'It is mankind's main purpose to reproduce in order to continue the human race'

[Alice]

What does it matter if the species dies out though? I understand why we each wouldn't want to die or wouldn't want our families or friends to die, but are we somehow patriotic toward our species? Why is it important to us that the species continue after we die? What is there to be gained from it?

I think one of our main, personal goals, should be to be remembered forever. If humanity is alive to remember you forever, you essentially become immortal.

 

[Blade_of_darkness]

The human race is by no means under any threat of being an endangered species anytime soon. Our population is still growing at a steady rate, so the decision to reproduce is ultimately up to each individual person - either decision is fine, so long as there are still those that are willing to keep our race alive & well.

 

[Shining Raichu]

I think one of our main, personal goals, should be to be remembered forever. If humanity is alive to remember you forever, you essentially become immortal.

The sad thing is, that nobody is remembered forever. At some point, everybody and everything becomes obselete - you are only remembered for as long as it takes for everybody with a memory of you to die as well. The few people that do achieve eternal memory, the Shakespeares and Marilyn Monroes and whatnot, did a lot more than just work to continue the species. So if your interest is immortality, then just continuing on the species isn't enough to achieve it.

 

[Bela]

On the question of mankind's 'purpose,' it is clear that as a biological species that perpetuates itself through reproduction, that that is its purpose.

As much as I think each of us individually is more than our instincts, it's simple logic that those with a tendency to reproduce more are going to have more offspring to carry on that tendency. We're adapted to reproduce as much as possible and that's exactly what the bulk of us do.

It's our "genetic purpose," it's what we have adapted to do, but I think people are more than their genetics. Even if we tend to be good at that, we're more than just machines made to screw; we have higher thought processes and the ability to use them to pursue whatever end we want. I, myself, have the desire to reproduce, but it's not my primary goal in life by a longshot.

The implication appears to be that pursuing our particular interests, outside of reproduction, allows us to escape the notion of being 'machines.' This is not so. Our desires for things and our pursuit of them is just another way of describing the maximization of one's utility; if you want world peace, and your actions are made with the notion that they are in pursuit of world peace, you are still acting on utility maximization. This is no different from the behaviors of a machine.

And why try to escape the notion of utility maximization? That's what we are--machines which seek to maximize utility--why deny this?

The sad thing is, that nobody is remembered forever. At some point, everybody and everything becomes obselete - you are only remembered for as long as it takes for everybody with a memory of you to die as well. The few people that do achieve eternal memory, the Shakespeares and Marilyn Monroes and whatnot, did a lot more than just work to continue the species. So if your interest is immortality, then just continuing on the species isn't enough to achieve it.

William Shakespeare and QuilavaKing both will ultimately be dead someday, and this is not where their similarities end. When this human species dies out, when this planet ages and the ruins of human civilization vanish, or indeed when the sun explodes and the planet is engulfed in its fires, there will go all record of human life ever existing on this planet. There will be no recognition of their accomplishments, their talents, their 'whatever'--the greatest king will be no more known than the lowest serf!

You may argue that there would indeed exist artifacts of our presence--just look at the space probes! But read on, for their struggle to exist in the universe is just as doomed as our own.

You may attempt to escape humanity's doom for a while--generations of humans growing up in space colonies seeking out other planets to live on, planets with similar fates awaiting them. Even if you were to eliminate the uncertainty in perpetuating the human species in space, escaping the fires of the many dying stars, have you escaped the ultimate fate of the universe? You surely do not escape it. Short of inter-universe travel, the human race is doomed to die.

Remember, you're talking about rather unintelligent creatures who are prone to err, and their struggle to perpetuate their existence in a universe unkind to their cause. The outlook is not good. Indeed, it appears futile. All you have is hope, and may you soon be disabused of such a notion!

 

[TRIFORCE89]

It's a biological necessity for the overall species, perhaps not individually. But, breathing is also a biological necessity.

I wouldn't say it's our main purpose though. The meaning of life is 42, everyone knows that.

 

[Black Ice]

We can do whatever we damn well please if it's what we wanted. The only way for mankind to have a so-called "purpose" is if he creates one for himself. Nature doesn't really make purposes (purpi?) for every species out there, no matter how "gifted" they are. We're successful, but biologically we are nowhere near as successful as sharks, who have survived quite a few mass extinctions over the past few hundred million years and have barely had to change at all to do something as amazing as that. Intelligence isn't everything and we don't need to build a pedestal and put ourselves on it.

But we can say our purpose is to maximize our probability of surviving, which would probably involve something with spaceships and space sex and children and stuff. Or we could say it's to make the world a better place. Or whatever. Our purpose, whatever you say it is, just isn't inherent or anything like some people think.

But sex is always good.

 

[Oryx]

Remember, you're talking about rather unintelligent creatures who are prone to err, and their struggle to perpetuate their existence in a universe unkind to their cause. The outlook is not good. Indeed, it appears futile. All you have is hope, and may you soon be disabused of such a notion!

Unintelligent relative to what?

 

[Alice]

William Shakespeare and QuilavaKing both will ultimately be dead someday, and this is not where their similarities end. When this human species dies out, when this planet ages and the ruins of human civilization vanish, or indeed when the sun explodes and the planet is engulfed in its fires, there will go all record of human life ever existing on this planet. There will be no recognition of their accomplishments, their talents, their 'whatever'--the greatest king will be no more known than the lowest serf!

Yeah, that's more or less what I meant. Even for those William Shakespeares and Marylin Monroes, their immortality in our memory will end, if we're not here to remember them.

 

[Bela]

Unintelligent relative to what?

It doesn't matter what you attempt to compare human intelligence to, as the point I'm making is granting you that humans alone are crafty enough to leave the planet Earth.

That is irrelevant.

I'm saying even human intelligence has a limit, and within the context of living in space with radiation, debris, etc. posing a constant threat for survival, this could prove fatal. What I suggest here is that ultimately this far from infallible human intelligence will fail to perpetuate itself--just as it now threatens with the nuclear weapons that it created (which threatens the survival of the species as a whole on the planet), it could have the potential to make some mistake which threatens its survival in outer space.

In other words, my first contention is that the self-destructive nature of mankind poses a threat to its own survival.

But let me clarify again that even that is irrelevant--the human species may prove capable of outlasting every possible cosmic danger (and self-destructive impulse) which comes its way. What I hold as the ultimate 'trump card' to the survival of the species is the one seemingly inescapable cosmic event--a universe that is dying. Provided scientific estimates can be trusted, and the universe 'dies' in any one of multiple theorized outcomes, we would be stuck to slowly die off. Again, unless you can "leave" a so-called dying universe by inter-universe travel, this would be the end of the story of the humans.

Now I know some of you may not like the sound of this, and I get that. People don't like to hear about the futility of a situation. But this isn't really something we should worry ourselves with anyway. Just enjoy your life and know that we're probably all going to be dead a couple decades from now, and that ultimately so will all of life and probably the universe too. (But it may recycle itself!)

 

[CrypticTerror]

Can't wait to see the crybaby Americans cry when we have to regulate populations(meaning limiting amount of kids one family can have) They think because they are american rules don't apply.(I'm born and raised American) but this world is reaching its limit...fast! But as a species we are meant to repopulate...

 

[Livewire]

Can't wait to see the crybaby Americans cry when we have to regulate populations(meaning limiting amount of kids one family can have) They think because they are american rules don't apply.(I'm born and raised American) but this world is reaching its limit...fast! But as a species we are meant to repopulate...

I think a Chinese-esqe "one child law" is a long ways off. The USA's poplulation is a little over 300 million, and the continent can support many more individuals yet. But instituting that kind of law here would be damn near impossible, given American political culture.

 

[Nihilego]

Can't wait to see the crybaby Americans cry when we have to regulate populations(meaning limiting amount of kids one family can have) They think because they are american rules don't apply.(I'm born and raised American) but this world is reaching its limit...fast! But as a species we are meant to repopulate...

What's America got to do with it? Any country with a law like that imposed on it won't be a very happy one.

 

[Livewire]

Can't wait to see the crybaby Americans cry when we have to regulate populations(meaning limiting amount of kids one family can have) They think because they are american rules don't apply.(I'm born and raised American) but this world is reaching its limit...fast! But as a species we are meant to repopulate...

Let's not generalize & stereotype.

I think any country with that kind of law would object to such extreme measures. I'd be willing to bet there's a lot of underground dissent in China right now.

 

[Mana1]

Disagree.

Man has no purpose, nor does any other living thing. Purpose implies a set job, or a goal to achieve, but we have neither. Whilst theists might say otherwise I don't believe anything can have a wider purpose (other than on an individual, or small scale).

To say something's purpose is to survive is wrong, if it wasn't alive - aka surviving - it wouldn't have a purpose then. So with this idea having purpose is synonymous with being alive, but does not give a reason. I'm not sure that even made sense.

 

[Yoshikko]

^ Agreed. Our only "purpose" you could say, is to stay alive and reproduce to stay alive. The thing is though that this wouldn't be out of balance if we hadn't made our lives to be so comfortable. We don't have to try and reproduce to stay alive anymore because it's not necessary anymore, we are not (in general) in danger of being killed by wild animals or other human beings and we don't have to "survive", and that pretty much cancels out the only purpose we had.