Legacy / meaning of life

[malfunction]

A serious subject I guess but I'll try and keep it light...

Do you ever think about your legacy / a higher purpose in life? I don't necessarily mean to imply any religious leanings (being an atheist myself) but never-the-less I occasionally struggle with purpose / meaning around the daily grind and was wondering if other hexites had similar thoughts, specifically around what you are doing with your life work wise , work vs life balance and what you feel you should be doing.... And whether or not you feel you will be able to to look back with a level of satisfaction / pride later in life...

(FWIW - I'm not being morbid but I do have infrequent doubts about the path my life has taken work wise so far but both fear change and wonder how the hell I'd cope financially if I jacked it all in... and yes, ~2:41 am on a school night after a few beers is exactly the right time to be thinking about this)

[Funkstar]

I've had similar trains of thought to this over the years: will I be remembered after I'm gone, what will I leave behind. That kind of thing.

I always thought that if I became successful enough I could turn into a philanthropist. I would love to spend lots of money on my home city restoring and upgrading amenities.

I don't actually have kids, my better half does though, and being involved in their lives kind of gives you a different take on things. They will be our legacy

[TheAnimus]

I really don't care. I'll be dead. I've no kids I know of, I feel no obligation.

[kalniel]

Putting religious stuff aside, yes, my career choices were made with the intention of contributing to making a difference. And it's not like I've really given up much financially to do so - you can still make money in jobs that contribute.

[[GSV]Trig]

You were born to reproduce, the same as every other living thing.

[ehhhhhhh]

Do you ever think about your legacy / a higher purpose in life?

I don't believe in any form of higher purpose and I think human life is just insignificant.

I do believe that we are "animals", hence my view on this is purely naturalistic.

[Salazaar]

You were born to reproduce, the same as every other living thing.

100% agreed with that. If you can make things better for yourself and others during your lifetime then that's all good but ultimately we're just here to propagate the next generation.

[cptwhite_uk]

100% agreed with that. If you can make things better for yourself and others during your lifetime then that's all good but ultimately we're just here to propagate the next generation.

What an utter cynical (and depressing) view of life. While I have a logical mindset I wouldn't get any enjoyment from life if I were to have that view. I much prefer to think that we're hear to explore the unknown and work to improve society.

Society is only an artificial construct we've developed, there's no reason to accept it at face value as "the only way" it could ever be.

[[GSV]Trig]

What an utter cynical (and depressing) view of life. While I have a logical mindset I wouldn't get any enjoyment from life if I were to have that view. I much prefer to think that we're hear to explore the unknown and work to improve society.

Society is only an artificial construct we've developed, there's no reason to accept it at face value as "the only way" it could ever be.

Ahh but your confusing why you are here with things that life brings, happyness, religion etc and attaching words like depressing, cynical, enjoyment and so on..

As for exploring the unknown and improving society, the human race is in general selfish, arrogant and self absorbed and until we can get passed those things no amount of rosetinded eyewear is going to make the race as a whole life upto that sort of ideology..

[Salazaar]

What an utter cynical (and depressing) view of life. While I have a logical mindset I wouldn't get any enjoyment from life if I were to have that view. I much prefer to think that we're hear to explore the unknown and work to improve society.

Society is only an artificial construct we've developed, there's no reason to accept it at face value as "the only way" it could ever be.

It's only cynical and depressing if you make it so. If you're happy to accept it, it's a perfectly worldly point of view. Live life for the sake of living it, enjoy the time that you have and don't worry about trying to find meaning and understanding where there is none to be had.

I honestly don't know why anyone would feel depressed about it, in fact I find the idea that we're all here for some greater purpose a terribly arrogant point of view!

[oolon]

Life is just a terminal condition. I doubt in 200 years time anyone will remember me (as is the case with most people). While I have enjoyed my time any promise I might have had when young hasn't resulted in any greatness so my own immortality has to come from genetic immortality and so I have to give the next generation the best chance they can, and hopefully (by hard work and a fair bit of luck) be more successful than I have been.

[fuddam]

Life here is just a burp before the main speech. Most of you know I'll be of that view, so no surprises there.

We're each here for a divine, unique, discoverable purpose, no matter how much you each of you wants to say otherwise. I don't care that you'll ask me to prove it, but them's the apples.

FWIW I've thought about life / death / legacy since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, and think anyone who prefers not to is living in a pressure cooker. Bit like a samurai: being able to face death calmly brings immense freedom. Being prepared to die means one can start living etc etc - you've heard the cliche.

Legacy-wise: comes down to the relationships you foster. Philanthropy is admirable, though I find a lot of rich people do it out of either fear or guilt - to atone for the negatives involved in accruing their wealth, and 'just in case' there actually is an afterlife. The latter motivation makes sense, if life were about karma, that one could 'buy' oneself into a good place.

If one has lived a life filled with and about love, I can think of no greater legacy. All the rest is dust. Ozymandias....

Recently, for no particular reason, have been pondering how many famous atheists have died. Is easy to say one doesn't believe in an afterlife when one is young / fit / healthy / alive, but faced with terminal illness, declining in old age, faced with death, it's a whole other ballgame. Words don't count for much. I think most people would agree that we have a very strong survival instinct, and faced with inescapable death, the unfairness of death, the cruelty of it, the core of the individual is revealed. And truth be told, I see a lot of deathbed bitterness. No judgement from me, of course. I think the idea of coming from nothingness and going to nothingness would be a strong reason to pull the trigger early.

I just see it as tragic, ultimately. They could have gone out with a very real joy for the future, to a wonderful homecoming, but they choose otherwise. Very heavy.

Anyway..........

[chuckskull]

The meaning of life is life. Live it. You only get one shot, don't spend it worrying about the next one, it wont happen. It's not unfair or cruel, it's perfectly natural. Everything that has ever existed eventually ceases to exist. Every galaxy, every star, every planet, every insignificant mammal. It is not to be feared it is to be embraced. Make the most of of it while you can

The only person who will judge you at the end is yourself. If you believe you would be unhappy with your judgement, change something.

I think the main fear of it comes from the ever looming threat of eternal torture propagated by the evil and unscrupulous. If more people spent less time worrying about death and more about life the world would be unrecognisable and I dare say a bit nicer.

[Salazaar]

As for famous atheists. Charles Darwin's, probably the most famous atheist, last words were; “I am not the least afraid to die.”

While I agree with everything else you say, Charles Darwin was not an atheist. He was very much the religious type despite his work!

[chuckskull]

While I agree with everything else you say, Charles Darwin was not an atheist. He was very much the religious type despite his work!

I've just checked for myself and you are correct. I was lied too. Sadly due to his position in the creation debate, lots of people like to portray facts about him that weren't true or twist them to their agenda and I have fallen victim too and then propagated that. He drifted away from religion and Christianity in later life but not from faith apparently.

So as remittance and respect for one of the worlds greatest scientific minds, a statement from the man himself on his religious beliefs; "I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God. – I think that generally ... an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind." 3 years before his death.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Putting religious stuff aside, yes, my career choices were made with the intention of contributing to making a difference. And it's not like I've really given up much financially to do so - you can still make money in jobs that contribute.

what job do you have if you dont mind me asking?