The farthest star we can see with our naked eye is 16,308 light-years away. This means that if you are looking at that star at this very moment in time, you are seeing light from 16,308 years ago. The farthest known galaxy visible through a telescope is 13.3 billion light years away. Humans have only been around for about 200,000 years, that may seem like a long time but it is not. Dinosaurs were roaming the earth about 200 million years ago and they were around for 160 million years. Human existence compared to everything else that has occured since the beginning of time is practically nothing. So, what is the meaning of life? Why are we here? Why have we come so far with all of our advancements and technology knowing it will all come to an end one day? The answers to these questions I do not know, but I will tell you what moves me and what makes me want to get out of bed every morning, what my meaning of life is.
My parents did not make the smartest decisions in their lifetimes. There was partying, drinking and drugs involved. They both hung out with some bad people and they both got themselves locked up once or twice. Then, I came along and my dad really started to change, my mom was still going out and not making the right decisions. My dad has been there for me ever since I was born. He was always there taking care of me when my mom wasn’t. My dad would sometimes wait up all night for my mom to come home and she never would. There was lots of arguing between them and
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
When I was young, I used to spend my day pondering over the purpose of existence. My family wasn’t rich, conflicts happened every time between adults. There were no allowances for me and the most I would get after receiving a perfect score was a “Good job”. Watching my friends going out for dinner with their parents or showing off new toys wasn’t a very pleasing experience. To my perception, the point of life for grownups was to struggle for money, which, well, makes the family happier. However, after a simple chess game in a nursing home with an old man named Kramer, I discovered something that had greatly affected me.
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
Many people have an opinion about the overall nature of the universe and about the role which humanity plays in the universe (Taylor, 2003). For example, “Why are we here” and “What will happen to us after we die?” The majority of us don’t know the answers to these questions. Thus, many people want to belong to a religion because it gives them a sense of security in the universe. It may also provide guidance in their life. I assume it’s easier to live with some sort of explanation, even if it’s incorrect. When asked, “What religion do you practice?” I reply, “I am an atheist.” I simply lack belief in deities. However, many people have preconceived ideas about what I am and what I am not. People often assume I don’t believe in God or that
My parents met when my mom was nineteen and still in college. My dad is ten years older than my mom but they hit it off the night they met. My mom says, “He was the cutest guy ever.” They dated for about three years and then got pregnant with me. About six months later they got married. My parents have never got along the best as far back as I can remember. They started to argue quite a bit beginning my freshman year. It would be almost every night. They would argue about money, my siblings and I, and each other.
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.
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
In my case, I was blessed to go home to a dad every night, even though I can’t tell you anything about my father for the simple fact that he never gave me a hug, kiss, told me he loved me, spent any time with me or said anything positive. He always talked to my mom and me like we were nothing, and even beat my mom. When I would try to tell the family about it, they just looked at me like
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
The consideration of the purpose of life has been ongoing and is never-ending throughout the course of history. The question itself has caused many people to generate many different strong views and opinions based on traditional, ideological backgrounds, and religious outlooks. The deliberation about the meaning of life will never end since there is not one reassuring basic, general answer. Instead, examine the question in another way, like, “What is my purpose in life?” The purpose of life varies from one person to another because of “free will.” While some people believe that for every human, life is called to some divine duty by God, everyone has a different drive that is waiting to be discovered within themselves, and people must set
To all upcoming adults, they should put a warning label on life and the responsibility that tags along with it. That it's not all rainbows of freedom to get out of your parent's protective clutches. Sometimes life is full of decisions, ones that could make you or break you. And most of your choices come back to bite you in the ass. Life is full of many trials. That's just the definition of life. You can no longer have your parents hold your hand and pick you up when you fall. They can't smile and say "it's just a bruise, you'll live". Now, when you fall, you fall right on your face, expected to drag yourself up and dust yourself off. Learn from your mistakes and I've made some like everyone else, but one of my most heartbreaking recently was befriending a person. Apparently, the wrong person.
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
What is the meaning of life? It is a question that has been asked a million times but never been answered. In my opinion, that question will stay on the list of unanswered questions. If you spend your whole life looking for tits meaning, you will lose a lifetime of what could have been full of joy and excitement. For all that you know, you only get one life, and one chance to live it the best one you can. Would anyone willingly risk what could be their only chance of having a good life? Surrounding yourself with happiness, joy, love and the people around you is one of the best ways to have a successful life. However, before helping people you have to help yourself first and remember that everyone can be victorious in life.
What kind of life is worth living? Robert Nozick poses the question of whether it is worth to live life the way it was planned for you or by having the power to pick and choose the experiences you go through by plugging into the experience machine. Before deciding to go into the machine, a person must think about what kind of life is worth living. A life worth living is a life with as little suffering and hardship as possible, where a person can be completely free to chase their dreams. So many people look for a way to escape the pain that life brings and the experience machine offers a way out. There are two main reasons to plug into the experience machine; a person can escape the hardships of life and society’s unrealistic expectations about how to live life.