First off, I'm new here, so apologies in advance if this subject has already been discussed and I carelessly missed it.

With that said, let's start out with a definition. By "purpose" I mean some type of goal that we are either destined or feel compelled to fulfill. This purpose could be some externally-given order --- e.g., God gave me the purpose of spreading His word to heathens --- or it could be some internal drive to accomplish something with one's life --- e.g., I am driven to be the next great artist.

When I talk about having a purpose in life, I am not simply talking about a goal. Rather, I am talking the goal one is meant to fulfill. The main goal, so to speak.

We typically look at having no purpose in life as a bad thing. Indeed, if someone went up to you and said, "I don't feel like I have any purpose in this world," you would probably try to convince her that she did or that she would find it, rather than respond with something along the lines of, "Good for you!"

What I will argue is that there is no reason to be disappointed with having no purpose in life. I believe this to be true for the following reasons:

1. Freedom. When we talk about purpose, we're making a normative as well as a descriptive claim. In other words, we're not simply saying "this is your purpose" but also "you should fulfill this purpose." This may not always be a God-given command, but there is always some pressure (either internal or external) on us to fulfill a purpose if, indeed, it is our purpose. There is always a "should" involved with purpose.

But without a purpose we have no pressure on us to fulfill any goal. If we want to be a painter, we can be a painter, then quit painting completely and become an accountant without abandoning or feeling we have abandoned any goal that we feel either internally or externally pressured to fulfill.

2. Your purpose may not be a good one. We tend to glamorize purposes as being grand. We figure it will be finding a cure for cancer or becoming a larger than life rock star, for instance. Perhaps we will write the next great novel.

But what if your purpose isn't so grand? What if your sole purpose in life is to be white trash, spending your entire day watching soap operas and smoking generic cigarettes? If we're going to have gods in the world, we need clods, right?

Or, what if your purpose is to be something evil? The next Hitler or the world's most notorious child molester, for instance? There's no reason to believe having a purpose in life would be a good thing.

I feel as if I have no purpose in life. If there is one out there in the world for me, I have not found it; if there is one in me, I am not aware of it.

I used to be disappointed by this. Why couldn't I find something that I could call my life's goal?

Now, I've become oddly content with the fact that I have no main goal in life. In fact, I feel a greater sense of freedom because of it.

What do you think? Is living a life without purpose a bad thing?