The Purpose of Life

Religion and philosophy have blasted us with confusion by giving a billion answers to a few hundred questions.  There is one question in particular, that confuses too many of us, and you may already have figured it out:

Why are we here?

The answer is simpler than you might think, but we'll take it step by step...

 In general, any animal with a brainstem (also called the hindbrain; it is an area of the brain that controls basic and biological functioning) knows how to interpret environmental cues in order to survive. but how would an animal know survival? what is survival?

Survival is when one successfully passes down their genes to the next generation. In order to survive, an animal must be able to ensure its own survival and its ability to reproduce; these abilites may be better stated as survival and Replication value.

Now, you must accept the fact that Humans are animals themselves; honestly, the only thing that does separate us from the animals is our ability to communicate with language. This single factor created society, art, and science. We are, as a matter of fact, incredibly complex beings! And it all maps perfectly in the brain. On the top lies an area called the forebrain, the area responsible for our higher-functioning abilities like problem-solving; under that is the midbrain, a series of organs that are responsible for emotion, metabolism (yes, that part that makes you hungry, horny and sleepy), and memory. But what controls the rest of the body? We know we can't make our heart beat consciously or think of every move me make while walking. That's right, we, like any other multi-cellular creature, posses a hindbrain, the inheritance and legacy of our earliest ancestors having lived millions of years ago (yes, probably a fish... maybe a guppy).

So humans share the basic blueprints of a control center we call "brain." How does this affect us, though? well, the only difference between a human brain and any mammal's brain is the development it has gone through by evolving. You feel hungry just as much as any animal feels hungry, you have memory that helps you move just as much as any animal, and you even find the need to reproduce (yes, we all need to have sex, sooner or later) as much as any other being!

But how does this relate to the original question, you may now ask. our biology and genome does not lie: we must survive and replicate. What does this mean? Well, as biological creatures it is our obligation to pass on our genes to the next generation to ensure the survival of our species (only the strongest, though... the rest of the "inferior" genes get weeded out of existence!) by making sure we get on the act sooner or later.

My fellow humans, ensuring our life over death and making sure we live long enough to pass our genes down is what ultimately motivates every action; from going out on a Friday night (replication) to feeling an adrenaline rush moments before a fight (survival), we live to ensure ourselves a place in the future of the great gene pool of mankind.