Life is the only thing with purpose

[liquidpele]

So, while thinking this weekend, I was looking at the shell of a nut. The nut had 2 distinct features… one was the inner and very organized features that helps the plant grow and survive as a seed… and the other is the seemingly random impressions on the outer core of the nut.

This got me thinking… it occurs to me that all of existence is random… except life. Life is the very definition of having meaning, because in order to continue on it must be organized enough to continue to exist. In this way… I was was thinking the definition of life could be seen as that which has a purpose rather than no purpose.

thoughts?

 

[tonyrey]

So, while thinking this weekend, I was looking at the shell of a nut. The nut had 2 distinct features… one was the inner and very organized features that helps the plant grow and survive as a seed… and the other is the seemingly random impressions on the outer core of the nut.

This got me thinking… it occurs to me that all of existence is random… except life. Life is the very definition of having meaning, because in order to continue on it must be organized enough to continue to exist. In this way… I was was thinking the definition of life could be seen as that which has a purpose rather than no purpose. thoughts?

I agree with you but would like to add that the purposeful activity of living organisms is unconscious. It is not the full-blooded purpose of a rational being who understands what is happening and controls events with the intention of achieving a definite goal. Jacques Monod distinguished two types of purpose: teleonomy (living organisms) and teleology (persons). The problem is how teleonomic activity emerged from inanimate matter and how teleological activity emerged from living organisms…