Meaning
By Jeff Parkin
Recently, I was asked what, as an atheist, the meaning
of my life is. This is a very touchy subject for me, and I am assuming,
for most atheists.
I have said many times that I hate to sound this
cold and scientific, but, ultimately, the meaning of my life is to survive,
reproduce, and die. I say ultimately because I cannot stress enough
that this is only the absolute most basic purpose for me. This is
a hard to debate point, because (*FACT*) humans are animals. The
most basic drives for all animals are survival and reproduction.
(I include dying as part of our purpose only because the previous generation
will eventually make way for their progeny.) It is only logical that
the most basic purpose for humans is also to survive, reproduce, and die.
(IF all humans are animals AND all animals live to survive and reproduce,
THEN all humans live to survive and reproduce.)
Now, I’m not saying that this is our only purpose
or goal. (“If that’s your only purpose in life, why don’t you have
any kids yet. I mean, you’re almost nineteen.”) As modern humans
in this culture and in most technologically advanced societies, there is
a lot that goes into the raising, and thereby ensuring the survival, of
offspring. For the most part, to provide a good life for your children,
a job is required. To get a job you enjoy, an education is required.
This means that to ensure a good life for you and your future family, you
have to begin preparing, even if that is not your expressed goal at the
time, from the time you are old enough to drop out of high school.
To choose to stay in school and pursue an education is choosing to prepare
for, sometimes many, many years from now, a future family and children.
So, the reason why I do not have children is that I have not yet been able
to ensure that my offspring will lead an healthy and happy life.
My next point is that, as humans with a highly developed
brain (“Australopithecus tested, Homo approved.”) we have the ability to
admire and appreciate the world around us. To most religions, the
purpose in life is to live the good life and just be an all around good
person. I think that Epicurus best expressed, even if it was unknowingly,
the atheist philosophy: “Seek pleasure, avoid pain.” Simple,
isn’t it? There doesn’t need to be any divine law stating this.
It is a very simple and basic human drive expressed as a philosophy.
To me, this is my purpose in life beyond survival and reproduction.
Being humans with our well-developed brains, we can appreciate happiness
and even alter our surroundings to make us happier. An atheist’s
life is simply looking for and keeping things that bring them pleasure
and avoiding or discarding those things that bring them discomfort, unhappiness
or pain. I suppose that, ultimately, this is a Christian’s or any
other religion’s, basic tenant, too, but they base theirs on a divine law,
not a basic human drive.
I propose that atheists, and specifically evolutionists,
have a greater appreciation for the world and life in general than do religious
people. The most basic way to say it is our world wasn’t simply handed
to us, we worked very hard for it. To most religions, the world was
created and given to humans. To evolutionists, our world has developed
by a very long string of chance and blind luck. On top of that, life
has evolved on this planet through yet another long chain of chance and
blind luck. The simple fact that we exist is quite awe-inspiring
to me and, I’m assuming, to all atheists and evolutionists. The same
process that produced humans, also produced every living thing on the planet.
This, by the same reasoning, gives atheists a greater appreciation of life
in general. Now, I’m sure this is absolutely contrary to what most
religions want to believe, but it’s true. When I look out my window,
I don’t see a world created as is by some supreme being. I see a
beautiful world that is the way it is because of fifteen billion years
of chance since the Big Bang.
So there it is. As an atheist, my purpose
in life is to be happy and, while doing so, maybe sit back and glory in
the beauty of our planet and, when the day comes, ensure that at least
part of my double helix stays around for a little while longer.