# Philosophy 2: Finding Purpose§
My journey into philosophy started with a simple, perhaps obsessive question: how does reality work at its most primitive level? Mapping ontology, cosmology, space, time, matter, and the nature - I wanted to understand the machinery of thought itself.
Let's start with 'something'. We do not know what it is. But we can observe, relate, discriminate, categorize. Collectively 'something'(s) make up our universe. From there we move to ontology, and cosmology. But following that chain of logic, we eventually arrive at a startling entity: the self.
And that raises a question: why is the self even in this picture? Do I actually know what or who is observing all of this? And why?
> Knowing the self is the ultimate purpose of life.
For a long time, because I could not answer that core question, I did not have an overarching direction. Being an extremist in my thinking, I could not just pick a random hobby or adopt a casual worldview to pass the time. If I could not reason my way to an answer, the default setting was simple: question everything, do nothing, and leave the machinery idle.
But as I have grown more observant of the world around me, I have come to realize that while staying in this default mode is not inherently evil, it is unoptimal.
If this machine of a life is running anyway, my extremist nature demands that I at least attempt to be of some use...
## Is Purpose Necessary?§
That is a debatable topic.
By strict logic, one can argue that the universe operates entirely without inherent meaning, making purpose a human invention - a convenient function to keep the mind occupied.
Either way, it suggests, purpose is 'purposeful'. Hence good to have.
Can I simply create one of my own? If building a purpose from scratch is possible, what is it supposed to be like? This leads directly into the realm of morality - establishing the distinctions between right and wrong, and constructing a framework of what counts as a constructive direction versus a destructive one.
Yet, defining what is good is only half the battle; the next logical thought process asks whether it is actually worth it. This is where ethics comes into play. Not everything deemed good or bad is worth accepting or refuting blindly; context, circumstance, and trade-offs dictate what is truly worth pursuing.
And finally, when you piece all of this together - when you realize you can define a purpose, decide what it should look like morally, and weigh its worth through ethics - the ultimate question remains: where does this purpose originate from?
## Six Sources of Purpose§
My hypothesis is we can break down its potential sources into six distinct branches:
- - **Personal Aspects**: These are the immediate drivers of human existence - often tied up in what Eastern philosophies caution against: attachment, greed, maya (illusion), and ego-driven ambition. They are the baseline instincts of survival and gratification, telling us to chase comfort or status.
- - **Family Expectations**: Stepping outward, the next source is the blueprint handed down by parents, siblings, and relatives. This layer dictates our early duties, cultural defaults, and familial obligations, shaping our sense of responsibility based on generational lines.
- - **Academic, Professional, and Social Structures**: Beyond the home, we enter the collective machinery of society. These purposes are forged through our interactions with the broader world - career goals, institutional milestones, peer expectations, and common civic or economic agreements.
- - **Spiritual Aspect**: This category encompasses everything that does not fall under the first three compartments - the realm of existential randomness, sudden epiphanies, deep revelations, and the pursuit of enlightenment.
While personal desires, family expectations, and societal goals appear distinct, they are almost never entirely autonomous. If you trace them backward through generations and cultural evolution, they are almost always result of an upstream philosophical or spiritual insight.
The societal rules we follow, the morals our families teach us, and even the ways we manage our personal ambitions ultimately trace back, directly or indirectly, to historical figures and thinkers who sat down, questioned the self, and mapped out a spiritual framework for human existence.
In this sense, the spiritual aspect serves as the foundational root source of purpose for human culture at large.
## Pre-Mapped Choices§
The question is no longer the impossible burden of "Can I fully understand the entirety of the cosmos before I decide what to do?" Instead, the problem statement becomes: Can I consciously pick a purpose from these available sources, treat it as a working hypothesis, and test it through my own lived experience?
When the people of the Kalama clan came to the Gautam Buddh, confused because various spiritual teachers kept coming to town contradicting each other, they asked him how they could know who to believe.
> Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture... But when you yourselves know: 'These things are good; these things are not blamable; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness,' enter on and abide in them.
This shifts everything for someone with an extremist mindset. Since my nature prevents me from making completely random or hollow choices, having structured, intentional options to choose from provides a solid foothold.
I may not possess absolute knowledge of the universe yet, and my search for the ultimate truth of the self is still ongoing, but I no longer need to stay trapped in "default mode."
I can adopt a provisional map. I am choosing a path not because I claim it represents the final, absolute truth of existence, but because it gives my energy an immediate, useful direction.
I can follow these temporary purposes for the time of my journey, and if at all I reach a point of enlightenment and understand a purpose of my own, I can then follow that instead.
- - **Author**: Dwij Bavisi <<dwij.bavisi@crabwire.net>>
- - **Published**: September 30, 2026, Project bloatware
- - **Conceived**: September 29, 2026