The Question, “What Is The Meaning Of Life” Has Been Pondered

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."

We all sit and wonder what’s the meaning of life. People can research and write novels about the topic, but we will never understand the real meaning until people experience life for themselves-until people feel like they’re experiencing the beauty of life. Every person has their own ideas of their needs, wants, and desires. But people don’t know what their needs, wants, or desires unless they go and discover what they love. Everyone has their own ways to share their views on the meaning of life-everyone is unique. If people walk around a shopping mall and ask each person what they believe the meaning of life is, this topic would receive different answers and views from each person. The answer from many people would be “just to live a happy life,” but is that all people have to say about the meaning of life?

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 R. Wolf (born 1952) is a moral philosopher who works extensively on the meaning of human life and is the Edna J. Koury Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Wolf addresses the questions of the meaning of life in hope to distinguish the characteristics and reasoning that gives meaning to life. According to Susan Wolf view about the meaning in life, “I would say that meaningful life are lives of active engagement in projects of worth… two key phrases, ‘active engagement’ and ‘projects of worth’” (Wolf, 205). However, I believe that her proposal leaves out our basic motives and reasoning that’s

Society tends to live day to day without much question of their own existence. Humans are born into the world and without second thought begin to live their lives, but there comes a time when individuals begin to question the reason for their being. In Richard Taylor’s, “The Meaning of Life”, Taylor explores the thought that our existence, when viewed externally without our prejudices, is fundamentally pointless. A thorough analysis of Taylor’s ideas will be given to understand the reasoning behind his thoughts, his argument will then be defended from counter arguments that state that the meaning behind any entity’s life could have any alternative meaning.

What is the meaning of life? What gives life meaning? Philosophers have asked these questions for decades, and there still is not a solid answer to the question. This paper will analyze one modern philosopher’s take on the question: What gives life meaning? Susan Wolf is a modern moral philosopher and philosopher of action and mind. She attended two Ivy League institutions for her undergraduate and graduate careers. Wolf received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Philosophy and Math from Yale University, and she received a PhD in Philosophy from Princeton University. Wolf taught at various prestigious institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, and University of Maryland. She is currently a professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where she teaches philosophy. Susan Wolf has written many works such as “Meaning in Life and Why It Matters,” “Freedom Within Reason.” This paper will focus on the article “Meaning in Life” from the journal “Happiness and Meaning: Two Aspects of the Good Life.”

    A country singer named Randy Travis once sang in “Three Wooden Crosses”,  “It’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it’s what you leave behind you when you go.” This verse gives meaning to my life and defines what I will do when I am gone. A man by the name of Viktor Frankl writes the book, Man’s Search for Meaning. In this novel, Frankl is at one of the dreadful concentration camps during the Holocaust, trying to search for his meaning of life. What gives one meaning to his or her life? One might think they have no purpose in this world however, that is not true. He or she must find the people or concepts that make them happy or give significance to their lives. The meaning of one’s life can be interpreted

There’s nothing waiting for me at the top, so I’ll just climb a more challenging rock face. Why? Because it gives me purpose. But why do I want purpose? Because it makes me happy. Using that statement many conclude happiness to be the meaning of life.

The meaning of life varies based on the viewpoints of an individual. Being Black in America has led me to believe that life is unfair and that the darker you are, the more difficult it is. In the essay, “Letter to My Son,” Ta-Nehisi Coates tells his son that “[p]art of me thinks that your vulnerability brings you closer to the meaning of life, just as for others, the quest to believe oneself white divides them from it.” The meaning of life can be pertained as the significance of one’s existence. From the words of a Black father to his Black son, Coates informs his son that the disadvantages that he faces in life will only push him further to finding out his purpose in life, while White people are privileged and are already offered more opportunities compared to People of Color. Black bodies are always seen as threats and once that mindset is created, Black people always had to prove to others that they do not harbor negative intentions. Black people have also been viewed as inferior, leading people to underestimate them or limit the opportunities given to them. Being Black can be difficult, even having to work twice as hard compared to the average White person. The meaning of life is that it is not always going to be easy, and being Black in a White society further exemplifies that.

In Richard Taylor’s chapter “Meaning of Life”, he concluded that objectively, life is meaningless. He stressed his opinion by arguing that life tends to be a cycle of goals that cumulate to nothing. These goals require sequences of exhausting work and attempt that will continue throughout the rest of life but will have no meaning. As one goal is reached, the next is sought out for, forgetting the one that was just achieved. I do not support Taylor on his objective meaningless of life. Life has a meaning, even if it is just being alive, we were created by God and he has a plan for us. Goals help us become better people and they are important to us. Taylor explained that we can find meaning in our lives when a will is put behind our actions. This means that meaningfulness can be found within the veins of anyone. I agree with Taylor, that our actions should be of interest to us, yet his account fails to show that they will make our lives have a meaning. There is no validation, that a change of the state of mind will cause our lives to achieve meaning.

In “The Meaning of Lives,” Wolf asserts that the question “What is the Meaning of Life?” is inherently unintelligible because it is uncertain what the question is asking. In other words it is too general because it has no specified context. Wolf then acknowledges, however, that there is value in examining the meaningfulness of a life. This is because she observes people wanting meaning as an unchangeable fact. While there is no grand reason for meaning, she suggests that we can create value through what we do in our life. In her work, Wolf constructs a framework on how to obtain meaning in one’s life. I will examine her view, then critically discuss the positive attributes and the shortcomings. Wolf does a sufficient job to outline a possible way to achieve meaning. However, I will argue that a definition for the meaningful life that does not include morality and happiness is not sufficient. Lastly, I will express the subjective and objective tension that weakens her stance.

In the book What’s It All About? by Julian Baggini discusses philosophy and the meaning of life. This reading was able to bring different perspectives on ideas of the meaning of life that I have thought about before. I was also able to learn about these concerns about life 's meaning or meaninglessness in a philosophical standpoint. Some of the chapters that I found interesting included the chapters titled looking for the blueprint, here to help, and becoming a contender.

In the book What’s It All About? Julian Baggini discusses philosophy and the meaning of life. This reading was able to bring different perspectives on ideas of the meaning of life that I thought about before. I was also able to learn about these concerns about life 's meaning or meaninglessness in a philosophical standpoint. Some of the chapters that I found interesting included the chapters titled looking for the blueprint, here to help, and becoming a contender.

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

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