Do humans have a reason to live?
no
Side Score: 30
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yes
Side Score: 52
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2
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We each individually have our own reasons for existence, all selfish, but the question asks "Do humans have a reason to live? We as a species, exist only to reproduce. making our reason to live, is to live, and there is no reason in that at all. Should every human die tomorrow what would happen? Nothing, the world would keep on spinning and every other creature here would probably be better off. Should the earth cease to exist would anything be different? in the big scheme of things? i doubt it At one time we considered our planet the center of the universe, but its all in our minds. Just like our reason to live. We feel the need to justify existence when at the end of the day we are lucky to exist, we don't need reason. Viruses follow this same logic, and have just as much reason. Side: no
This question implies whether or not the collective human race has a reason to live. I agree with Litchfield's argument that if we were to disappear, nothing would really change, other than Earth being better off. On an individual level however, human beings have to decide their own reason to live. Other than perpetuating the species, which could be construed as a reason, humans are free to decide their reason for living. But this is outside the scope of this debate. Side: no
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Humans don't need a reason to live... just a reason to die. That's why many who feel empty inside still live. Many who want to die can't seem to kill themselves. People just live and they try to find a reason as to why they're living, but they don't need to... if u wana die, have a reason to die. A reason like, nobody loves me or I'm worthless, is usually not good enough. You need a reason like, if I die, it'll be a better world, or something like that. People try to make reasons to kill themselves sometimes but never seem to be able to and it's because the reasoning is not sufficient enough; so even if they're miserable, they still go on living. Side: No
Humans have no reason to live at all. They live because they are impulsed to. Have you ever seen someone die from holding their breath? They can't, because once they get knocked out, they return right to breathing. The fact is, living is so very deeply engrained in our subconscious precisely because its a phenomenally selfish act. Take, for instance, suicide. People who commit suicide are inherently selfless people. They have so destroyed their own self that the act of killing themselves is easy: there is simply no self left to remove. The very act of living is a defining of self, a recognition of the fact that one is important enough to continue consuming. Thus, saying that there is a reason to live is ludicrous- it somehow justifies and makes selfless an act that is based on a recognition of self. Side: no
A reason means one reason, but there could be any number of reasons including zero. Since meaning is personal the possible reasonS to live vary from person to person. Maybe you feel you have no reason to live. If so life still goes on, no less a tale told by an idiot. I have 4.235 reasons to live. Side: no
1
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reason: cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event. Humans don't have a real cause. We definitely don't have an explanation, and we have no justification in living. The body compels us to fight for life though, or by other means, preserve ourselves. So, the body does cause us to feel justified, for instance, if we are confronted with a life threatening situation, we have the feeling that we should run from the problem, or escape the danger... we don't think first "I have no reason to run because I have no reason to live". It is more likely though that this is a skewed perception. I'm guessing though that one could argue that the will to survive is justification enough, but in all actuality... I don't think we can rightly feel justified. Side: no
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7
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Of course. Normally when someone is asking "what is the reason to live" they are asking for an objective purpose. Ie. a purpose that exists independent of their mind. That I don't think exists. I don't think the universe has any "reason" besides physics. I do, though, believe one can create subjective reasons for themselves ie. a reason you create. I want to live, for instance, because I enjoy life, and my purpose, I have decided, is the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment, as well as to contribute to the world in a positive way. Side: yes
If we didn't have some reason to live then we wouldn't be alive, now would we ? everything happens for a reason, and therefore we all live for a reason. while we may not know until we are adults, we all have a reason whether or not we realize it. I personally, think my reason to live is to help others. I can't go a day with out thinking about wanting to help people or raise money for different organizations. But that's just me; others might have their own reasons. Side: yes
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your sentences are a lil bit dull based on addressing an argument.if your reason of existence is to help others,then the nxt q is what's the good reason for helping others and so on..if you will not exist, every heavenly body will still rotate,every creature will try their best to survive while they don't have any reason to exist. Side: No
Prove that everything happens for a reason? Since I do not believe you will be able to complete such a monstrous task I will venture that it is not provable. This means to me that it is not true. I believe I have witnessed plenty of things that have had no purpose. However, this does not necessarily make me right in believing so; these things might well have had a purpose. Either way it is not something you can prove one way or another and therefore is conjecture. I understood your meaning but I just believe we cannot use this as an argument towards whether or not humans have a purpose. Side: no
This is a rather ambiguous question, in that the term "reason" could mean either a predetermined reason (which I would have to say no to) or simply a reason to live based purely on the fact that we are here. Personally, I see that there is a reason to live. As humans we have a fantastic capacity to be capable of building reasons to live: friends, family, the things we enjoy in our lives. All of these things are reasons to live. Side: yes
Yes; Simply put; we're here; that's our reason to live. All creatures when left to instinct will try to survive and live. You are here because many people lived and tried to survive before you. Survival is an inherent goal of all life. We are connected and dependent on our whole world and all existence to even be alive. Therefore inversely the world and existence as we know it is dependent on human life. Humans could decide not to live. But another species would eventually dominate the planet, so why not be that dominant species? Side: yes
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Just because we have an instinct towards living does not give life a reason. You present it as an objective reason to, especially when you say "we're", "our" and other things like that. This is negated by the existence of martyrs. Another flaw with the "instinct" argument is that it would also mean people's reason to live is to lie and cheat, eat food, masturbate, be afraid of creepy crawlers, and so on. Nothing other than fallacy puts "the instinct to live" above those, for "humans live to live" is circular logic at its finest. Side: no
2
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If this just means simply a reason, then it depends on the situation. For instance, someone who hated their life could just have reasons not to die or a lack of resources or will to kill themselves. For the sake of the question though, I'll consider those reasons and say that if someone is alive for some reason they aren't dead....so yes. Just to clarify, a 'reason' is NOT the same thing as a 'purpose'. Purpose implies predetermined..for instance, a soldier has a predetermined purpose as implied by it's name. Human, implies no purpose. Side: yes
I don't believe there is any objective reason given to us to live; we are the conscious beings that devise the concept of purpose and reason in the first place; there is no other entity to just dump the answers in our lap (and if there is, then obviously the bastard isn't very communicative, huh?). So we essentially must decide for ourselves what our reason is. It's a subjective reason, but it's the only reason possible, given present circumstances. Side: yes
1
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humans have a great way of thinking of causes and effects. something must have caused us to be here. but i don't think that the question is asking what causes us to live. it's more about our purpose and justification. if the question is about serving some greater purpose.. who knows? we certainly serve purposes for each other all the time. a farmer may serve the purpose of harvesting food. a mother may serve a purpose of feeding a child. a teacher may serve a purpose of helping to raise a child, etc, etc, etc. i suppose we even serve purposes for plants and animals, including the microorganisms that live in our bodies.. viruses, etc. in fact, we serve the purpose of continuing certain species. i wonder if the corn and grass and flowers etc. are thankful that we have a hand in continuing their legacies. if you're looking for some objective justification, something outside of humans, then the question is flawed and unfair. we can't really decide as if we are not humans. we can't escape that. we have to answer the question as humans. who else do we have to justify it to? aliens? the fact is, we decide the reason. it's a totally subjective question. it's up to you to decide for yourself! who's to say that you, personally, have no reason to live? i wouldn't listen to that person if i were you. Side: yes
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Psychologically, we have the need to have purpose. Take a step back and imagine if your life had no meaning, that existence was meaningless. We have to feel a reason. The specific "meaning of life" varies with the individual, changing on religious views and other factors. Side: yes
As many have pointed out, we are debating whether humans, as a species, have a reason to live. Not as individuals. This is what I will be discussing. I don’t believe we have a reason, I believe we have many reasons. Firstly, there is proof that we, as humans, have harmed the Earth (An Inconvenient Truth is just one good example). So I propose that if we can harm our planet, we can also help/heal/save it. And that, in itself, is a good enough reason for humans to live. To undo what we have done. To redeem ourselves as a species. And this, in term, might lead to saving other planets. Secondly, there is the innate human need for Discovery. This is what has driven us since we formed as a species(given you take Darwin's theory of evolution as true – 200 000 years ago). From the primitive "Find out a better way to hunt/collect food" to the contemporary "Find out a better way to earn money, fame or whatever you hold dear". From the invention of the wheel to the printing press, radio and theInternett. Rising from the bottom of the food chain to its top, without gaining any physicalstrengtht, we can safely assume that humans are, overall, superior to any other animal on the planet. This, on its own, could mean that we have more of a reason to live than any other mammal, insect, bird etc. Let us, however, take into account the bigger picture. Would the universe be affected if the people seized to exist. Probably not. But we cannot know for sure, unless we survive for long enough to find out. Maybe we will discover a way to influence the cosmos. And the inherentcuriosityy of humans will, hopefully one day, enable us to do just that. Give us the ability to influence everything, for better or for worse. Someone can also argue, that all the individual reasons of humans (collective reasoning, if you will), are a good enough...reason, on its own, for us to live. But I am not that someone. Thank you for reading. Side: yes
We're searching for the reason of existence. With our own hands because maybe there is no reason for life, everyone hopes and tries so hard to find a reason of existence. The reason of birth, of staying with someone, of existence... Believing we have to find them all with our hands. Like finding a place for ourselves in dreams, in jobs, im people... The reasons we conclude may be indefinite and fragile. We may lose it too, but even so, we want a reason. Side: yes
Let's think if only you living inside a big white/black room without anything exist.. What would you do? Now think as your current situation.. looking for answer from the internet. isn't that the reason to keep you living? The thing surrounding you, is there, and you, want be there, too... (?) [SORRY BAD ENGLISH] Side: yes
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