"We Were All Put Here For A Reason"

Allow me to summarize my opponent's proposition:1. If we were born with a reason, the development up to that reason would not be needed.2. We can find a reason in life for ourselves.3. Hence we were not put here for a reason.4. There is no need for a reason. My opening argument:We are put in this life to have a chance to make unique learning experiences. That does not mean some entity actively put us into this life. It's a passive tense construction, and rightly so: we do not know what or who put us into this life. But what-/ whoever it was (evolution, chance, a deity of any kind): it was against all odds. We know several planets, planetoids and satellites, and for all we know they are all devoid of life. Earth has plenty of life, and among all the species, we are unique. So we are unique among a variety of something incredibly rare: life. Whether given to us on purpose or not, this is something special, and being gifted with an exceptional thing creates responsibility. We need to put a gift to the best use, to prove ourselves worthy of it. This is not a theistic argument, it's an ethical one. So, we were given a unique existence, and I say that fact alone gives us reason: reason to use this existence to its fullest, explore its possibilities, learn what this gift entails. So, our reason predates our individual birth, it's passed down the line of the species "homo". We have a reason to live this life, and that basically is gratitude for our existence. We're in this world to live up to the possibilities we were given. Now, were we put here FOR this reason? We can't prove or disprove that, we can only look at some clues and leave it to the audience to judge.1. We are capable of knowing reason. Otherwise, this debate would not take place.2. So, reason must be a real thing, because how would cultures across the world independently develop a concept of reason if it were just made up?3. If we accept that reason exists at all, why should it not exist for us? Every phenomenon in nature has reason. Things fall to the ground, for the reason of gravity attracting the Earth and the object towards each other. Nothing works without reason. We have no indication that this does not apply to humans. Even my opponent admits it: we can find reason for ourselves.4. Everything that has developed has developed for a reason. Evolution teaches that everything that developed in a species exists because it was advantageous. That means, it developed for a reason: the survival of the fittest. Creationism teaches that God made everything for a reason. Chaos theory explains that everything developed because of an unforeseeable interaction between countless variables. It is thus generally agreed that everything that exists exists for a reason.5. That means our ability to recognize reason exists for a reason. Our ability to find a reason (concede by my opponent) developed for a reason. Thus, we were put here for a reason. So, we exist by some outward force, we have a inherent ethical reason, have the capability of recognizing reason, and that developed in our species for a reason. It is thus my conviction that we were put here for a reason. My rebuttal will clarify the nature of this reason further:1. If we were born with a reason, the development up to that reason would not be needed. That something is not needed does not mean it CANNOT exist AND be useful. "Need" is a very subjective thing. We need water to survive, yet there are times when we deny the offer of a glass of water. Maybe we "need" the development later? This argument does not disprove we were born with a reason. Furthermore, maybe the development is PART of the reason we were born with, and is needed, but we're not capable of realizing that early on in life? I say the basic reason we're here is connected to our ability to recognize reason. My opponent even admits it:2. We can find a reason in life for ourselves. I say that is the reason we were put here. We were given the gift of a unique life, which results in a responsibility to put it to good use, to explore all its possibilities. One possibility is to find a reason in life, and I already established how that developed for a reason. So, in the end I argue that this IS our reason, for which we were put into this place: find a reason four ourselves and make it count.3. Hence we were not put here for a reason. I disagree, see above.4. There is no need for a reason. There is no perceivable "need" for a lot of things in our lives. Who "needs" art? Who needs movies? Who needs luxury? Yet, all these things exist. Reason, however, is a very valuable thing. If we're feeling depressed, we can go on and work ourselves out of that low, if we have reason to. Reason means motivation. Motivation keeps us going. Inactivity will lead to our demise, as we need to eat and drink. But if we see no reason in life, we might just as well kill ourselves. . http://russelljohn.net...This site lists suicide notes, and I found these random example there:"I have no reason to live…it seems like everyone around me would be much better…they all hate me…. I’m never loved…never will be…I’m tired of being hurt by the ppl I care about, raped, threaten, ect…. I’m just tired…and I want to go to sleep…but I’m afraid of hell… Ppl are always going around saying “people would kill to be in my spot…. thank god for waking you up” Well…I never asked to be born…""I am a female of 16 years. Everyday I think of suicide, but I don’t know why I’m so sad anymore… I have no reason to be. I have a family that cares, friends that would take a bullet for me, and a brother that I can always talk to… but I still feel like I’m alone. . I don’t understand myself anymore. I feel like I don’t control myself anymore. . I’ve been taking pills, and everytime… I take that exta one, knowing I’m getting closer to ruining myself. I don’t know how much longer I can take this… I’m so confused, and hurt… and I feel like no one understands me. My parents don’t, my brother doesn’t, and neither do my friends… They try to help, but they can’t… and it makes them unhappy and I HATE that! I am on anti-depressants, I see a doctor every monday and I have two psychologists, and still. . nothing helps. " This shows that without reason, the human species would die through mass suicide, as even medication does nothing to prevent the death wish if there is no "reason" present. Reason has a need. It is possible to find one. People who have not found reason or lost sight of it have a tendency to kill themselves. We would thus not exist without reason. What this ultimately suggests is this: rarely do very young people try to kill themselves - I'm talking about newborns, for instance. Not having reason can turn humans suicidal. So, why then do toddlers not kill themselves, if they still have to FIND that reason? Would they not be unhappy? No, children are happy to learn, they look forward to attending school a little later on. So, they must have been born with reason. They may not be aware of it. They may lose sight of their reason in later life. But children only lose sight of their reason for going on - learning, growing - under severe trauma. So, reason is there from the beginning. I'm looking forward to my opponent's response.