We make our own purpose, not God, not the universe

Without a purpose, life is barely worth living. That's one sign of depression: when nothing seems to matter and our existence seems meaningless.

But where does purpose come from?

Religious people typically say "God." They believe that God has a plan for us and we just need to let it unfold, trusting in the Almighty. People who strongly embrace a particular culture or nationality may feel that their purpose is to live in accord with the tenets of their society.

And as Joseph Carter says in an essay I read today in Question Everything: Essays from the New York Times Philosophy Series, Aristotle considered that everything in the universe has its own inherent goal.

From cars, trees, animals, all the way to the cosmos itself, Aristotle argued, each thing has an inherent principle that guides the course of its existence.

But Carter argues that purpose arises from ourselves in "The Universe Doesn't Care About Your 'Purpose'." Here's the PDF file if you're unable to access the New York Times essay.
Download Opinion | The Universe Doesn’t Care About Your ‘Purpose’ - The New York Times

He basically sees that the stories we tell ourselves are what provide a sense of purpose. It's as if we're our own screenwriter who pens "The Story of My Life," along with being the lead actor in this drama. 

Naturally Carter puts things more philosophically than that crude summation.

Meaning begins and ends with how we talk about our own lives, such as our myths and stories.

...Purpose springs from our longing for permanence in an ever-changing universe. It is a reaction to the universe’s indifference to us. We create stories about the world and ourselves as contours, “phantom bodies,” of the inevitability of loss and change.

Myths appear timeless; they have what Blumenberg calls an iconic constancy. Stories pass through generations, often becoming traditions, customs, even laws and institutions that order and give meaning to our lives. Purpose grows out of the durability of human lore. Our stories serve as directives for the ways we need the world to exist.

An indifferent universe also offers us a powerful and compelling case for living justly and contentedly because it allows us to anchor our attention here. It teaches us that this life matters and that we alone are responsible for it.

Love, friendship and forgiveness are for our benefit. Oppression, war and conflict are self-inflicted. When we ask what’s the purpose of the recent gassing of Syrian children in the Idlib Province or the torture and killings of Chechnyan homosexual men, we ought not simply look to God or the universe for explanations but to ourselves, to the entrenched mythologies that drive such actions — then reject them when the institutions they inform amount to acts of horror.

The purposes and goals we create are phantom bodies — vestiges of and memorials to the people, places and things we stand to lose and strive to keep. Purpose indexes the world’s impermanence, namely our own.

...Purpose is about loss, or at least the circumvention of it. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We create purposes to establish happy endings in a universe where endings are simply that — endings.

...So, take a moment to think about the mythologies informing your purpose. I’ll reflect on mine, too. The universe, however, won’t. And that might be the most meaningful distinction of all.

Sometimes I've thought that we don't really need stories about our lives. Isn't simply living life enough? Is it necessary to fashion a narrative of My Life where I'm the starring character of my own theatrical production who, not surprisingly, usually comes across as an appealing hero or heroine?

Sure, one with flaws, because that makes my character more interesting. But essentially a good person who is doing their best to make their way through the myriad problems and opportunities that have arisen in My Life.

At times I've viewed this personal mythology as being out of touch with the lack of self that I've come to believe, via Buddhism and neuroscience, is likely to be true. However, when I examine how I actually live my life, I realize that just as Carter says, I need stories about myself that foster a sense of purpose.

Even materialists can’t deny the fact that purposes somehow exist to give us meaning and happiness.

Anthropologists like Dean Falk recently suggested that goal-directed behavior is also evolutionarily advantageous. This doesn’t imply that evolution itself has a purpose, of course. (Though some have argued otherwise.) What it does suggest is that as purposeless as human evolution is, we generally benefit as a species from a belief in it.

Every day I sit down at my laptop and write a post for one of my three blogs. No one forces me to do this. If I didn't do it, there wouldn't be any big problem. I don't view my writing as very important to the world at large.

I write because this gives me a sense of purpose. I write for myself, mainly. I feel a need to get thoughts and feelings out of my head and into cyberspace. When I finish a blog post, as I'm about to do, I have a feeling of satisfaction.

I've fashioned a story about myself that includes the plot element, you write blog posts, and some people read them. Everybody has such stories about themselves. It's how we create meaning in a world that lacks it.

The wonderful thing is how often our individual stories coalesce into a shared sense of meaning and purpose. Our friends typically share much of what we find meaningful. Same with larger groupings, whether they be work-related, religious, sports-related, political, artistic, or whatever. 

Though each of us is responsible for creating our own meaning, it's those shared meanings that give life a special pleasure. For example, a marriage that works well is when two people share a story of their togetherness that is mutually meaningful.

Comments

[Ron E.]

I’m somewhat uncertain about this concept of purpose – I had to look it up. Purpose is closely allied with meaning, although defined differently – ‘Meaning being the emotional significance of what we do whereas purpose is the cumulative effect of meaningful goals. Purpose is less tangible; we define purpose as a long-term aim or guiding principle based on meaning. It’s the impact we want to have on the world.’

By purpose, I can’t help seeing it in psychological terms as in having and aim or goal as ego gratification. I see someone like Trump or Putin as having huge purpose, purposes’ that encompasses their beliefs in themselves that confirms their being right or great and special. Do they have meaningful goals or are they just fixed on appeasing and justifying their own sense of worth and of hiding from their own insecurities?

I see purpose and meaning as simply performing day to day tasks and interests instead of the accepted term of doing something in order to enhance and fix our insecure sense of self, of who and what we are.

Alan Watts puts it thus: - “Paradoxical as it may seem, the purposeful life has no content, no point. It hurries on and on, and misses everything. Not hurrying, the purposeless life misses nothing, for it is only when there is no goal and no rush that the human senses are fully open to receive the world.” And: - “If, then, we act, or refrain from action, with a result in mind — that result is not the Tao.”

And, Watts on the meaning of life: - “To be secure means to isolate and fortify the “I”, but it is just the feeling of being an isolated “I” which makes me feel lonely and afraid. In other words, the more security I can get, the more I shall want. [Trump/Putin etc?] To put it still more plainly: the desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing. To hold your breath is to lose your breath.” — Alan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity

[S]

“The wonderful thing is how often our individual stories coalesce into a shared sense of meaning and purpose. Our friends typically share much of what we find meaningful. Same with larger groupings, whether they be work-related, religious, sports-related, political, artistic, or whatever.”

Very true.

I’m simply exhausted with our modern day world. I believe living a simple life with a few meaningful relationships is the key to happiness.

Inner peace is ultimately all that matters.

[Kimaya]

We definitely make our own purpose so don't give your power away to a Charleton baba of beas to decide your path. You have the power of choice .

[um]

@Kimaya

Whatever choice humans make is related to their IDEA about survival as a human entity both in nature, society and culture.

Your writings, your ideas are no exception and are certainly less attractive than those available in this or that religious centre .. given the amount of followers.

No "shop", no "bottle of snake oil" can exist, survive without the BUYERS.

IF you have something to offer to the millions that frequent the many ashrams in India, that suits them, they will certainly follow you and even worship you as their savior ... hahaha ... alas ... you have nothing to offer .. absolutly nothing

[um]

And yes ... if nature would not have build in the mother by means of hormones etc to care for the newborn, newborns would not survive ... humans call that LOVE

Ask a biologist and other scientists rea;ted to biology what "kissing your wife" is all about for them and what it MEANS for you and your partner.

[S]

We definitely make our own purpose so don't give your power away to a Charleton baba of beas to decide your path. You have the power of choice .

Posted by: Kimaya | February 12, 2023 at 01:30 PM

I don’t think there’s a single perfect person on this earth. Humans are always looking for a hero and then get disappointed. What we should be seeking is friendship and peace. Everyone has the divine within them. People can change. I think most seekers are constantly questioning and seeking to improve themselves and the world around them. Unfortunately, we often make the mistake of projecting our fears onto others.

No one can truly take your power away from you. Only you can limit yourself.