part of another object and so on forming a cell...etc. Eventually you get the creature or object that's at our scale. Be it a table or a plant it doesn't matter. Lets look at a plant.
As far as we know, plants are not conscious beings. They don't have thoughts or ideas about life and creation but they are still biologically alive. We know a plants purpose in terms of the earth and ourselves. We assume there is no other purpose for a plant because we haven't found any. I would say a plants purpose is to grow, to shelter animals, to feed animals, filter the air, and hold soil in place. Plants play a big role in allowing life to flourish. They use the water, sun, air, and soil to fulfill their purpose without knowing it. We have defined their purpose simply by existing and benefiting from their properties. And lets plants were a mistake. Perhaps plants were never meant to be created or some event occurred and by fluke plants were born. Even if that's the case, we probably would not be here if it weren't for the fluke.
Surely the atmosphere doesn't know of it's purpose or how it got there. We know how it got their and it's purpose because we exist and benefit from it. Whether it's a positive or negative benefit is not important. Certain species exist that have a negative effect on one species but a positive for another. An example would be birds that eat bugs off larger animals.
I think it's also important to include more abstract things like language here. Language isn't alive or breathing, it has no thoughts or even a body. Language is created by animals to communicate with each other. Even if it's a few grunts or noises it's understood by the animals. The animals have realized that living together furthers their chance of survival. Language is not a physical thing, but it is heard, felt, smelled, or seen through senses. A cat may fluff out it's fur to appear bigger or stronger if agitated. Other species can see and hear that the cat is angry and either back away or defend themselves. We use language to give a message to other humans for example. This is a use for whatever allows us to talk in our bodies.
So now we add humans into the equation. We work in groups and use clever ways to catch and track our prey. Then suddenly, we realize a way to use plants and animals more efficiently. We now grow our crops and keep animals fenced in so we don't have to hunt anymore. We use plants to feed them and ourselves. The purpose of a plant has not changed, it is simply being used in a different manner. We have only altered it's growth for our convenience. We then discover medicine and technology. In order to live longer we use medicine on our bodies. We simply found another use for elements found in nature. We are scared of death and don't like the idea so we seek to prolong our lives.
Technology is no different than medicine or language. We use technology to make our lives easier. I am posting this text on my computer, through the internet and onto your screen. This means I don't have to write it on paper with ink and travel across the world to deliver it. We have simply found a use for things like metal / plastic, and other things created or existing in nature.
So it comes down the ultimate question, what is our purpose? I would say our purpose is to exist and make the best of it. Without purpose, nothing would exist. The planet would do just fine without us on it. Nature would take it course and nobody would notice. In fact, nature isn't even needed. A planet is just a bunch of rocks and matter thrown together. But why have planets at all? Surely the universe would still exist even if it was empty. Why have a universe then?
The fact is, we ARE here. It doesn't matter how we got here. It could have been a freak accident, but here we are! We've been thrown into a complex and ever changing system without even knowing our own name. We have special traits that would make us useful in that system. We can think ahead, think of the future. If we need to modify a piece of land to prevent a catastrophe in the future, we can do that. We can save habitats by preventing forest fires using prescribed burns. We can use modern science, math, and technology to help maintain balance in nature. Even if it's creating a comfortable bed that a house pet can sleep in...We have the ability to do good. We have emotions, all of us feeling different things. If we hurt an animal, we feel sad and try to make them better. Some of us have malicious intent, but hey...Not every tomato plant yields good harvest. I believe our good intentions are part of our purpose...I don't think this is an accident. We are, deep down, "good" beings. We strive to do good and make all species feel good. Other emotions get in the way though; fear, anger, love, sadness, desire...etc.
The problem is, we don't really fulfill our "intended" purpose. We aren't using our traits to the best of their ability. Instead, we tried to create a purpose for ourselves. We created fame, fortune, and status to have achievable goals. We have jobs and we aspire to try new things. Entertainment seems to be the dominant purpose of humans. We create things to make ourselves happy. I create computer programs so people can do things easier than before....etc. Our superior intelligence and emotions have gotten the better of us. We have tried to break the cycle of nature. We have created gods which are essentially perfect human beings but with cosmic powers. We strive to be like a god, and then create religions to follow. I'm sure that while Christianity is corrupt and flawed it was not created to be so. I would say a good chunk of religious people have good intentions that they act upon. The problem is the whole "believe only one god" thing. People will take religious (man made) doctrine as divine truth. I don't fully blame these people either. I can't say I wouldn't believe god if it were tell me in person how I should try to act. They believe Jesus actually came to earth. Quite a destructive cycle they've made for themselves.
So, I don't really have a heart-warming conclusion to write...I suppose a readers digest version would go something like this...
We don't know how or why we are here but we know alot about what's also here with us. We have several abilities that other species on earth do not possess. We have good intentions deep down and want to help others including nature. We should use these abilities as best as we can to fulfill our good intentions. It is widely accepted that happy is good, and sad is not.
Some of you may be thinking "well that's fine, but who define good or bad? Who says we should do good, that's just a human interpretation of things". I would answer that we have not defined good and bad. Nature itself defined that for us. A mother bird knows just as we do that you have to protect your children. If your children die then they may suffer in the process and won't grow up to have their own kids. What we have on this planet is a thing called life. We don't know what lies beyond life, and we don't know if it exists anywhere out there. Why should we not seek to preserve ourselves? We may not be worth anything but we're here.
There's also an interesting problem with the whole good and evil thing. It's a bit of a play on words so bear with me.
If you're an evil person, then doing bad things makes you feel good. Doing bad things to a good person makes them feel bad.
If you're a good person, then doing good things make your feel good. Does doing bad things to a bad person make them feel good? No, they feel bad.
I mean sure maybe some people enjoy feeling bad, but they feel good about feeling bad.
There is only good or bad in any situation. If you are neutral about something, it means it won't make you feel bad, which is good!
So therefor: good is good, bad is bad, and this play on words is driving me mad.
If we look at how we exist right now one might describe our world as "many small things forming larger things". We have many small atoms which all come together and form a larger object. That object is then part of another object and so on forming a cell...etc. Eventually you get the creature or object that's at our scale. Be it a table or a plant it doesn't matter. Lets look at a plant.
As far as we know, plants are not conscious beings. They don't have thoughts or ideas about life and creation but they are still biologically alive. We know a plants purpose in terms of the earth and ourselves. We assume there is no other purpose for a plant because we haven't found any. I would say a plants purpose is to grow, to shelter animals, to feed animals, filter the air, and hold soil in place. Plants play a big role in allowing life to flourish. They use the water, sun, air, and soil to fulfill their purpose without knowing it. We have defined their purpose simply by existing and benefiting from their properties. And lets plants were a mistake. Perhaps plants were never meant to be created or some event occurred and by fluke plants were born. Even if that's the case, we probably would not be here if it weren't for the fluke.
Surely the atmosphere doesn't know of it's purpose or how it got there. We know how it got their and it's purpose because we exist and benefit from it. Whether it's a positive or negative benefit is not important. Certain species exist that have a negative effect on one species but a positive for another. An example would be birds that eat bugs off larger animals.
I think it's also important to include more abstract things like language here. Language isn't alive or breathing, it has no thoughts or even a body. Language is created by animals to communicate with each other. Even if it's a few grunts or noises it's understood by the animals. The animals have realized that living together furthers their chance of survival. Language is not a physical thing, but it is heard, felt, smelled, or seen through senses. A cat may fluff out it's fur to appear bigger or stronger if agitated. Other species can see and hear that the cat is angry and either back away or defend themselves. We use language to give a message to other humans for example. This is a use for whatever allows us to talk in our bodies.
So now we add humans into the equation. We work in groups and use clever ways to catch and track our prey. Then suddenly, we realize a way to use plants and animals more efficiently. We now grow our crops and keep animals fenced in so we don't have to hunt anymore. We use plants to feed them and ourselves. The purpose of a plant has not changed, it is simply being used in a different manner. We have only altered it's growth for our convenience. We then discover medicine and technology. In order to live longer we use medicine on our bodies. We simply found another use for elements found in nature. We are scared of death and don't like the idea so we seek to prolong our lives.
Technology is no different than medicine or language. We use technology to make our lives easier. I am posting this text on my computer, through the internet and onto your screen. This means I don't have to write it on paper with ink and travel across the world to deliver it. We have simply found a use for things like metal / plastic, and other things created or existing in nature.
So it comes down the ultimate question, what is our purpose? I would say our purpose is to exist and make the best of it. Without purpose, nothing would exist. The planet would do just fine without us on it. Nature would take it course and nobody would notice. In fact, nature isn't even needed. A planet is just a bunch of rocks and matter thrown together. But why have planets at all? Surely the universe would still exist even if it was empty. Why have a universe then?
The fact is, we ARE here. It doesn't matter how we got here. It could have been a freak accident, but here we are! We've been thrown into a complex and ever changing system without even knowing our own name. We have special traits that would make us useful in that system. We can think ahead, think of the future. If we need to modify a piece of land to prevent a catastrophe in the future, we can do that. We can save habitats by preventing forest fires using prescribed burns. We can use modern science, math, and technology to help maintain balance in nature. Even if it's creating a comfortable bed that a house pet can sleep in...We have the ability to do good. We have emotions, all of us feeling different things. If we hurt an animal, we feel sad and try to make them better. Some of us have malicious intent, but hey...Not every tomato plant yields good harvest. I believe our good intentions are part of our purpose...I don't think this is an accident. We are, deep down, "good" beings. We strive to do good and make all species feel good. Other emotions get in the way though; fear, anger, love, sadness, desire...etc.
The problem is, we don't really fulfill our "intended" purpose. We aren't using our traits to the best of their ability. Instead, we tried to create a purpose for ourselves. We created fame, fortune, and status to have achievable goals. We have jobs and we aspire to try new things. Entertainment seems to be the dominant purpose of humans. We create things to make ourselves happy. I create computer programs so people can do things easier than before....etc. Our superior intelligence and emotions have gotten the better of us. We have tried to break the cycle of nature. We have created gods which are essentially perfect human beings but with cosmic powers. We strive to be like a god, and then create religions to follow. I'm sure that while Christianity is corrupt and flawed it was not created to be so. I would say a good chunk of religious people have good intentions that they act upon. The problem is the whole "believe only one god" thing. People will take religious (man made) doctrine as divine truth. I don't fully blame these people either. I can't say I wouldn't believe god if it were tell me in person how I should try to act. They believe Jesus actually came to earth. Quite a destructive cycle they've made for themselves.
So, I don't really have a heart-warming conclusion to write...I suppose a readers digest version would go something like this...
We don't know how or why we are here but we know alot about what's also here with us. We have several abilities that other species on earth do not possess. We have good intentions deep down and want to help others including nature. We should use these abilities as best as we can to fulfill our good intentions. It is widely accepted that happy is good, and sad is not.
Some of you may be thinking "well that's fine, but who define good or bad? Who says we should do good, that's just a human interpretation of things". I would answer that we have not defined good and bad. Nature itself defined that for us. A mother bird knows just as we do that you have to protect your children. If your children die then they may suffer in the process and won't grow up to have their own kids. What we have on this planet is a thing called life. We don't know what lies beyond life, and we don't know if it exists anywhere out there. Why should we not seek to preserve ourselves? We may not be worth anything but we're here.
There's also an interesting problem with the whole good and evil thing. It's a bit of a play on words so bear with me.
If you're an evil person, then doing bad things makes you feel good. Doing bad things to a good person makes them feel bad.
If you're a good person, then doing good things make your feel good. Does doing bad things to a bad person make them feel good? No, they feel bad.
I mean sure maybe some people enjoy feeling bad, but they feel good about feeling bad.
There is only good or bad in any situation. If you are neutral about something, it means it won't make you feel bad, which is good!
So therefor: good is good, bad is bad, and this play on words is driving me mad.
