Well, it is 1:00 AM and I am far from tired and avoiding homework. The question arises "What is the point of human life?"

This is quite cliche', and I realize that. The point is, I group humans along with every other animal, as we are animals after all. This being said, the purpose of all forms of life ever to exist has been to survive. Not as an individual, but as a species. It is woven into our DNA. It is something we cannot control, and a rule we must abide by.

Now the question arises: If survival has been insured, what meaning does human life have? I think that the next logical step after ensuring one's own survival as a species must be to increase the quality of life of the species as a whole. This could be conveyed as hedonistic, and it certainly may be. Hedonism is simply defined as pleasure-seeking. A hedonistic life or purpose would be one that is occupied with maximum pleasure in life and minimal pain, on an individual level.

If one is to claim that the purpose of human life is to increase the quality of life for the entire species, and individualistic approaches cannot possibly attain that. In this case, the only sensible thing to do involves humanitarian approaches. It can be argued that each 'society' is in a sense its own species, or at least is defined as its one population by ecological standards. In many species, the will to survive is stretched to the population level, not species wide.

In the case of the United States, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it appears that for the large majority of our population life is quite pleasant, but not for all. This has occurred because of the hedonistic approach that many humans take as opposed to an approach that either: A. ensures the survival of the species or population, or B. Increases the quality of life of the population. In this way it seems that humans have acted out of biological character, but this is not the case. Our genetics only require that we ensure the survival of our species, not necessarily make the lives of our fellow humans better.

This is where the superior intelligence of humans must intervene. Our species has reached an awareness of our own genetics. We try to defy it, but it is impossible. Though it is not a genetically-driven law to be altruistic and humanitarian, I believe it is our responsibility as wielders of great intellect to undertake such pursuits. We can no longer allow ourselves to disregard the other members of our species.

We survive by coalition, not competition.

This being said, we now have a reason to live. Excellent.

If society is to progress on a truly humanistic basis, without being subject to mental epidemics and virulent social diseases to which the subconscious falls an easy victim, the personal consciousness of every individual should be cultivated to the highest degree possible