Definition Essay: What's The Meaning Of Life?

The meaning of life is to find the meaning of life. Is it not? We all go through each day trying to figure out which road out the infinite amount of paths will lead us in a better direction where happiness is prominent and society is flawless. However, not every single human being is going to fit on that narrow, one-lane highway to success. Bad choices, accidents, fate, family matters, society, temptation, anger, rage, addiction, and loss of hope can all be deciding factors in opting to choose that wrong path to self-destruction. The adverse thing is, once you've traveled so far down the road, you get so discouraged that you feel like you can never turn back or make up for the "lost time."

It might be thought that the first task in considering the question of the `Meaning of Life' is to define the key terms: `Life' and `Meaning'. However, the meanings of `Meaning' are many; and `Life' itself could be seen as not so much a separate entity, but rather, the totality of those meanings to which I have alluded. Anyway, I shall take `Life' in this context to mean HUMAN life, and the meaning of this life as, specifically, the condition of our existence so far as we bring

What is the meaning of life? According to Chris McCandless living free and not conforming to the natural way of life is the meaning to life, as shown in the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Similar to Chris McCandless, Ralph Emerson believes that following your dreams and making your own trail is the meaning of life according to his short story “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Emerson. The purpose of man's existence is to avoid conformity and following one's own instincts and ideas.

Titled, The meaning of Life, this chapter starts with the question that perhaps we have all asked ourselves once. Does anything we do really matter? We all die at the end of the day, and generations to come won’t even remember you or the people around you, in two hundred years. Why is it that people do what they do? Nagel argues how religious people would answer this question. Can you live a life without having to worry about the meaning behind it? What is the meaning of life to you?

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?"

Having a sense of meaning and purpose to life can come from discovering our life purpose and living out our personal mission and vision. When we are living for a purpose, we can develop a greater sense of meaning for what happens in our life, and a positively correlated topic with this is religiosity. Having a spiritual or religious relationship seems to aid in the cultivation of purpose and meaning. Most of these variables are interrelated and build on one another, and they can be learnt and developed if we are willing to put in the time to grow in these areas .

We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. The first, the way of achievement or accomplishment, is quite obvious. The second way of finding a meaning in life is by experiencing something – such as goodness, truth and beauty- by experiencing nature and culture or, last but not least, by experiencing another human being in his very uniqueness by loving him.

Thinking about life, we all know that life is the most important thing that we have right now. Without life, we are nothing.Have you ever asked yourself what the purpose of your existence is? Why you’re here? Some say that life has no meaning,but others say there is. They believe that our life was already written and destined. Everything happens to us for a reason. But what is life? Why do we have to feel the sufferings and challenges? Why do they say that “just do your best” even though it’s still not enough? Why is life unfair? I asked one of my friends what life is for him, he answered, 10% is what happens to you and 90 % is how you react to it. He enlightened me.I started to think that it is in our hands. The answer is what you think of it.

What is the meaning of life? Many philosophers and religions have attempted to answer the question of what, if anything, gives an individual a purpose. Nevertheless, contrasting metaphysical interpretations have created a perpetual discussion on the ontology of an individual. Consider western monotheistic ideology, existentialism and nihilism. Western monotheistic ideology outlines the purpose of existence as living to the standard of perfection defined by the religion’s god and exemplified by the religion’s messiah1. Contrarily, Existentialism is based on the proposition of existence coming before purpose: an individual will give himself purpose through his own consciousness2. While Nihilism argues that life is without purpose or objective meaning: with respect to the universe, an individual has no intrinsic value3. Each presented ideology contradicts the others’ basis; still, this is not inherently bad, as it allows the individual to ground himself into an intellectual tradition larger than his own beliefs.

The reason we search for meaning comes almost innately. In other words, it is as if we end up on the journey for purpose without really trying and when we do try, it is just as exhausting. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, expresses that we should try to question this journey because it is a sign of what he considers to be the ultimate pathway to enlightenment. He states, "this immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another" (Kant, 1). In other words, Kant knows we are all capable of considering the meaning of life but we never take the chance or courage to leap. He also feels that society often limits us to think this way and therefore we all become accustomed to remaining on what Paul Tillich refers to as “the surface” which will be explained in the further noting how experience effects our

Life is complicated, and truly, there is no single answer to the timeless question: “What is the meaning of life?”. ‘Answering’ it, or whatever close alternative to the word you could achieve, would involve an impossibly long sequence of questions, and many without answers. When I think of ‘meaning of life’, rather than think of a series of answers to help define it, I think of a series of questions interpreted disparately between individuals. Like a survey, there is no right answers. However, I believe there are general concepts that can either bring you, or at least the others around you, to a more meaningful life. To me, the most important aspect that can bring you closer to discovering what life means for you is acceptance. Perhaps less in the literal sense, “the act of taking or receiving something offered” (dictionary.com), but more in a general sense of “respecting that life is constant change”. To many, change is one of the most difficult parts of life. “Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein) Change is unavoidable, and yet, despite this, many refuse to adapt. Whether it is something simple such as a reorganization of a room, or something broad like the scientific rediscovery of old concepts previously thought to be fact, adapting is difficult. In respects to the difficulty, acceptance, in this context, does not exactly directly mean adaptation. To sympathetically relearn, or at

I think the meaning of life is the meaning we give it—and we can literally give it any meaning that “feels right” to us. There’s a blank canvas in front of you. You are the artist of your life, and you are free to paint any picture that pleases you—and change it at any time for that matter. Running away from any problem only increases the distance from the solution. The Easiest way to escape from a problem is to solve it.

“Why are we here, what is the purpose of life?” Questions like these have haunted human beings for millennia. How people answer questions such as these can determine the course of their lives. The answers, of course, are as individual as are people. For me, the answers revolve around three things that I consider the most important in life: to know God, to know yourself, and to know your part or calling.

The topic of life and its meaning has always been an obscure concept. Is life just about being prosperous and getting things done in time as if we are crossing things off a list or is there a deeper meaning to it? Before we go on I would like to ask this, what is the deeper meaning of life for you? This can be a challenging question for some because they might not have thought about this topic and or requires deep amount of discussion in oneself. Everyone will answer this question differently and based on their own life experiences and expectations. If you ask this question to young children they will probably say something along the lines of being happy, make a lot of money and have a big house and a great job. If you ask a middle aged adult the same question they would probably say something similar but including having great health, close relationships, finally finding their place in the world and being satisfied with what they have and where they are in life. As for asking the same question to older adults I would say that at this point deeper meaning of life for them would be something like being happy with retirement, what they have done in their lives, with who they became and are, deeper spiritual life and increasing closeness with the relationships that still remain. These listed are just some examples of how people at different points of their lives would answer this question. If someone would ask me this question right now I

The concept of life itself is quite simple. Biologically the purpose of life is far less open to interpretation, remaining in the general area of keep living and reproduce so to keep life going. However, it is when people try to add significance and value to life that things become convoluted. Why is that? Because one may say that the value of life is one thing, then another may say something else. But which one is right? Both and neither—to put it simply. In that there is neither a wrong nor right way to view life; for it is all a matter of perspective. However, it brings up the question: if the value/ significance of life is a matter of perspective that an individual must interpret and give, could it be that there is no true value/ significance to life? To answer the question bluntly-- no, there is no true value of life, but there are different ways to view life, may it be positive or negative. With those views being influenced by the experiences one has gone through.