Objectively the question is unanswerable and hence meaningless. That is just a neutral fact.
However, We experience "Objective Reality" through our Subjective Senses and infer/deduce more in our "Mind" from experiences/memories/recorded knowledge/etc. using various methodologies/tools.
Based on the above, we build "Worldviews" expressed as "Philosophies" and practiced as "Religions". It is in this domain that your questions make sense and answers can be given. A materialistic/utilitarian philosophy will give you a different answer from an idealistic one.
Note that though objective reality exists (since it is common to others besides oneself) it is through our observations/perceptions/deductions of it through our senses (and extensions of it via technology) that the mind defines/accepts a worldview model. A good way to think about it is as a blank canvas (i.e. nihilism) on which you paint your chosen philosophies.
It is for this reason that ancient Hindu/Buddhist/Greek/etc. philosophies placed "The Mind" at the center of existence and framed "Reality as an Illusion" i.e. your perceived/deduced reality actually exists on a more fundamental substrate. An example often used is that of waves on water where water is the reality and waves are the illusion since they come and go.
Hindu/Buddhist philosophies go further by disambiguating "The Mind" (the field in which emotions/feelings/experiences/thoughts/memories operate) from "Consciousness" (pure awareness which witnesses the above). Based on these theories they define a "universal framework" (viz. goals, stages and duty in life) for all of mankind. Here is a previous comment of mine explaining it - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48325659
2) In Hinduism, the different philosophical schools are called "Darsanas" which literally means a mode of seeing reality i.e. a worldview. There are six major schools and lots of minor ones. A good introduction can be found in An Introduction to Indian Philosophy by Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta. Pdf at - https://archive.org/download/IntroductionToIndianPhilosophy/...
To get that perspective from within one needs to give in to nature. Simply sit on a bench in a park for an hour. Do not talk to anyone, do not listen or watch anything. Just sit there. Outdoor.
What is the meaning of life? Why are we here?
George Carlin had a theory and I can't find any noteworthy flaws in it. [1] Our entire purpose could be to make plastic.
[1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rld0KDcan_w
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entropy_and_life
42
I'll add to maat...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_causes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Ways_(Aquinas)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Freedoms
Objectively the question is unanswerable and hence meaningless. That is just a neutral fact.
However, We experience "Objective Reality" through our Subjective Senses and infer/deduce more in our "Mind" from experiences/memories/recorded knowledge/etc. using various methodologies/tools.
Based on the above, we build "Worldviews" expressed as "Philosophies" and practiced as "Religions". It is in this domain that your questions make sense and answers can be given. A materialistic/utilitarian philosophy will give you a different answer from an idealistic one.
Note that though objective reality exists (since it is common to others besides oneself) it is through our observations/perceptions/deductions of it through our senses (and extensions of it via technology) that the mind defines/accepts a worldview model. A good way to think about it is as a blank canvas (i.e. nihilism) on which you paint your chosen philosophies.
It is for this reason that ancient Hindu/Buddhist/Greek/etc. philosophies placed "The Mind" at the center of existence and framed "Reality as an Illusion" i.e. your perceived/deduced reality actually exists on a more fundamental substrate. An example often used is that of waves on water where water is the reality and waves are the illusion since they come and go.
Hindu/Buddhist philosophies go further by disambiguating "The Mind" (the field in which emotions/feelings/experiences/thoughts/memories operate) from "Consciousness" (pure awareness which witnesses the above). Based on these theories they define a "universal framework" (viz. goals, stages and duty in life) for all of mankind. Here is a previous comment of mine explaining it - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48325659
Some resources for further study;
1) Philosophy in a Meaningless Life: A System of Nihilism, Consciousness and Reality by James Tartaglia (free ebook) - https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781...
2) In Hinduism, the different philosophical schools are called "Darsanas" which literally means a mode of seeing reality i.e. a worldview. There are six major schools and lots of minor ones. A good introduction can be found in An Introduction to Indian Philosophy by Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta. Pdf at - https://archive.org/download/IntroductionToIndianPhilosophy/...
I'm sad. Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? What is the point of anything?
To get that perspective from within one needs to give in to nature. Simply sit on a bench in a park for an hour. Do not talk to anyone, do not listen or watch anything. Just sit there. Outdoor.
work. sleep. reproduce.