The Meaning of Life
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, there is a moment when a whale is thrust into existence, against all probability. This whale is plummeting to the surface of a planet, and is said to have very little time to come to terms with his existence. During his fall, he starts asking questions. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? This scenario is representative of our own existence. We are thrust into existence, not knowing where we came from or why we are here, and we only have a short time to search for the answers. Do we have an identity? Do we have a purpose? What is the meaning of life, if there is one? We live our lives trying to solve a puzzle to which we have no idea what the solution is. The problem is we don't have a picture of the final product laid out before us to guide us in our attempts.
Sigmund Freud said, "The moment a man questions the meaning and value of life, he is sick." This represents a pessimistic point-of-view, in which he believes that the question is distracting and unhealthy, and therefore should simply be ignored. Another pessimistic opinion is that if people don't obtain what they want in life, they will be frustrated, but if they do, they will become bored or develop new desires and new reasons to become frustrated. Thus, meaningless suffering is people's lot in life. The nihilists believe that if life is meaningful, it must have an ultimate value and humans must have an ultimate purpose. However, they don't believe such a purpose exists, thus for them life simply has no meaning. One who believes there is no meaning of life might live without value, living simply to please the senses. It seems as though pleasing the senses would actually become their meaning to life. Perhaps not believing in a meaning creates your meaning, just as refusal to make a choice by default creates your choice. While there are those people who believe life to be meaningless, the common opinion is that life does have meaning. Most people simply have differing ideas about the details of such meaning. Maybe there is an absolute meaning of life which is universal or maybe we each have that "one thing" like Curly says on City Slickers, and that one thing is what we have to determine for ourselves.
Those with a religious view of life typically believe that we were created to fulfill a divine purpose of living in a relationship with our creator. Mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal said, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in every man's heart that only God can fill." In other words, most people experience a vague emptiness and yearning throughout their life because they are trying to fill that void, and only an infinite meaning will satisfy that need. If we all seem to have this universal need to find some ultimate meaning, it would be devastating if there is actually no way to satisfy the need. If there is not a meaning or purpose, then Bertrand Russell may have been right when he said that all the labors of the ages along with the developement, inspiration, and brightness of human genius are destined to extinction in the death of the solar system, and all of man's achievement will be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins.
Although secular philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle did not believe in finding meaning through a personal God, they did agree that there is some nonhuman, objective order with which we must properly be aligned if our lives are to have meaning. In addition to Plato and Aristotle, there are many other nonreligious people who are living very meaningful lives. This brings about the possibility that perhaps life is worth living in terms of the little meanings we find or create during our journey, finding purpose in life rather than the purpose of life. These people would say it is incorrect to even speak of the meaning of life because it implies that the meaning of life is something tangible that is out there for us to find and take hold of. Instead we should speak of creating meaning for our lives. There is another instance in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in which a computer called Deep Thought is created to answer the question of life, the universe, and everything. When asked this question, the computer said it would take 7.5 million years to answer. So they come back to the computer 7.5 million years later and ask, "What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?" To this, the computer responds, "42." The point is that there can be no objective answer to a subjective question. Perhaps the meaning of life lies in realizing that there is no defined meaning of life. It is what we make it. It is up to the individual.
Individualism is the central them of existentialism, and the main guideline of the existentialist is that in answering questions of philosophy, one must make sure the answers are his or her own. I may use previous philosophers as a guide, but I have to come up with my own answers. I have to make my own journey in my search for truth. And I do believe that there is an objective truth, but I believe in a subjective meaning of life. I don't think there is one definitive tangible meaning of life; rather, we find meaning in life or add meaning to life.
In my search, I find myself at a crossroads. Finals week is here along with the stress that comes with it. I have four papers to write, four finals to study for, and an Advanced Calculus assignment which will ultimately determine whether I get an A or a B in the class, yet I can't figure out for the life of me how to do it. I find myself frustrated and examining all the areas of my life, and wondering, "Is it really all worth it?" I'm behind on my applications to graduate school and I still have to take the GRE. I'm working two jobs in order to survive, I never see my family, I've alienated all my friends, and somewhere along the line I completely lost my faith. I don't even know how to go on a date. I shun any male that approaches me with romantic intentions from fear of becoming distracted. I have sacrificed a very large and important portion of my life and have taken on an unhealthy amount of stress in order to reach my goals of obtaining knowledge. Yet, what I find is that the more educated I become, the more isolated and lonely I feel, and the more lost I find myself. I can relate to Tolstoy, who said, "I began having moments of bewilderment, when my life would come to a halt, as if I did not know how to live or what to do… When I gave myself over to the bright light of knowledge, I was only diverting my eyes from the question." So I find myself at this point where I have to ask, am I really giving meaning to my life, or am I taking it away? Sartre said that we are a product of the choices we make, and each day of my life I find it to be more true. My hope is that the end will justify the means. I could end my education when I graduate in May, and go on to teach in the public school system. However, I know that if I do not go to graduate school, I will feel unaccomplished and that I didn't reach my potential, and that will make my life feel meaningless. Therefore, I know I must finish what I have begun. When I get to that point, I hope I am fully able to experience life once again. So after a moment of thought, I come to the only conclusion I feel capable of reaching. I arrive at this answer which seems so obvious yet so overlooked… Living is the meaning of life.
Sigmund Freud said, "The moment a man questions the meaning and value of life, he is sick." This represents a pessimistic point-of-view, in which he believes that the question is distracting and unhealthy, and therefore should simply be ignored. Another pessimistic opinion is that if people don't obtain what they want in life, they will be frustrated, but if they do, they will become bored or develop new desires and new reasons to become frustrated. Thus, meaningless suffering is people's lot in life. The nihilists believe that if life is meaningful, it must have an ultimate value and humans must have an ultimate purpose. However, they don't believe such a purpose exists, thus for them life simply has no meaning. One who believes there is no meaning of life might live without value, living simply to please the senses. It seems as though pleasing the senses would actually become their meaning to life. Perhaps not believing in a meaning creates your meaning, just as refusal to make a choice by default creates your choice. While there are those people who believe life to be meaningless, the common opinion is that life does have meaning. Most people simply have differing ideas about the details of such meaning. Maybe there is an absolute meaning of life which is universal or maybe we each have that "one thing" like Curly says on City Slickers, and that one thing is what we have to determine for ourselves.
Those with a religious view of life typically believe that we were created to fulfill a divine purpose of living in a relationship with our creator. Mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal said, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in every man's heart that only God can fill." In other words, most people experience a vague emptiness and yearning throughout their life because they are trying to fill that void, and only an infinite meaning will satisfy that need. If we all seem to have this universal need to find some ultimate meaning, it would be devastating if there is actually no way to satisfy the need. If there is not a meaning or purpose, then Bertrand Russell may have been right when he said that all the labors of the ages along with the developement, inspiration, and brightness of human genius are destined to extinction in the death of the solar system, and all of man's achievement will be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins.
Although secular philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle did not believe in finding meaning through a personal God, they did agree that there is some nonhuman, objective order with which we must properly be aligned if our lives are to have meaning. In addition to Plato and Aristotle, there are many other nonreligious people who are living very meaningful lives. This brings about the possibility that perhaps life is worth living in terms of the little meanings we find or create during our journey, finding purpose in life rather than the purpose of life. These people would say it is incorrect to even speak of the meaning of life because it implies that the meaning of life is something tangible that is out there for us to find and take hold of. Instead we should speak of creating meaning for our lives. There is another instance in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in which a computer called Deep Thought is created to answer the question of life, the universe, and everything. When asked this question, the computer said it would take 7.5 million years to answer. So they come back to the computer 7.5 million years later and ask, "What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?" To this, the computer responds, "42." The point is that there can be no objective answer to a subjective question. Perhaps the meaning of life lies in realizing that there is no defined meaning of life. It is what we make it. It is up to the individual.
Individualism is the central them of existentialism, and the main guideline of the existentialist is that in answering questions of philosophy, one must make sure the answers are his or her own. I may use previous philosophers as a guide, but I have to come up with my own answers. I have to make my own journey in my search for truth. And I do believe that there is an objective truth, but I believe in a subjective meaning of life. I don't think there is one definitive tangible meaning of life; rather, we find meaning in life or add meaning to life.
In my search, I find myself at a crossroads. Finals week is here along with the stress that comes with it. I have four papers to write, four finals to study for, and an Advanced Calculus assignment which will ultimately determine whether I get an A or a B in the class, yet I can't figure out for the life of me how to do it. I find myself frustrated and examining all the areas of my life, and wondering, "Is it really all worth it?" I'm behind on my applications to graduate school and I still have to take the GRE. I'm working two jobs in order to survive, I never see my family, I've alienated all my friends, and somewhere along the line I completely lost my faith. I don't even know how to go on a date. I shun any male that approaches me with romantic intentions from fear of becoming distracted. I have sacrificed a very large and important portion of my life and have taken on an unhealthy amount of stress in order to reach my goals of obtaining knowledge. Yet, what I find is that the more educated I become, the more isolated and lonely I feel, and the more lost I find myself. I can relate to Tolstoy, who said, "I began having moments of bewilderment, when my life would come to a halt, as if I did not know how to live or what to do… When I gave myself over to the bright light of knowledge, I was only diverting my eyes from the question." So I find myself at this point where I have to ask, am I really giving meaning to my life, or am I taking it away? Sartre said that we are a product of the choices we make, and each day of my life I find it to be more true. My hope is that the end will justify the means. I could end my education when I graduate in May, and go on to teach in the public school system. However, I know that if I do not go to graduate school, I will feel unaccomplished and that I didn't reach my potential, and that will make my life feel meaningless. Therefore, I know I must finish what I have begun. When I get to that point, I hope I am fully able to experience life once again. So after a moment of thought, I come to the only conclusion I feel capable of reaching. I arrive at this answer which seems so obvious yet so overlooked… Living is the meaning of life.