There's a difference between being born into a world where you are taught you have a purpose defined by God, the universe, etc., and being born into a culture where you are taught you need to find your own purpose.

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Mikhail_Edoshin 14 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

It's both. You have a purpose defined by God, but you have to understand what it is and the journey is your own. There are a lot of hints, explanations, personal stories, but you have to do some work to understand what they mean.

	▲	ElProlactin 2 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		The historical evidence is pretty clear that the modern idea you have a unique purpose you need to find for yourself started to become common in the 18th and 19th centuries. Before that, purpose was largely a dictate cast upon all members of the society.

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foxglacier 5 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

You're not disagreeing. They're different ways of acquiring a purpose but they're both acquiring a purpose.