My Philosophy ...

Life and Existence

Is our existence, our life, nothing but a random event? If we suggest that there is a meaning or purpose on human life, what is the mysterious power that gives our life with such a purpose or meaning? a faith? Your religion? If this does exist, how does it manifest itself? If this power does not manifest itself to humans in any form, it does not exist as far as humans are concerned. Therefore, it cannot convey a meaning to our life. Biology defines human beings as animals. Do other animals have a meaning or significance attached to their life? If only human life has meaning, what is it that sets humans apart from other animals? Does a cow, a pig or a chicken have a meaning or purpose to its life, except to serve as food for humans? What is the meaning of the thing we call life? The dictionary tells us that life is the state of being alive. All life on earth must replicate

under process of evolution. The driving force for this basic mechanism of life is the survival instinct, which, in turn, is rooted in the pain/pleasure principle. Only organisms that perceive a threat to their existence as an unpleasant emotion, a perception of pain, can survive and replicate The existence of this pain/pleasure syndrome in all living organisms does not imply that human beings always act in their actual best self-interest. Any person, who does not act in what he considers to be in his best self-interest, is engaged in selfdestructive behavior. Self-destructive persons are insane and society institutionalizes them for their own protection. To be selfish, in the sense of always acting in what we consider to be in our own best selfinterest, is the ultimate imperative of all life. The essence of these is the survival of the fittest. In the perpetual struggle for survival, all living organisms are constantly engaged in a battle for limited resources. We can say life is terrible and ugly, or we can say it is beautiful and enjoyable. We may as well enjoy life to its utmost by taking responsibility for the way we look at the world. The universe does not care one iota if we perceive our lives as miserable or as wonderful: This choice resides solely in us, as individuals. Our individual life begins with our random creation. While we are alive,

our life revolves around our ability to minimize pain and to maximize those of our emotions that enhance our feeling of well-being, our happiness. When we die, randomness takes over again. In his quest to find a purpose in life that might help him cope with the adversities of life, man has invented supernatural beings. Since he could not cope with the mysterious forces of his environment, he invented gods or other mystical forces that might enhance his survival and security by responding to prayer, sacrifices or similar devotions. Man thus invented the fiction that gods had created man and that man was under the control and in the service of such superior beings. Consequently, man believed that it was his purpose in life to please these gods by subjugating himself to their will in order to ensure their goodwill and protection.There is no objective evidence whatsoever that such beings actually exist or, if they existed, that they have any effect on individual human lives, or that they can vest human lives with a purpose. If someone claims that there is a purpose to human life, such claim is merely a completely undocumented opinion, at best, or a hallucination, at worst. Not only is such extraordinary claim without any shred of evidence, but it also stands in contradiction to all evidence available to man. Rational human beings require

extraordinary proof for extraordinary claims. A person who bases his acts upon unsupported opinions has diminished his ability to cope with his environment in an optimal and efficient manner. This is the folly and the true price humans have to pay if they believe in supernatural beings and try to find a preordained purpose in their existence. We, as individuals, owe nobody happiness and nobody owes us happiness. Happiness is ours to grasp or to surrender, as we choose, in any given moment. We must not willingly surrender to other persons our ability to experience happiness. Other persons cannot make us feel happy. We cannot make other people feel happy. The feeling of happiness, of emotional well being, rests solely within ourselves, within our own grasp. The attempt to insert a non-existent purpose into human life is counterproductive to mental health and happy living because it precludes us from seeing reality with utmost clarity. An artificially imposed meaning will prevent us from dealing with Objective Reality in the most productive manner.

Technological University of the Philippines

Taguig Campus
Km.14 East Service Road South Super Highway, Western Bicutan, Taguig City

PHILOSOPHY HUM 2
SUBMITED BY: Jomel C. Sorianosos 1-A Bachelor of Engineering SUBMITED TO: Prof. Miguel Dela Cruz Social Science Department