An Atheist Meaning of Life

This is a first and incomplete effort at getting down some ideas towards an atheist meaning of life. There’s a lot more to be said and even more thinking to be done, but it’s a start that can be built upon and adapted. It’s a start.

Heaven. Hell. Fairly well known concepts; there’s blissful peace and there’s fiery damnation. Lots of imagery built up over millennia that shape the way we think about them. But what if heaven and hell are applied to the one life we have on earth. Heaven is the reward for a life with God. Now perhaps that reward doesn't come afterwards as an eternal paradise, maybe the belief in a higher power itself, the purpose and meaning to life which that can bring. Maybe that is the reward of God in and of itself, that reassuring belief where your life isn't a meaningless flash in existence, gone in a moment and barely bright enough to see.

And likewise hell would be the opposite. A life without God being a life without a purpose, a life without real consequences as ultimately eternal death is what follows. The cessation of your existence, your identity and memories, and in time the obliteration of any trace of your existence, I could see that being described as hell. Believing your existence to be meaningless can in fact be the ultimate meaning of hell?

Neither heaven or hell are things waiting for us after we die, they are simply labels to apply to life where one has meaning and the other does not. Religion can then be created as a means of pulling people towards the faith in a higher power camp, and in doing so ensure them a place in the ‘heaven’ of living a life which you can believe has a purpose and an eternal value.

As an atheist that first option I can’t really buy into, and being left with a hell of meaningless existence doesn't appeal either. The third option of just never thinking about it isn't going to work for me either, and perhaps option 2, believing your mind to be meaningless but still putting value in it is just a higher version of option 3. Where saying there’s no meaning and then carrying on because life still has value is still avoiding actually thinking though the implications of a meaningless existence.

So if we don’t want to believe in God and thus secure a place in ‘heaven’, nor have a hellish meaningless existence, is their perhaps a fourth option? How about this? Our lives don’t have a meaning... yet. Perhaps the ultimate meaning of life does exist, there is some higher purpose but we’re not yet capable of understanding it. And we probably won’t get there in our lifetimes. But if in the future an ultimate meaning of existence is found then that would also give all past lives ultimate meaning and thus give us a meaning of life today. The search for that future ultimate meaning can become the lesser meaning for our lives today, the justification for it, and the validation that avoids the hellish conclusion of a meaningless life and an eternity of nothingness after we die.

Now suddenly our lives do have a meaning, we've avoided hell but not had to buy into the idea of a God or other higher power. Our meaning is to strive and develop and search for a future meaning that can then validate our current existences. And how do we do that? If we’re not currently capable of understanding or discovering the meaning of life what do we have to do? We have to advance. We have to progress. We have to develop scientifically, culturally, socially, and any other way we can think of. If we don’t know what the meaning is then we can’t pin one line of advancement down as the one to follow, we must develop across all areas. And we must propagate the species too; the extinction of the human race would prevent us from ever finding our ultimate meaning.

This would be an atheistic meaning of life, one which promotes scientific advancement, cultural development, social improvement, and working to ensure the continuation of the human race. I think that's a pretty good meaning to live by. For now anyway.