Natural Life Purpose
A six-clause biological framework for understanding human purpose through the natural phases of life, family, reproduction, social development, and the future of one’s line.
A Biological View of Meaning and Success
Because humans are social and their cultures are under selection pressure for functionality, so too are individuals under selection pressure for the functionality of their cultures, as well as the selection pressure on them as biological organisms under the control of their genes. Cultures contain many ideas, including the person’s chosen purpose of life. This means an individual is under selection pressure to have a functional purpose of life.
Robert L. Hays argues that biology offers one basic standard of success:
the persistence of the genetic line. From this view, human life can be understood
through natural phases that guide growth, pairing, reproduction, raising offspring,
and supporting future generations.
Unlike a narrow personal ambition, Natural Life Purpose describes the default pattern of human life as shaped by evolution. People may consciously choose other purposes, but Hays believes this natural framework remains deeply rooted in human nature.
Core Idea
- Biological success is the persistence of the line.
- Human life follows natural developmental phases.
- Purpose is connected to family, society, and future generations.
- People may choose narrow life purposes, but at a cost.
- Natural Life Purpose reflects how people generally live.
The Six Clauses of Natural Life Purpose
Hays breaks the natural purpose of human life into six connected clauses. Each clause can be the major focus of an individual during a given period of life.
Grow Up
Survive, get bigger, and master living as an individual biological being.
Advance Socially
Climb your social hierarchy. The natural hierarchy varies by species.
Pair
Form a partnership, including agreeing on vows at the Band Level and Cultural Stages. Pairing puts further competition for other mates on hold.
Reproduce
Find a sex partner, have sex, and carry a pregnancy through to a successful birth.
Raise Offspring
Provide for, protect, and educate offspring. In humans, this includes setting a good example and passing down the family’s culture.
Support Future Generations
Act to increase the odds of persistence of one’s genetic line and the culture of one’s people.
The NLP and Other Natural Social Structures
The Current Version
The Natural Life Purpose for a person is to:
- Grow up
- Advance socially
- Pair
- Reproduce
- Raise offspring
- Support the future generations of his or her line, and culture
It has six clauses, each of which can be the major focus of an individual during a given period of his life. For species with a different way to reproduce, it can differ. For example, for a coral species only clauses 1 and 4 apply.
What Do the Clauses Mean?
“Grow up” means to survive, get bigger, and master living as an individual biological being. “Advancing socially” means to climb your social hierarchy. The natural hierarchy varies by species. Pairing in the Band Level and Cultural Stages includes agreeing on vows. When you pair, you put on hold further competition for another mate and climbing the social hierarchy for being desirable to other potential partners.
“Reproduce” includes finding a sex partner, having sex, and carrying a pregnancy through to successfully giving birth. “Raise offspring” includes providing for and protecting them as well as educating them. For all mammals it includes nursing the juvenile young. For other species (not only some primates) it may include teaching the next generation critical skills. In humans it includes setting a good example and passing down the family’s culture.
To “support the future generations of his or her line, and culture” means to act to increase the odds of persistence of one’s genetic line of inheritance and the culture of one’s people.
Defining One’s Line
All organisms are related, since they all descended from a single living form. Hence one can define one’s line narrowly as one’s “blood relatives” or as widely as all living things, or anything in between.
The average human lifespan has been increasing in recent centuries. Making it to reproductive age, pairing, then having and raising offspring is essential for the persistence of your line. After children are fledged, parents are older and the goal is better seen as clause six: “Support future generations of his or her line and culture.” “Having and raising” is replaced by grandparenting (if there are any grandchildren) or grandparenting-like helping others in the line. For unpaired adults, helping siblings who have children is a way of addressing raising or helping the line at the kin level.
Across a Lifetime
As one grows older, one has more life lessons to teach, and more opportunities to contribute by leading various social groups. Women who have children have so much to do to care for and raise them that it consumes most mothers’ lives for years. But if a woman does not have children, she can replace reproduction with another life purpose for herself, such as to succeed in a career. Once a person (of either gender) is middle aged or older, he has had time to become more respected and accomplished, so has more opportunities for advancing a career or leading organizations in his group, including political positions.
How Species Differ
Species differ in their Natural Life Purpose, and which clauses apply is not always predictable from knowing the Level of Social Development or the Stage of Cultural Development. In general, the Levels of Social Development correlate with evolutionary development. That is, species that I consider as having a higher level number came later in evolutionary time than did those with a lower number.
Consider two examples. In mammals, there is a need to find a mate, have sex, then carry a pregnancy through successful birth. It is fair to state one clause of their Natural Life Purpose as including “raising” their offspring, and describe it as providing, protecting, and educating the offspring. Raising offspring for all mammals includes nursing the very young. It can, but doesn’t always, include educating the young. Many primates do, but many species of other taxa do, too.
Corals reproduce by releasing gametes into the surrounding seawater. So the Natural Life Purpose clause equivalent to reproducing for them is to develop gametes and synchronize their release with other corals of the same species but opposite gender.
The NLP is the logical consequence of natural selection favoring functionality. The same reasoning can be applied to derive the natural human culture, the natural human political system, and other social standards that are based on human nature and natural selection for functionality.
The most recent published version of the NLP is “Natural Life Purpose, A redefinition,” posted to grandpahays.substack.com on March 30, 2025.
Purpose Across a Lifetime
Natural Life Purpose does not describe a single moment. It describes a lifetime pattern in which different priorities become more important at different stages.
Leadership
Later in life, people may contribute through leadership, wisdom, and support for their group.
Legacy
Grandparenting and mentorship help support the future of one’s line and culture.
Choice
Humans can choose narrow personal purposes, but those choices may reduce success in other areas.
Purpose Rooted in Human Nature
Hays believes in Natural Life Purpose because he sees it reflected in the way people actually live. Children grow, adults seek status and partnership, parents raise offspring, and older generations often support descendants, families, and cultural continuity.
Because humans have conscious minds, they can choose a different or narrower purpose. But if no conscious alternative is chosen, Hays argues that people tend to act in ways consistent with Natural Life Purpose because it is rooted in evolved human nature.
Understanding the Framework
What does “persistence of the line” mean?
In biological terms, success is measured by whether a genetic line continues into the future. Hays uses this as the foundation for understanding natural human purpose. One’s line can be defined narrowly as blood relatives, or as widely as all living things.
Can people choose a different purpose?
Yes. Hays recognizes that humans can consciously choose a narrow life purpose, such as invention, business, art, or achievement. However, he argues that this may diminish success in other natural areas.
Does Natural Life Purpose apply equally to everyone?
The framework describes a general biological pattern. Individual lives vary, but the six clauses represent the broad natural structure Hays sees behind human development. Species also differ: for a coral species, only clauses 1 and 4 apply.
Why is legacy important?
Later in life, people often shift from raising children directly to supporting future generations through grandparenting, mentoring, leadership, teaching, and cultural contribution.
Related Books
Grandpa Hays’ Guide to a Successful Life
A practical and philosophical guide to growth, responsibility, purpose, and life direction.
View Book →Mastering Your Life as an Individual
A guide to individual responsibility, self-development, and successful living.
View Book →Values and Social Development
A study of biological development, cultural development, and the evolution of values.
View Book →Continue Exploring Human Purpose
Natural Life Purpose connects biology, family, culture, and legacy. Continue with The Gap Theory, Culture, and Western Civilization.