Genesis 2:5 ~ And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

Does life have meaning? Does it have purpose? Well, those are perplexing and difficult questions indeed. I only wish I had the answer. However, as the result of years of study and observation I have come to some conclusions as to how life operates. First, this life is all there is. I have seen no credible evidence of an afterlife of any kind. Based on empirical evidence life is best described as an instant of light and consciousness bounded by two infinities of darkness and oblivion. But what about this life, the one we now have? What motivates it, and how does it operate?

All living organisms are dominated by two basic drives. First and foremost is self preservation, i.e. the will to survive - - survive at all costs. Running survival a close second is the drive to reproduce thereby perpetuating the species. Although they might to some degree be thought of as purposes, these twin drives are, in fact, instinctive. They are genetic in origin. There is a third factor, I might add, and that is death. For all life, death is inevitable. Beyond that, life has neither meaning nor purpose in the philosophical/theological sense. Although one cannot assign a single over-riding meaningful purpose to life, life is filled with lesser purposes and goals like the attaining of material objects such as a home, a car, a boat, etc., getting an education, finding a suitable mate, achieving financial independence, and many others. However, these lesser purposes are limited in that upon achievement they cease to exist and are usually replaced by others. 

By observing any living species one will quickly notice what I refer to as the universal life sequence -- survive, reproduce, die -- in operation. This sequence is repeated without variation by each successive generation until the species goes extinct. Thanks to our unique evolutionary heritage, which began somewhere in southeast Africa between six and five million years ago with the appearance of the first bipedal primates, humans, although for sure subject to the universal life sequence noted above, have acquired a much greater depth of intelligence than has any other species either living or extinct. As a result, humans are aware of such important temporal concepts as past, present and future as well as of the inevitability of death. This awareness, coupled with the ability to think and to reason, allows humans to conceive and implement a life purpose of their own. However, there is nothing innate in these self imposed life purposes. Although beneficial to be sure, as a product of the intellect they are often ephemeral and/or subject to change.

Humans have, in some extreme circumstances, found the will to override the basic instincts for survival and reproduction. Here again, they are the only species on record ever to have done so. The vow of chastity, freely taken by the nuns and priests of the Roman Catholic church, is one example. Although some are known to have broken this vow, many others, through dedication and self discipline, have kept it thereby overcoming the reproduction drive. Some people have willingly sacrificed their lives as martyrs to a cause thus overcoming the powerful survival instinct. One example is the Japanese kamikaze pilots of World War II who willingly died in a valiant last ditch effort to protect and preserve their homeland and its culture. Another example of overcoming the survival instinct is the suicide bomber. However, there is no credible record of anyone ever having successfully denied death, one of the three basic elements of the universal life sequence.

To carry what I've said to its logical conclusion it becomes obvious that the human species, Homo sapiens, is indeed unique in the long history of life on earth. In spite of all of their ambiguities, failures, drawbacks and disappointments, and there have been many, humans have managed to achieve some truly astounding, even magnificent, successes far beyond that of any other species that ever lived. For example, no other species to our knowledge has ever acted out of purely altruistic motives to rescue a different species from the brink of extinction as humans have. When viewed objectively in the overall context of life on earth, humans are god-like. Although this may fly in the face of some other powerful belief systems, it cannot be denied. I certainly don't mean it in a bragging or boastful manner. It is, in fact, quite humbling when one thinks it through, but it is the truth; it is reality.

What lies ahead for humans and their realm is a very important question. When viewed in a larger perspective, humans, and for that matter all other life forms, have arrived at a watershed of truly monumental proportions as it relates to the future of life. Not only does the human species now possess the knowledge needed to avoid the heretofore inevitability of extinction, they have within their grasp the ability to control and direct not only their own evolution but that of every other species as well. Humans now completely dominate the earth and are in the beginning processes of extending their domain throughout the solar system, and perhaps someday to the stars. The responsibility as well as the rewards inherent in such a prospect are indeed awesome.

I remain convinced that the sooner people recognize these facts and accept them, the better off the world will be. While reality may not always be that which we would like it to be, we are much better off facing it and dealing with it in a positive and constructive manner than to continue to ignore it while retreating into a world of myth, fantasy and make believe. This is what I refer to as the “Santa Clause” mentality. It is disingenuous in the extreme to continue to foster, especially upon children at an impressionable age, a pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by belief system, a system of denial based largely on ignorance, superstition, guilt, and fear founded on demonstrable falsehoods and intellectual dishonesty. So, I close with the Latin phrase: Carpe diem: seize the day for now; live fully while you can; it’s later than you think.