Is Purpose Really a Psychological Need?

[Bob Seeker]

Is it really a need or is it just something we think we need or that props our ego?

I ask because the nature of reality is purposeless, and enlightened people often say they don't believe in purpose, yet are still happy. 

If you had no purpose, couldn't you just sort of get over that?

[Carl-Richard]

2 hours ago, Bob Seeker said:

enlightened people often say they don't believe in purpose, yet are still happy. 

They say this because they've dropped identification with survival and therefore purpose. But you still need purpose to survive. For example, an organism that moves in a purposeful way (e.g. to find food), i.e. a way that facilitates survival, will be linked to an experience of satisfaction. Human represent these kinds of behaviors abstractly in the form a life purpose, or a work schedule, or a daily habit. Nevertheless, if you don't do anything that serves a purpose, your life will not be very satisfactory. Unless you aim to become enlightened very soon and transcend life itself, you should incorporate some purpose into your life.

Edited February 20, 2023 by Carl-Richard

[Ninja_pig]

This is my personal opinion.

I would say that your psyche needs purpose as much as your body needs exercise: Sure you can technically do without it, but you are going to start running into problems.

You could maybe even be happy with out a purpose! but you're not really going to feel totally healthy. A purpose is pretty much what our brains are designed to work with, similar to how our bodies are designed to work around exercise in order to stay healthy.

You can be as enlightened as you like, you can recognize that any purpose is totally illusory in a metaphysical sense. You're still going to feel empty and stupid, mentally out of shape shall we say, if you don't have a purpose.