**I **have consciuousness. So I can have intentionality and purpose.
One cannot purpose one’s self because to purpose something implies causality. You can give what you do purpose, what you make purpose, but to give yourself a “purpose” seems possible, but when you stop to think about it it is really only an illusion. If I make a toaster I have purposed that toaster to make toast. The toast can go about saying I’m going to make my own purpose and it will be to refrigerate food," but that does not change the fact that it’s purpose, the reason for which it was intended, is to make toast. What is the purpose for the existence of life? If it is simply a naturalistic matter of chance then life has no purpose. Therefore, you have no purpose. The fact that you have consciousness does not imply that you can purpose yourself.
Only is our function is to live forever. Which of course, under atheism isn’t our function. So most of the time we do not fail.
Well played. This is true, however it does mean our function/“purpose” is ultimately pointless and means that, at the “end of ages” our existence would have been just as meaningful as our nonexistence. Everything, our very lives, our fruitless, vain, and meaningless. Now we can try and distract ourselves from this truth by inventing a “purpose” but it does not cease to be true. Unless we have a purpose of course.
Again, only is our function is to keep the human race alive forever. But our function is to keep ourselves and the human race alive for as long as possible.
Why? Seems totally pointless. The above still applies. Also, why do we have this function? Why did the mindless, natural Universe “think” it so important to create life with a function at all, let alone with a function to preserve life itself. The Universe must “think” life is pretty special–important even. Must be worth it to create life with the built in ability and instinct to preserve itself.
These ‘own purposes’ are part of the natural purpose, which is to keep ourselves alive as long as possible, and also as well as possible. Now since I may enjoy other things than you do, my ‘own purposes’ to have a life as long and pleastn as possibel will probably differ from yours. Hence there is no contradiction in making our own purposes.
So you’re saying our purpose is to create our own purpose? Is that not circular? Of ourse lets follow this to its logical conclusion. Our natural purpose is to keep ourselves alive and well and to propagate our DNA. So let me ask you some questions. Does the mean abortion is wrong since it prevents the next generation? Contraception? Homosexuality? These don’t serve in propagating dna. Women greatly outnumber men. Should polygamy be encouraged? Perhaps we should just have a sexual free for all–the world is your orgy. What about rape?
Facetiousness aside, what your describing is basically subjectivism/relativism. This too is an illusion because you think you can have your cake and eat it too. You live in a purposeless Universe that is unable to give you or mankind any purpose, but because your crave purpose and know it is necessary you pretend like you can invent it. You’re problem with claiming there is a “natural purpose” is that it implies that there is a natural “consciousness” that can intentionally and purposefully create and evolve you. So unless you are a closet pantheist or panentheist, there is no way we have a purpose. The toaster did not give itself purpose, the inventor did.
If there is no God, and we are purposeless, and you want to create your own purpose that’s fine. My only point is that it would be illusory and a falsity. This being the case, the purpose I make for myself is no more or less valid than the purpose you have invented (this is a subjective relativism as you have, perhaps unintentionally, asserted above). Saying your invented purpose better aligns itself with reality (implying that a purposing God does not exist in reality) seems self defeating to me.
