I am an animal. An animal's purpose is to survive to reproduce. How can I justifiably have any purpose which is other than this?
I struggled with this for a while, because the things I actually wanted to do didn't seem to fit in with being an animal, but the flaw in the question soon became clear. An animal's purpose? No such thing. A gene's purpose? No such thing. Humanity's purpose? No such thing. My purpose? Now that's a more interesting question.
Let me first make it clear that I do not believe there is any intrinsic purpose to life. We are here and, if we intend to keep living, must live with it. Does this mean we should abandon all desire for achievement and let ourselves sink into the mire of pointlessness, or should we fight to derive some meaning from our lives, such that we may feel the joy of purpose? This is not a hard decision to make.
It has come about that there is a set of matter (my body) that is so arranged such that there is a sensation of self inside it (me), and it so happens that this self can feel things. Pleasure, thirst, pain, warmth, hunger, orgasm, panic, satisfaction and so on are all feelings that originally derive from evolutionary pressures, and are familiar to all. These feelings manifest themselves in me, and I would be a fool to ignore them. Less tangible feelings such as spiritual fulfillment, tranquility and pleasure in the company of others are no less important, and it so happens that I can feel these things too. Built of all these things is an overarching feeling called happiness, and its counterpart sadness. If we attempt a logical definition of 'happiness' we come up against difficulties. In my opinion 'happiness' does not suffer a universal attempt at definition, but must instead be defined subjectively. When I use the term 'happiness', I can only be logically sure if referring to myself, and it is based on experience that I will extend the term to define the happiness of others. My happiness is the total combination of all my positive sensations and emotions, less the negative ones. I imagine my use of the word 'happiness' is approximately the same as yours, but I cannot base this in logic.
I can feel such a thing as happiness, and I set my purpose in life to be the achievement of it. This no doubt sounds selfish, but it is my belief that all are seeking after their own happiness, and, if we consider our existence intelligently, out and out selfishness is one of the most stupid of the many courses of action available to us. Evolution has dealt us a hand whereby we are able to take pleasure in the company of others, and all stems from this. All is matter, and no human being can survive without interaction with his surroundings. Suppose I had a whim to punch a brick wall. I am thoroughly self-interested, and I will suppress my whim, because otherwise I will break my hand. Suppose I had a whim to punch a huge tattooed beast of a man. I am thoroughly self-interested, and I will suppress my whim, because otherwise he will break my face. Suppose I had a whim to punch my dog. I am thoroughly self-interested, and I will suppress my whim, because the sight of the dog whimpering would be rather short of ideal.
There is such a thing as happiness, and it is my purpose. Laziness will not win it. Rudeness will not win it. Recklessness will not win it. Fear will not win it. Hope will not win it. Timidity will not win it. Power will not win it. Money will not win it. Fame will not win it. Crude selfishness will not win it, but will instead will leave us alone and empty.
The human is a social animal, and it is in our genes to appreciate the company of others. We therefore must be self-interested but unselfish if we are to promote our own happiness. I would argue that the larger the set of people that a human can make happy, the happier that human can be.
We must train to be at peace with ourselves, and to take joy in the company of others. We will never win total happiness, but the struggle to do so may make life worth living.
Giles HayterLondon
March 2009