Life has no meaning if you don't have the urge to wake up the next morning to see the next day. Many people live their lives unhappy since they have no purpose or meaning to fulfill or satisfy their needs. Purpose to me is something to live for and something to look forward to in life. Without purpose and meaning in life there is no point of living at all. Recently in the existentialism unit we’ve been reading, I learned that without a passion to live, one’s life means nothing and is a waste of a soul. Based on the previous books I’ve read, I learned I am happy because I have things to look forward to in life and to wake up the next morning to enjoy the new day. Three elements that give me purpose and meaning in my life are my family, my …show more content…
My family supports me of my decisions in life and set an example of what to be like in the future. My family teaches me how to go through life since they have experiences much much more already. My mom leads a path for me in life. She teaches me to learn from my mistakes and never give up. She is an example of a person who I would like to become in life. For instance, she is a wonderful person who can take on not only a job but also a role of being a mother to my annoying sister and me. No matter the ups and downs, she always supports me and manages to get through her life at the same time. This gives me purpose because not only she encourages me to do well in life; she is the main reason why I want to do well in life. By being herself, I go to school and do my best so in the future so I can live up to her and help her in the way she has helped me and brought me into this world. My purpose or meaning of life is because of my mom, to work hard and be successful to raise a family of my own and support my mother back when I grow up since she has done so much for me. My mom and my family give me meaning because without them I would be alone, having to create my own path without an example. They push me to be a better person and waking up the next day I have the urge to become a better person than I was compared to the day before. Family gives me purpose and meaning in my life and so does food.
The last aspect that gives me meaning and purpose in my
My family is important to me because they love, care, and believe in me. Though we may not have a large abundance of money, my parents love me no matter how rich or poor we are. My mother has been very supportive with my education. When I was about 12 years old, I remember telling my mother that I wanted to attend Oxford University and become a neurosurgeon. Since then,
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
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.
Susan Wolf addresses these questions an aim to bring out the distinctive characteristics of the reasons and motives that give our lives meaning. Wolf claims that "meaningful lives are laws of active engagement and projects of worth" (Wolf, 206). Suggesting that when a person is actively engaged in anything they feel alive and life is more worth living. Nevertheless, Wolf explains that neither religion or science is sufficient for leading a meaningful life, claiming that a life of passion could corrupt the pursuit of happiness if you decide to dedicate your life to how you feel. Suggesting that working toward some goal that is substantial than yourself, can be hard work if you don 't have any passion or connection to it. According to Wolf, the subjective element is necessary for a meaningful life and arises from active engagement in some activity that one loves. In addition, the passive attachment to objectively valuable things are not sufficient for meaning. The feeling of fulfillment originates when “one is doing what one loves, or when one is engaging in activities by which one is gripped or excited” (Wolf, 207).
In Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl describes his revolutionary type of psychotherapy. He calls this therapy, logotherapy, from the Greek word "logos", which denotes meaning. This is centered on man's primary motivation of his search for meaning. To Frankl, finding meaning in life is a stronger force than any subconscious drive. He draws from his own experiences in a Nazi concentration camp to create and support this philosophy of man's existence.
Susan Wolf’s article “Meaning in Life” addresses the debate question, Does life has meaning? Wolf’s position on the debate is the affirmative. She believes life has meaning as long as they meet certain criteria. That leads to the second debate question: What gives life meaning? Wolf’s position on this is that “meaningful lives are lives of active engagement in projects of worth” (Wolf 232). This position is also the basis of her main argument.
Most people want to live a meaningful life. They feel that is important to live a life that is sufficient and worthwhile. The meaning of life has been debated among many people and philosophers throughout history. There have been several theories used to try to explain the true purpose of life in some subjective or objective perspective. Louis Pojman argued that religion gives every individual life meaning to it and those who choose not to believe have no morality or purpose in life. On the other hand, suppose someone would object Pojman theory and believed that life with or without God is not required for finding meaning in life. In the following paper, I will explain Pojman theories about religion giving meaning to life and what that life may consist of. Second, I wish to explain how an atheist would reject his premise and provide a response to how a person of faith would respond to and atheists argument.
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating
They motivate us to work hard, be truthful, and continuously be kind to others. We learn our morals and values that we keep as a blueprint of a way to live our lives, so we never compromise who we are as an individual. Family is where we begin the start our lives and love unconditionally. No family is perfect, but we wouldn’t want to have it any other way. Even though families go through hard times and argument, but that is what makes them grow stronger and closer together. Life would be meaningless because material things and goals are just temporary happiness, but family is eternal happiness in life this is what leaves our mark on this Earth. Having family is something that we strive and work our whole lives for because without it were
In the book Man’s Search for Meaning, the author Viktor E. Frankl takes an analytical and objective look at the years he spent in a Nazi concentration camp full of horror and death, to illustrate the theme throughout the book, that humans have a fundamental need to discover meaning within their lives. He comes to the conclusion that life never ceases to have meaning, even in the cruelest of conditions, which he shows to the readers through his vivid memories of Auschwitz. He was able to find meaning in the midst of utmost suffering. Other people in the nazi camp were unable to do so, because they wanted so badly to run away from suffering instead of trying to understand and accept it much like what Frankl did. He does not say that suffering
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
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.
Throughout the history of philosophical theories there have many shifts of thought, one of the most dramatic would certainly be the change from focusing on ideas of God and the proving of God’s existence to thoughts on the “death of God” and ways to find meaning in life despite his absence. This shift is demonstrated by the changing tone of the writings of Anselm and Descartes to the writings of Feuerbach and Nietzsche. This change happened for a variety of reasons including but not limited to the proving of scientific facts that did not coincide with religious beliefs (evolution, the sun is the center of our galaxy, etc.), the changing societal structure that reduced religious involvement in everyday life and the doors opened by past philosophers. This change is clearly seen through that differences between the writings of Descartes and the writings of Feuerbach.
One of the most important services that religions provides to its practitioners is the already set path of what to do during that life. The meaning of life philosophy in each individual religion serves as a guideline of good behaviour versus bad behaviour and a definite end consequences of the two behaviour. It acts like a lifeline through the stormy seas of life, and often people that have gone through traumatising come out the other end religiously devout, even though you might have think the opposite would be true.
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