Why live a life with no purpose?

Philosophy: the thinking ape

I was recently asked a question on Formspring.me – yes, I’m on Formspring – from a fellow Tweeter, a question (and whose answer) I thought was worth reposting, here:

It's obvious that life has no meaning. Then what do you live for?

For the material, physical and emotional pleasures in life, from a good plate of spaghetti to the possibility of eventually finding love and potentially leaving behind a legacy. That’s good enough for me.

That being Formspring, I felt the need to keep things concise; this being my blog, I can expound a bit. Now, of course, being an atheist and a general skeptic, I don’t belief that life has purpose or any concrete or absolute “meaning”. As far as the Universe is concerned, we’re all just unimaginably advanced and complex chemical reactions and mathematical equations in the paradigm of the space-time continuum. There is no higher power driving our lives or scribbling our fates; we are entirely responsible for whatever happens to us (that is, as far as we can predict, anyway). Therefore, we must create our own purpose in life, our reason for being, the passion and energy that drives us forwards. Some choose to help humanity by joining charity organizations or launching foundations for this and that; others settle for smaller (yet just as vital) roles and become educators and medical workers. Anyone can find their own purpose in life, if they figure out what it is that brings them joy and satisfaction in doing.

Personally, I keep things quite simple: until I find my true “calling” (so to speak), which I am all but certain will be in the realms of a compositional musician, I just live my life day after day, doing the things I enjoy and avoiding what I dislike, living for the little pleasures as they come. My life is currently comprised of blogging, writing, browsing the Web, drawing, watching TV, composing, eating, the occasional escapade outside of home, and any other thing that suits my fancy at any given time. (Oh, and porn. Lots of porn. Porn is good!)

… What? I am a teenage guy, you know. (Or was until last December, but whatever.)