Is the Meaning of Life irrelevant?

Question:

Is the Meaning of Life irrelevant?

Humanity has a universal hunger for purpose, but what (in *evolutionary* terms) is its significance?

Why does humanity need this quest for meaning?

Is it just a side effect of our awareness of our mortality?

In short: why do we ask why?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Many people have observed that the human mind is very good at searching for patterns. In many practical ways this activity has served us well. We observe the turn of the seasons and so can prepare for winter while food is plentiful. We have harnessed the flow of electricity and have learned to use it to do work and light our homes.

But this quest for meaning cannot be limited to mundane things like when to plant corn. Sometimes we see patterns even in things where patterns do not exist.

We love to find pictures on clouds. We have imposed a whole galaxy of pictures on the arbitrary distribution of the stars in the sky. People swear by their system for predicting the next turn of the cards or the next winner at the track. This is a quirk of human nature from the way our minds work.

We have to have meaning.

Does life have a meaning? I literally have to believe it. And I find my meaning and affirmation in achieving a better relationship between myself and my world, with people and with nature.

Maybe that is part of being human. I like to think that at some point evolution in humans began to include both physical and cultural evolution. The rate of cultural evolution is much faster than the physical, which must rely on the turn of generations. And this cultural matrix we find ourselves in dictates the way we look at all that happens to us, and provides sustenance for the whole species.

So the meaning of life as we understand it is NOT irrelevant. Far from it. On this understanding we hang all our activities, every conversation, we fight wars, and make babies, and care for the weaker members of our tribe.

The meaning of life MAKES relevance. And whether you can define your understanding in words or not, you could not live an independant existence without having some notion of it.