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What is the purpose of life?

If we are a human being, the only reasonable goal is: collective happiness.

The illusion of individual happiness

The search for individual happiness sooner or later leads, in direct or indirect form, to harming others in order to achieve one's individual objective. By symmetry, this leads to the world that we know well, where everyone complains about the nuisances linked to others, with generally no awareness of their own nuisances, due to the resolution of cognitive dissonance through beliefs.individual happiness leads sooner or later, in direct or indirect form, to harm others in order to achieve one's individual objective. By symmetry, this leads to the world that we know well, where everyone complains about the nuisances linked to others, with generally no awareness of their own nuisances, due to the resolution of cognitive dissonance through beliefs.

The illusion of morality in the form of fixed rules

This is the path attempted by religious movements: a series of rules supposed to guide the individual towards morality and spiritual elevation. We show in the rest of this site that a set of fixed rules is inappropriate, always diverted, and that the only rule that holds is: bend to the facts. See the question 'What does it take to be a good person?'What do you have to do to be a good person?'

What is collective happiness?

Collective happiness does not mean imposing your own stereotypical vision of happiness, your own tastes, on others. Working for collective happiness means considering all others as friends in the sense of the question 'What is a good friend?'.What is a good friend?'.

The hermit's way

We can act with common happiness as our goal, but we cannot force others to do the same. Also, discouragement causes some highly respectable individuals to withdraw from the world. However, it seems more appropriate to return to the question 'How to succeed in life?' and to rework Epictetus and Epicurus so that the struggle for collective happiness becomes bearable.How to succeed in life?' and to rework Epictetus and Epicurus so that the fight for collective happiness becomes bearable.

Go deeper

Start with the question 'What is a human?' which sets the general framework within which we operate.
What is a human?' which sets the general framework within which we operate.
Then see the question 'How to succeed in life?' which provided the method to follow.
How to succeed in life?' which provided the method to follow.
Finally, consult the question 'What is difficult to overcome to succeed in life?' which basically contains the same content, with a slightly different approach.What is difficult to overcome to succeed in life?' which basically contains the same content, with a slightly different approach.