Purpose
{{Cleanup|date=April 2007}}{{Unreferenced|date=April 2008}}{{Expert-subject|Philosophy|date=April 2008}}
Purpose is the
cognitive awareness in
cause and
effect linking for achieving a
goal in a given
system, whether
human or
machine. Its most
general sense is the anticipated result which guides
decision making in choosing appropriate
actions within a range of
strategies in the
process (a conceptual scheme) based on varying degrees of
ambiguity about the
knowledge that creates the
contextualisation for the action. Purpose serves to change the state of conditions in a given environment, usually to one with a perceived better set of conditions or parameters from the previous state. This change is the
motivation that serves the
locus of control and
goal orientation.First attested in c.1290, from earl
Old French porpos "aim, intention", purpose is related to from
porposer "to put forth," from
Vulgar Latin corruption of por- "forth" (Latin pro- "forth") and Old French
poser "to put, place".
(1) Purpose is related to the term pose used from 1374 as to "put in a certain position," or "suggest, propose, suppose, assume," a term use in
Late Latin debating (c.300-c.700) from
pausare "to halt, rest, pause".
(2)In human life
“There is a fundamental human need for guiding ideals that give meaning to our actions”, states
Roger Fisher. Renowned psychiatrist
Victor Frankl’s premise is that ‘man’s search for meaning’ is the primary motivation of his life. He speaks of the ‘will to meaning’ as opposed to
Freud’s’ ‘will to pleasure’ and
Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘will to power’.According to some
philosophies, purpose is central to a good human life.
Helen Keller wrote that happiness comes from "
fidelity to a worthy purpose", and
Ayn Rand wrote that purpose must be one of the three ruling values of human life (the others are
reason and
self-esteem). Some people hold that
God assigns purposes to people and that it is their mission to fulfill them. Others hold that purpose is not inherent, but instead freely chosen (or not chosen) by individuals. Among these, some say that natural propensities may determine what sorts of purposes a person needs to pursue, but do not guarantee that he or she
will pursue them, that being dependent on free choice.Pursuing a career, raising a family and creative vocation are all long terms for all cultures. It is related to many philosophies of life and these three main aspects do make life meaningful. It is as one could say, the American Dream. These aspects take a Westernized position. The eudaimonism and objectivism that claim self-sacrificial goals are destructive take more of a Western philosophy and cannot be generalized into the Eastern philosophy. Eastern philosophy such as Buddhism shows that self-sacrificial goals are not destructive because one can bring out their own happiness through self-sacrificial goals especially when it comes to family. In eastern cultures it is more of a collectivism perspective than an individualistic one.Modern spiritual philosophy sees the purpose in life as improving the environment and world condition for all beings. In the most immediate sense this means each individual finding the special talents which are a gift to serve others. This in turn is found in pursuing a soul level joy, so that the personal and highest individual purpose of life is pursuit of soul level joy. This is the first joy, that which has followed the individual from birth. In most instances it begins with the desire for acceptance and evolves to discovery of each person's genius or gift to serve.From a scientific point of view the purpose of evolution is the progression of genes. The evolution of life is value free and purpose neutral. However, this is not the same thing as a human being's purpose. Best expressed by popular evolutionary biologist and TV personality
Richard Dawkins, purpose is something that "grows up in the universe" (see:
Growing Up in the Universe)
(3). Man has the complex genetic make-up that allows him to
choose a purpose for himself. Opposed to that view is a famous work by the Christian
Rick Warren who wrote the best-selling book
Purpose Driven Life (4). This work expresses the common religious belief that there exists an inherent purpose of life, as provided by God. The notable difference between the scientific and the religious views on purpose is the latter leaves little or no room for a freely chosen destination in life. There has also been a lot of scientific critism of Rick Warren's book. A good rebuke was done by
Dan Dennet (5).
Relationship as a purpose
Theravada Buddhist, the
Dalai Lama, states in
The Art of Happiness that the purpose of life is the pursuit of
happiness, which would seem to present a circular argument with the definition of purpose according to other philosophies mentioned above if purpose and happiness are the same thing. One important distinction to make is that statistically, those people who behave or appear happy tend to be
altruistic and less
egotistic. It would follow that an appropriate choice of purpose altruistic in nature leads to happiness. According to
Maslow's hierarchy of needs, relationship, acceptance, and sexual intimacy is fundamental to meeting human needs and conducive to building happiness. Or moreover, that the pursuit of these things, though not necessarily directly, are the underlying purpose of one's actions. Concerning intimacy, the Dalai Lama's view is that sexual intimacy is not necessarily conducive to happiness and fulfillment. It only serves to provide temporary gratification and the desire for a committed bond, which is brought-about by the secretion of
oxytocin during orgasm. This promotes the desire for intimacy between the two individuals.
Daniel Maguire says in his article
Sex and the Sacred:
"It used to be said animal humanum post coitum triste, humans after love-making are sad.'A pity beyond all telling is hid in the heart of love,' said the poet Yeats. That can happen.Sex awakens hopes for intimacy and the priceless gift of mutual trust."
It would follow that one key purpose of sexual intimacy is to build a lasting bond between two people. According to the Dalai Lama, contemporary Western culture falsely holds that deep intimacy between individuals is not possible outside of romantic or marital attachments. Deep relational intimacy is possible and appropriate between all individuals regardless of status. In light of this, the Dalai Lama's views, and Maslow's hiearchy, all indicate a genetic underlying purpose of life to diligently build and retain intimate bonds with other people.
Life stances and purpose
{{See|Lifestance#Values and purposes}}The
purpose in life has different explanations from different
life stances. It may differ substantially within the communities of each life stance, but the examples below are the purposes that are generally accepted as the main for each life stance.{|class="wikitable"! Life stance !! Main purpose
|
| Humanism (life stance) >| Personality (in the broadest sense), determined by humans, completely without supernatural influence |
|
| Judaism > | (6) and to prepare for the world to come | (7) "Jewish eschatology#The afterlife and olam haba (the "world to come")".(8) |
|
| Christianity >| To glorify God and enjoy him forever. | (9)
Teleology
Purpose is similar to teleology, the idea that a final goal is implicit in all living organisms. Until the modern age, philosophy followed Aristotle's and Plato's depiction of a teleological cosmos in which all things had a final purpose (namely, to realize their implicit perfection). Perhaps most modern philosophers of science have reversed the idea of purpose inherent in nature; they do not consider an eye explicable as being "in order to see"; instead, cause-and-effect processes are credited with bringing about the eye organ, which allows us to see. The difference is between a cause as pushing from behind (movements of billiard balls) and a cause as pulling from within (movement of a growing plant). With teleology (purpose) matter is fulfilling some aim from within. Non-philosophers' views
- Nikos Mourkogiannis argues in his book (Purpose: The Starting point of great companies) that purpose is crucial to a firm’s success: it is the primary source of achievement and reveals the underlying human dynamics of any human activity. He starts with a discussion of purpose, what it is, and what it is not, and also identifies four possible sources of energy for purpose, four sets of moral ideas that provide the basis for action. The second part of the book contains great stories of purpose, illustrating each of these four ideas. The third part explores the connection between purpose and the four attributes of greatness – morale, innovation, competitive advantage and leadership. The author then details how to develop purpose and put it into action and also discusses four purpose driven companies.
- The Broadway play Avenue Q describes purpose as helping others, especially in the song "Purpose".
See also
External links
{{Wiktionary}}
References
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[weblink Online Etymological Dictionary]
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[weblink Online Etymological Dictionary]
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[Richard Dawkins on our Queer Universe —weblink]
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[Rick Warren talks on a life of Purpose —weblink]
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[Dan Dennet's response to Rick Warren —weblink]
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[DAN COHN-SHERBOK ]| PUBLISHER=ROUTLEDGE | PAGES=512 |
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[ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL ]| PUBLISHER=CONTINUUM INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING GROUP | ISBN=0826408028, |
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[WILFRED SHUCHAT ] | PUBLISHER=DEVORA PUBLISHING | PAGES=584, 1932687319, |
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[The Westminster Confession of Faith]
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