[Robert]

First, let me welcome Gil to the Theory of Everything forums. I think you will find a lot of like-minded people here also searching for life's purpose or meaning. Hope to hear more from you on such a fascinating topic.

I have a rather sad thought I'd like to throw out for discussion. What if life has no meaning? Do we have the courage to consider that possibility? I don't believe that to be true, but I have been moving in that direction and certainly been considering the possibility. If our purpose is pre-determined, that means determined before we are born? before we are conceived? This may imply a higher intelligence, reincarnation, etc. There are books that suggest we choose our lives before we are born to work out our bad karma. More likely perhaps, is that our purpose is pre-determined by our genes, brain development, our inborn tendencies combined with our exposure to the environment. Like an ant in an ant colony, through our interaction with others our life may acquire a purpose. --Robert