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What is the answer to life? Why are we here?

"Life" is not a question but rather a noun referring to a state of being or consciousness. As answers respond to questions, the singular term "life," while it may have a definition, cannot have an answer.


Living beings are distinguished from inanimate ones by several characteristics. First, living beings grow by absorbing nutrients and using the energy gained from those nutrients to grow and reproduce in some fashion. Second, living beings respond to external stimuli....

"Life" is not a question but rather a noun referring to a state of being or consciousness. As answers respond to questions, the singular term "life," while it may have a definition, cannot have an answer.


Living beings are distinguished from inanimate ones by several characteristics. First, living beings grow by absorbing nutrients and using the energy gained from those nutrients to grow and reproduce in some fashion. Second, living beings respond to external stimuli. Finally, living beings demonstrate some form of purposive activity.


The question of "why we are here" is also worth parsing. It assumes that there is some purpose to human existence. While certain religions do argue that humans were created for a purpose, non-theistic thinkers are more likely to argue that we are simply a product of random mutations and natural selection. Among religions, accounts of the reasons for the existence of human beings vary, though they generally tend to assume that humans have some special relationship to the divine.


Different belief systems make different claims about the purposes of individual lives. Most religions believe that the purpose of humans is some form of salvation or reunion with the divine. Other belief systems argue that our purpose is to maximize our happiness. Some belief systems argue that in the absence of a divine purpose, we each must figure out our own purposes in life.

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