What is the Purpose of Life?

I asked my son Jason what his purpose in life is. Predictably he doesn’t have an answer.

That’s fine. I can’t express the central, pure, meaning of my life in words: the closest I can come is “joy” as suggested by the Dalai Lama. This comes closer to any simple statement I can think of, especially in the framework of all animal psychology, which suggests that our primary behavioral stimulus is the twin need to avoid pain and gain pleasure.

There are people “stuck” in the “avoid pain” place will have problems sustaining enthusiasm, and will often spend…