On 2 Dec, 17:29, Molly <[email protected]> wrote:
> Why do I exist? Is it because some self-replicating chemical has
> designed and created me as an instrument for the sole purpose of
> improving its success rate for self-replication? Is it to express
> some soul purpose? Or is the reason of my existence without purpose?
>
> Descartes’ phrase “I think, therefore I exist,” was meant to prove
> that there is at least one fact in the universe that is beyond doubt.
> I am, I exist is necessarily true each time that I pronounce it, or
> that I mentally conceive it. But his exploration here doesn’t tell us
> why we exist.
>
> Perhaps why we exist is defined by what Thomas Aquinas thought of as
> salvation: “Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to
> know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to
> know what he ought to do.” Can our beliefs, desires and moral actions
> answer the question why?
>
> Tolstoy believed that “The essence of any religion lies solely in the
> answer to the question: why do I exist, and what is my relationship to
> the infinite universe that surrounds me?”
>
> What do YOU think?
Firstly, this question demands a look at ontology. What is it
that is 'I'? And, only when we know what we truly mean by 'I', can we
look to why such a thing might exist.
In a godless or atheistic paradigm, the Big Bang/creation was an
accident without cause, therefore, even in spite of the fact that ever
since then all effects are caused, the ORIGINAL cause was just an
unexplainable, happenstance accident. In such a universe, we would
have no real purpose and are completely free to exploit the laws of
physics in order to exploit one another to our heart's content. And,
when we die, that's it, no reward nor punishment.
In a theistic paradigm, one could deduce that an omniscient and
wise God created the universe for just causes. I.e., He has
configured Himself in such a way as to produce a seeming multitude of
things that interact. Some of these things are alive and can react
intelligently with their environment. However, these living,
intelligent beings are prevented from knowing what lies on the future
yet are allowed to maintain contact with the past via memory. This
affords these creatures with a life that proves their mettle. It
affords them 'seeming opportunities' in which it appears as though
they could act in a number of different ways, each with differing
impacts and effects. Given this illusion, we can deduce that this
life is a test--a way for God to create individuals and treat them
with perfect justice recompensing paradise for good acts and hell for
evil acts. But, it would only be fair for such a God to do this IF
He, first, intervened and handed down some form of guidance. Which IS
the argument that the Abrahamic faiths put forward. Once guuidance
has been given, individuals can be judged based on their actions
versus the 'standard' of the guidance.
So, to summarise, in an atheistic paradigm, you exist because of
a long chain of causes and effects that miraculously (for there
existed nothing to put reason FOR or TO it!) began with an accident
and there are no rewards or punishments for our behaviours other than
physical effects during our lifetimes. Whereas, in a theistic
paradigm, you exist as an example of God's duty to be just and His
capability and responsibility to do that which He can, and becomes,
via the Divine maintenance of Omnipotence, the basis for God's
execution of Divine Justice based on how we act on or react to His
guidance.
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