T
That first point was a generalization of all living organisms in the biosphere--there can be exceptions. I never said that there weren't any among humans; there are plenty of people who have no desire to have kids (including me at the moment, but perhaps I'm too young to decide that for certain). If most of us didn't instinctively procreate, though, do you think that we'd have six and a half billion of us on Earth today? Do you think that most other organisms don't instinctively procreate out of necessity to further their own species?
From what purposes can you choose? The possibilities are virtually limitless. Some people, indeed, may have determined that their purpose is to bring suffering to everyone else. That you have such a choice or that you have chosen a certain purpose does not mean that I or anyone else must agree with said choice. While I respect that you have free will to make your own decisions (as difficult as it can be for me to do so in cases like this one), I think that it would be very selfish of you or anyone else to choose suicide or genocide. I'm not saying that you must be as full-blown an altruist as someone like Mother Teresa, but I would advise you to consider the destructiveness of a mission in life like the one you presented.
With that said, I should reiterate an earlier point here: I do not mean to impose forcibly upon you my view of what is good; I am simply trying to help you find a purpose in life. As we know too well, there will always be those who determine that their purposes in life involve destruction that accomplishes nothing, and it's perhaps an unfortunate shortcoming of free will. I'm fairly libertarian, though, so I'll have to deal with the occasional shortcoming of free will.
For the sake of example, what do I think my purpose is? Again, I'm too young to know for certain, but I plan to study to become some sort of engineer, in which category of profession I can act not only in self-interest but also in the interest of others by applying science to solve real-world problems or devise new ways of doing existing tasks better. Right now, that seems to be my calling in life. I certainly don't have to be an altruist to do that--engineers can make good money, after all, and there has to be some incentive appealing to self-interest in order to make anyone do the work--but ultimately what is most important (in my mind) is that one should enjoy working toward the fulfillment of one's purpose. In my humble opinion, this is much more productive and useful a purpose than bringing agony to everyone, but it is ultimately your call.
My apologies for the various tangents, which have been more effective at convoluting my point than anything else. Good luck to you, nevertheless, and I hope that you will determine the purpose and significance of your life someday.
From what purposes can you choose? The possibilities are virtually limitless. Some people, indeed, may have determined that their purpose is to bring suffering to everyone else. That you have such a choice or that you have chosen a certain purpose does not mean that I or anyone else must agree with said choice. While I respect that you have free will to make your own decisions (as difficult as it can be for me to do so in cases like this one), I think that it would be very selfish of you or anyone else to choose suicide or genocide. I'm not saying that you must be as full-blown an altruist as someone like Mother Teresa, but I would advise you to consider the destructiveness of a mission in life like the one you presented.
With that said, I should reiterate an earlier point here: I do not mean to impose forcibly upon you my view of what is good; I am simply trying to help you find a purpose in life. As we know too well, there will always be those who determine that their purposes in life involve destruction that accomplishes nothing, and it's perhaps an unfortunate shortcoming of free will. I'm fairly libertarian, though, so I'll have to deal with the occasional shortcoming of free will.
For the sake of example, what do I think my purpose is? Again, I'm too young to know for certain, but I plan to study to become some sort of engineer, in which category of profession I can act not only in self-interest but also in the interest of others by applying science to solve real-world problems or devise new ways of doing existing tasks better. Right now, that seems to be my calling in life. I certainly don't have to be an altruist to do that--engineers can make good money, after all, and there has to be some incentive appealing to self-interest in order to make anyone do the work--but ultimately what is most important (in my mind) is that one should enjoy working toward the fulfillment of one's purpose. In my humble opinion, this is much more productive and useful a purpose than bringing agony to everyone, but it is ultimately your call.
My apologies for the various tangents, which have been more effective at convoluting my point than anything else. Good luck to you, nevertheless, and I hope that you will determine the purpose and significance of your life someday.