The Meaning of Life My few years on this planet have been a bit confusing. I have learned of many aspects of life from which one can draw meaning, if indeed such meaning can be drawn. I have also learned that there can be no singular meaning of life to stand for us all, or even any one of us. What I have learned above all is that trying to put words to the meaning of life is a task of absolute absurdity. This is not to be confused with the idea that life has no meaning, for life certainly has meaning. However, there is no single meaning of life to be defined - life is different for us all. Therefore, rather than define life for an entire planet, I shall try to explain what life means as I perceive it, and why it means so. …show more content…
Life is a complicated twist of suffering, laughing, and learning all merging to tell a great story - or great many stories. Based on this view, "it is not the end goal or outcome of life that gives life meaning but rather the quality of the story, the quality with which one lives out and develops his or her role." At the time, this event seemed rather insignificant and did not merit remembrance. However, its catastrophic effects on my attitude that evening may have helped to mold me into the person I have become. I learned that suffering through such an event, as childish as it was, is quite necessary in any life. Such pains are part of an interminable cycle and only generate balance in one's life (p. 62, 'Life as Suffering'). Despite my horrid time spent that evening, the laughter brought since the incident is a worthy tradeoff. Laughter is an all too necessary function of life, just as suffering and the wide range of other emotions. "Some thinkers would emphasize the importance of sophistication in humor, but others would say that laughter itself is what is important." Whatever the case may be, laughter is an important ingredient in life, and must not be taken for granted nor ignored. Despite such emotional ties to life, I have also learned that life is not only about emotions. Those emotions are generated from the chain reactions created endlessly in
No matter which route we choose to take or how we decide to live our lives, we are all capable of leading our lives to their maximum potential. I think, that’s why when we know an action is unusual for us to do, we often find ourselves compelled to do it. Life is a journey that is greater than its destination. It is magnificently beautiful to know that no two people are ever going to live the same life. Seven billion people experienced yesterday differently, than how you did. However, no matter how unprepared we are, we have to believe that we will end stronger than how we began. There is something inside of us that is larger than all of us. There is life inside everyone and everything, from a light bulb to a human
Life, it might be argued, is the distinguishing feature of all organisms and may most usefully be thought of as involving various kinds of complex systems of organization providing individual organisms with the ability to make use of those energy sources available to them for both self maintenance and reproduction. Underlying this deceptively persuasive definition, however, lie those persistent traditional problems inherent in the search for an essential, distinctive substance characteristic of all forms of life. Additionally, as evolution theory makes clear, there is the problem of borderline instances, organisms of which it is not easy to say whether or not they may be defined as being alive. One such case
The life I live is just like any other person who lives within the middle class. I’ve experienced times in my life where I didn’t have enough money, but there has also been occasions when I did. It is very common in my home to hear every couple of months, “We don’t have enough money, we need to save.”
While the above are some of the strategies used to explain where and how to find the meaning of life, there are other ways to answer the question “What is the meaning of life?” The answers are not necessarily associated with a specific philosophy in life, but nonetheless, are answers people regularly find themselves giving when they ponder the issue.
Hermann Hesse said it well. The meaning of life has sparked debate for centuries, and it will never cease. Most everyone wants there to be significance to the life they have lived and despair at the thought that their life's decisions and acts are meaningless and will slip into oblivion at the end of their existence. In order to answer this age-old question about the meaning of life, let us first ask "How did I get here?"
What is the meaning of life. The meaning of our lives, the purpose, and the dreams both dashed and realized, and the expectations forced upon us by others. In other words how do you "translate" what life is? "Translation" means to explain in simple terms. What is it supposed to be about? There are different answers for different people at different times in their lives. A person's lifetime is filled with self-examination. Why am I here? What am I doing? Is this as good as it gets? You have a beginning. You're in the middle, and your story hasn't ended yet.
What is the meaning of life? Well known Greek philosphers such as Socrates and Plato believed that our purpose in this life was to gain knowledge in preparation for the next life. Other Philosophers such as Epicurus believed that pleasure is the main goal in life. After giving these ideas lots of thought, I have come to my own conclusion that the true meaning of life is far more complex than either of these; far too complex for any human to fully comprehend. In fact these two different philosophies are only part of the grand picture. If it were that easy for men to figure out our lives wouldn't be so messed up now. The meaning of life revolves around many different things. I
Have you ever took note of how many people you’ve heard say, “I don’t want to die?” But in most situations, you perceive that they don’t even know to live their lives in a way that they will be able to say, “I’m loving my life!” There are so many people that never really realize that they could be out somewhere doing big things, until they are alone somewhere realizing that they could be accomplishing lots of obstacles. In the commencement address, “You’ve got to find what you love, Jobs says”, Steve Jobs, a CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios claims that despite the ups and downs in your life, you should still achieve the things you want to before it’s too late. Jobs’s speech was to purposely alert the students and even staff members that no matter what happens in your life, you should always get up when you find yourself fall. When wanting to live to value your life, accepting the rough paths is a beneficial way to get to the happiness that you need in your life.
The abstract idea of life cannot be explained by such simple ideas as being animated, breathing, or speaking. Ordinary machines in this century can perform all of these basic functions. The quandary with defining death is not as abstract and elusive as that of life. The problem of defining life and death has plagued philosophers and the religious bodies for thousands of years for one reason; each philosophy or religion has tried to define the meaning of life and death from only their certain perspective. The seemingly appropriate approach to this problem would be to understand the ideas presented in various philosophies and religions and through this knowledge create a new definition for each idea of life
There are so many theories in life, so many questions and still we have yet to come up with the meaning of life. Many theorists have a number of different answers to the “Meaning of Life”.
I can remember as a child always asking myself the “why” questions of life. What is the purpose of life? Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Why do certain things happen? And is there really a God? I had always kept these questions to myself and eventually pushed them out of my mind altogether. I was raised in a Christian household and you just were not allowed to ask questions of that nature and doubt the faith. The world is the way it is because God made it that way and that is all there is to it. I was really excited to take this class because it would finally give me the opportunity to exercise my personal thoughts and beliefs. I have come to agree with Socrates that “the unexamined life is not
I can remember as a child always asking myself the "why" questions of life. Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Why do certain things happen? And is there really a God? I had always kept these questions to myself and eventually pushed them out of my mind altogether. I was raised in a Christian household and you just were not allowed to ask questions of that nature and doubt the faith. The world is the way it is because God made it that way and that is all there is to it. I was really excited to take this class because it would finally give me the opportunity to exercise my personal thoughts and beliefs. I have come to agree with Socrates that "the unexamined life is not worth living." In my opinion life is a combination of
Life as we know it could vanish within seconds. The next day is not promised to anyone that walks on this earth. As we live our everyday lives peacefully, we tend not to think what our mission or purpose in life is. Instead, we think what we must do for that to be a “successful” person. Despite this way of thinking, just think for a second. What makes life meaningful? What is life anyway? These questions dive right into the heart of the philosophical, psychological, and the biological aspects of life and what the true meaning of life is. This is a very arguable topic due to every person’s different perspective on life and what it means to them. In summary, I personally think that life is simply what you make of it and each person’s accomplishments has its own merit
The question of life 's meaning is a wide topic that touches on areas including life 's essence and purpose. The notion of life holds a fundamental position in Schopenhauer 's metaphysics of will and appearance. He states that life 's inner essence is the simple "will to live" (Klemke and Cahn 36). Arthur Schopenhauer was among the great philosophers of the 19th-century who contended the argument of the universe as an irrational realm. Inspired by Kant and Plato, Schopenhauer developed an instinct-recognizing, ascetic outlook, which emphasized the world as one filled with strife (Klemke and Cahn 42). According to Schopenhauer, humanity ought to minimize its natural desires so as to achieve tranquility and dispositions to universal beneficence. He interpreted death as the purpose and aim of life, maintaining the idea that living is to suffer.
In 1998 scientists shocked the world with the discovery of human embryonic stem cells. This sparked curiosity and enlightenment in the eyes of medical professionals everywhere. Nineteen years later the world is riddles with a plethora of controversy, fabrication, and fallacies in regards to the use of embryonic stem cells. Contrary to this, these “super cells” have the growing potential to put an end to many medical disputes.