What About Purpose?

Before we can approach the topic of morality in an atheistic context, we need to address a more basic issue that theists often bring to the discussion: purpose. It is frequently claimed that an atheistic world-view offers no "ultimate" purpose or meaning. Let's unpack that assertion.

What is Purpose?

If you look up "purpose" in the dictionary, you will see immediately that purpose is function of creative intent. We make pencils for the purpose of communicating. We make cars for the purpose of traveling. In this sense of the word, the claim that humanity has no "purpose" is legitimate because purpose is only a property of created things. Let's call this "intrinsic purpose."
However, things that were not created can be given purpose by creative entities. Consider a shard of obsidian. It wasn't crafted by an intelligence but by natural volcanic forces. Even so, men in Earth's early history picked up obsidian shards and used them as cutting tools. In other words, it seems that purpose can be given by an intelligent entity. Let's call this "extrinsic purpose."

Intrinsic Ultimate Purpose

What is meant by "ultimate purpose"? Let's consider the definition of ultimate purpose as "the end of a purpose chain." First let's try this in the context of intrinsic purpose.
Consider a pencil sharpener. What is it's "ultimate purpose"? Well, it's direct purpose is to sharpen pencils. But then we must ask, "What is the purpose of a pencil?" The pencil's direct purpose is human communication, etc, etc. We could follow this chain of purpose until we reach the end.

1. The purpose of a pencil sharpener is to service a pencil.
2. The purpose of a pencil is to service human communication.
3. The purpose of human communication is to service humanity.
4. Humanity has no intrinsic purpose; it was not created.

This chain ends with nothing. We would say the pencil sharpener has no "intrinsic ultimate purpose." What if there was a God?

1. The purpose of a pencil sharpener is to service a pencil.
2. The purpose of a pencil is to service human communication.
3. The purpose of human communication is to service humanity.
4. The purpose of humanity is to serve/worship God.
5. God has no intrinsic purpose; it was not created.

It seems that, even if there were a God, there would still be no "intrinsic ultimate purpose." Adding God in the chain doesn't stop us from concluding that God has no purpose external to himself.

Extrinsic Ultimate Purpose

The theist might interject at this point and claim that God gives himself his own purpose. Such a claim is certainly legitimate if we are allowing extrinsic purpose to enter the discussion. Just as the un-created obsidian shard is given purpose by an intelligence, so to can an un-created God be given purpose by an intelligence (himself.)

However, this kind of reasoning supposes that intelligent agencies can give themselves "extrinsic ultimate purpose." And if that is so, then humans can also give themselves "extrinsic ultimate purpose." This is the beginnings for a moral framework based on human values: humanism.

Intelligent Agents Give Purpose

It should be noted that any intelligent agency is capable of manufacturing extrinsic purpose. Purpose is something that is established once an intelligence makes up its mind toward some goal. Even in a theistic framework, humans can manufacture purpose for themselves.

At least one intelligent agent is necessary for a rational framework of purpose, but not God specifically. To think that God is necessary for purpose is to confuse the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic purpose.