ABSTRACT
Purpose has two meanings. One is relative and the other absolute. The purpose of my bike is to get me to work. On the other hand, as a cyclist, I gain a sense of purpose, meaning energy, mission, self—esteem, identity. This latter absolute meaning is historically recent, arising from the earlier relative meaning but rapidly gaining prestige in psychological discourse, where an absence of purpose equates with depression. This chapter observes the paradoxes of purpose, which—if we were to be totally rational-is infinitely deferred and ultimately ends with metaphysical beliefs, a personal ontology for each individual.
