The "grand purpose" of life! Whatever it may be, or whether there Nihilistically be not, or Absurdly be an actor living despite its lack of objective answer, this is a very debated question, which, due to its abstract nature, still barely can be solved!
Life’s definition according to the dictionary is the condition that
distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, i.e. not
becoming a corpse
= Not being dead, staying alive = Survival
So the meaning of life is survival. Other animals
are like that too, eating food and avoiding predators. The flaw of
humans is… wanting more than just that. Perhaps because being functional
without anything else to do is boring, and (most) humans hate boredom!
Rather, this is a truism by its nature. The meaning of life is to
survive until death,
but all organisms will live until they die, so I don't think this means
anything, even if it is true by nature...
If you only cared about being alive, solitary confinement would work. Freedom & communication are also valued. So life is not purely survival, it also has other factors, that’s why it’s not all about the most pessimistic life possible: you also need things to do, I guess! Life without useful things to do is barely a life. So do them!
Does it mean nothing? It might. Well, technically, humans have the freedom to do nearly
anything to themselves, including altering their systems. In fact, it’s
more suitable to current circumstances when the biological signals in
ancient evolution, like stress, work against current human life. So, that’s
the reason, due to outdated Darwinistic behavior.
BUT I am still myself! Improvement is good! Thus, I would say it’s a net
positive.
However, there is a risk of loss of directional data.
It just becomes a preference of what someone wants to do. Of course, meanings like happiness, pleasure, or virtue exist, yet they are not universal, so I think this question is basically answered! Whether out of determinism or free will, most humans indeed go beyond the baseline of survival, provided they have enough money in the first place. Not bad!