> > I find it interesting that you say that. I'm an agnostic, but I don't think that science shows me any reasons to live my life. Indeed, one of the things separates science from faith is that it is fundamentally incapable of giving me a reason to live my life -- it's merely a system of organizing data.
>
> Do you think you could find the point of your life using logic?

Depends on if my life has a point or not. You beg the question by assuming that there is one to discover! I make no such assumption, I believe it is possible my life has no "meaning" and yet I am relatively happy. I am fortunately able to take pleasure in things in my life even though I realize that there may be no real significance to any of it. I don't feel particularly depressed (most of the time) that I don't see some underlying reason for my existence. I'm happy to enjoy the good things life offers during my short time in existence. I may question why I feel happy, but it doesn't stop me from doing so.

Assuming there is some point to life, though, I have no clue if logic could find it for me. I suppose it would depend on how the meaning was derived. If meaning is given to human lives by an intelligent, benevolent creator, then yes, I think I could discover it through logic (unless said creator was purposely trying to make it difficult or impossible to deduce from reason alone).

Here's my problem with finding meaning in any non-rational, non-empirical fashion: how do you know you're not crazy? If you find meaning through a personal revelation or enlightenment of some kind that leaves behind no concrete physical evidence, you can't be certain you didn't just imagine or misperceive the whole thing. Humans are incredibliy poor at observing and remembering events correctly. One of the important concepts in science is that of repeatability. If other scientists can't reproduce your results, they are discarded. There is a reason for this.

> I think I misworded a lot in that post. My point was that science doesn't require faith. I think by "believe" I was trying to say what Sam said; scientists look for answers for the same reasons that astrologers do, because humans tend to believe that there is a point to their lives.

Maybe. Maybe not. A lot of people assume your life must have a clear, defined meaning for you to be happy or engage in productive works. I used to believe this to be so, but I no longer do. See above.

I'm interested in science and understanding the world, but I highly doubt it will ever provide me with a reason for my life.

> Evolution was taught, but the teachers were forbidden to teach specifics, or anything having to do with mammalian evolution. In particular, they were ordered to skip over the two chapters that described human evolution and development. Most of the teachers decided to skim over evolution in a week or two. I live in Wyoming.

Weird. I mean, if you're going to teach a concept poorly, you might as well not teach it. Ah well, the joys of a public education system (as much as I am for the governmental subsidization of education, it seems that the methods of democracy often run counter to the aims of education).

Stephen