Hello Morelife Yahoo,

The topics of Morelife.org and SelfSIP.org heavily involve the
consideration of each individuals primary purpose in life. This purpose,
as described by the Paul and Kitty on these websites is "the
maximization of lifetime happiness". I have recently considered
submitting an entry to Morelife Yahoo regarding my inability to accept
“the maximization of my lifetime happiness” as the goal of my life. I
had considered doing this for two reasons, since such a post would (1)
begin a discussion about this important topic, and I may be able to
learn the reasoning *why* this is my goal in life, and (2) a public
discussion of my thought-processes might help convince others that this
is the goal of *hir* life, if s/he is not already convinced as such.

However, very recently, after listening to the audio book of Atlas
Shrugged for the 2nd time (specifically during Galt’s speech), I had an
epiphany. Galt’s speech helped me to find the reasoning which supports
the purpose of my life as being the pursuit of maximizing my lifetime
happiness. So, rather than making the topic of this post a *questioning*
of this purpose of life, the topic of this post will be a discussion on
my new understanding and acceptance of this philosophy. Included in this
discussion is a description of my previous philosophical convictions,
and why they were inadequate or otherwise incorrect. I am convinced that
the *process by which* my conclusions have evolved into their current
form may help others, especially those who hold the view that the
purpose of hir life is "to survive" (which was my previous conclusion).
I am now convinced that it is, in fact, the maximization of lifetime
happiness which is the goal of one's life. I also look forward to
reading comments from others in this group about their experiences and
suggestions for me about my new conclusions.

I had previously concluded that the purpose of life was "to survive". I
likely learned this for several reasons. First, during my undergraduate
studies of international business, the majority of the world, human
population seemed to be struggling to stay alive. It seemed that the
luxuries of developed-country life were an anomaly, and that these
luxuries should be considered an "outlier" or that they didn't represent
the human condition. The reasoning for this conclusion is false. The
average, current state of the human condition has no bearing on the
*purpose* of existence.

Second, and related to the first, I perceived many of the luxuries and
pleasure-seeking activities engaged in by those around me to be
short-term or otherwise self-destructive. I never learned that one can
engage in enjoyable activities with a longest-term, widest-view
thinking. I had concluded that pleasure-seeking activities are, by their
nature, detract from the real purpose of life, which is to survive
(again, I now think this is false).

My previous conclusion about the purpose of life being survival had lead
me to a number of habits in the way I conduct my life. One of these
habits includes my high degree of frugality and "doing without". I had
also made important, long-term decisions based on this flawed
philosophy. My current decision to pursue longevity research was made
based on this philosophy, thinking that by developing life-extending
interventions, I would be serving the (flawed) purpose of life: to survive.

I have recently concluded that survival, while being important, is not
the purpose of life. By the nature of being human, humans are not
intrinsically motivated to simply *survive*. Survival is not the goal
that humans strive to achieve. Instead, survival is a prerequisite to
that which *is* the purpose of life (the maximization of lifetime
happiness). I think this is why I was confused. I understood that,
without survival, nothing else is possible. However, once a human has
met hir basic needs (ensures survival), a human does not cease activity.
On the contrary, the intrinsic nature of humans is to constantly seek
out a positive subjective experience (defined as “happiness").

Question to readers: Is this the line of reasoning which supports your
version of the purpose of life being the maximization of lifetime
happiness?. Perhaps there is another line of reasoning which I failed to
discover, or perhaps mine (above) is flawed in some way?

Thus, the maximization of lifetime happiness is the purpose of life, and
survival is a prerequisite of achieving this. The relationship between
these two ideas has helped me to better understand my life. I have
experienced this new conclusion as a rational justification for my
seeking happiness. I no longer need to consider pleasure, enjoyment, and
happiness as "luxuries for the weak", or "taking away from my efforts to
survive".

I have much to think about as I integrate this new philosophy into my
decisions, habits, and perspective. First, I have discovered that I have
a lot of thinking to do with regard to discovering those things I enjoy.
I have developed a habit of averting my effort away from
happiness-generating activities and redirecting it toward survival
activities. Because I had not paid very much attention to those
activities and experiences which are enjoyable, I must learn to pay more
attention to what causes me to be happy. As to be expected, this has
changed my perspective on life considerably. For example, I previously
considered that good-tasting food was a luxury, and consumed food on the
basis of its nutritional content, making my enjoyment of the food a
distant secondary consideration. I am now motivated to consider the
happiness and enjoyment which food can bring me. An even more important
issue I must re-consider is my current long-term projects, including the
study of biochemistry for the purpose of longevity research. Living
longer and healthier will certainly give me increased opportunities to
experience happiness, but I must reconsider it in the context of this
new paradigm I am convinced of.

This realization now makes me feel exited and motivated at the prospect
of experiencing happiness and enjoyment in life, since I no longer
consider it a luxury, but instead, my *goal*. This new realization is
very exciting. I have found that this new-found rational justification
for seeking happiness has enabled me to not feel guilty, lazy, or
irresponsible when I seek happiness. Much to the contrary, I have begun
to look at the world as an enormous "playground" where I have
practically unlimited opportunities during which I can enjoy myself. I
know I still have a responsibility to ensure my survival, as each person
does, but it is exciting that there is a much more pleasant goal beyond
mere survival. I notice that I now see the world with more optimism and
motivation. Previously, when thinking that the purpose of life was to
"survive", I sometimes thought of life as a "chore" to look after. It is
much more exciting to think of life as a series of enjoyable
experiences, rather than merely a responsibility to one's self to not die.

--Max Peto