Final Paper – Intro to Philosophy
The Meaning of Life
Kristal Huff
The Meaning of Life
Many individuals wonder what is the meaning of life, and if the life that they are living has some sort of meaning to it. Before determining what the meaning of life is one has to know what the meaning of meaning is. Meaning has to do with how a word represents something or communicates something. Life is not the kind of thing that that can just represent or communicate, and so it doesn’t make sense to ask about the meaning of life, but what if the question to ask about the meaning of life does have an answer? Most things have a clear definition, but is life that simple to have a definition that all individuals will accept?
Life has meaning. One way in understanding life is the importance that life has. If something is considered important then it is valuable. Life is important because of the fact that it serves a purpose and has some sort of value connected to it. Value can be interpreted in relation to someone or some procedure that can be said to have interests. In the religious viewpoint it is understood that God is the person that individuals are valuable to. God was the one that created humans and we are important to Him because we are made in his image. Being made in his image, for the religious people, makes us wonder if we are living our life as if God would want us to. Most religious people go through each and every day with the question of “What Would Jesus Do?” The reason why most individuals live their life by this question is because God is very important to them and they do not want to do anything to disappoint Him. That is not the only possibility. Life can be important within ourselves. It doesn’t ma...
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...ife. If learning did not exist then life would not exist. We need to learn in order to live life.
The meaning of life is not an easy thing to talk about. It depends on the person that you are. Life is a clear slate and we are free to put any meaning we want to the word. Life does not have a certain meaning. Whatever we want life to mean is what it will mean to us. We are focused too much on putting a definition on every little thing that we can’t accept the fact that something does not have a meaning to it. It is not necessarily bad that life does not have a meaning. Life not having a meaning means that it is too difficult to define. Life is like an unsolvable math problem. In the end it is still considered a math problem, but it’s just unsolvable. Life is the same way. Life is life, but not one individual can define life perfectly. It’s too difficult to define.
... things that one intentionally sets out to achieve or obtain. Life is not an ultimate value, but yet a basic value. The conclusion can then be drawn that while life must exist for value to exist, the purpose in living is not the continuation of physical biological mechanisms. The purpose in living then becomes the way in which one lives and achieves one’s values. In essence, the purpose in life becomes the pursuit of values. The ultimate value of maximizing quantity of life should be balanced with maximizing quality of life.
The search for the meaning of life seems endless at times, yet it is simple, humans exist in order to bring God glory in everything we do.
I believe that one of the meanings is to make others happy because you never know what someone is going through,trying to bring someone happiness can never hurt them.In a world full of so much hatred and suffering it is important to remind others that they have to stay positive even through difficult times.Although many people may disagree with me for many reason it is important to just live life to the fullest regardless of the different opinions others have towards what the true meaning of life is.
No one as yet is to come up with one meaning for life, many people and
Many religions and philosophies believe that human life has meaning to it, but does it actually? Existentialism says that the human essence is not due to nature but what humans make out of it. The two philosophers, Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, who originated the term in the 19th Century, only hinted to the idea of existentialism within their works. Later in the 1940’s and 1950’s, French existentialists Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir wrote scholarly and fictional works that emphasized and popularized existential themes. Sartre once said, “At first Man is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be” (“Existentialism-By Branch/Doctrine-The Basics of Philosophy”). This idea is considered a philosophy concerned with finding ones
So can a life be worth something? Life is something you cannot buy or replace with money; you can never replace someone with money their life was worth more than anything. Life is very valuable because once it’s gone you’ll never have something like it again you should be happy to go through struggles and not be depressed. Life can be beautiful you just have to be grateful all the time and just believe that you can do
The meaning of life has been and always will be argued as long as conscious beings exist. It’s almost humorous. Once you can think outside of you own survival and top asking how to do something, you begin to question why to do something. There have been many answers, whether they are religion, science or the betterment of the human species. This goal has been in the forefront of human endeavors ever since we settled down and fostered and sedentary lifestyle in which not all members of society were required to produce food. Only until the early 20th century did it become philosophical theory to discuss whether the pursuit of meaning itself had any merit, whether the universes lack of response to our search means that our search is futile. This
There are a few questions in this world that seem to be impossible to answer. Are we alone in this universe? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop? Why do humans cry? I don’t really know the answers to any of those questions, but do not lose hope! There is one question, most likely the hardest of all questions, that I have answered. What is life? This may be no more than a humble opinion of a young adult author named John Green living in Indiana, but hear me out. It may seem too simple at first, but perhaps by joining me in this little philosophical adventure, we can answer the impossible question. There are so many people in this world who don’t really understand why they keep moving forward, waking up every day
Overall, the value of life in my opinion is based on our actions, the choices we make bad and good, how we view our own lives, and how we affect those around us. It is ultimately up to the individual to decide how they want to make their life meaningful but also worth living. Learn to appreciate life, the people you care about, the moments that make you laugh and cry, and the experiences you’ll always remember for those are the things that we’ll eventually tell our grandchildren about and realize made up the best moments of our life.
Human life is full of meaning. As humans, we assign value to many things. However, what happens when we assign a specific value to a human life? This is the issue being presented in the article, “What is a Life Worth,” by Amanda Ripley. The government is determining a monetary value to a human life, and it does not appeal to the masses. There are many problems with the cold calculation, and most people cannot see the other side of the numbers. The economic value of a human life is calculated based on the income the person was receiving, but when the check is given to a loved one of a small amount, the compensation is misinterpreted as an overall value of the human life. The true value of a human life should not be combined with the monetary value that is determined by the government, or the value of life would be worth very little.
Death is something that causes fear in many peoples lives. People will typically try to avoid the conversation of death at all cost. The word itself tends to freak people out. The thought of death is far beyond any living person’s grasp. When people that are living think about the concept of death, their minds go to many different places. Death is a thing that causes pain in peoples lives, but can also be a blessing.
It is evident that the meaning of life has to far to complex for any one to fully understand or agree on the same answer. All these ideas of these different philosophers are not necessarily inaccurate, just incomplete. All pieces to a puzzle that one has no way of fully figuring out. No one has seemed to accomplish this yet in life. There are so many obstacles that we face as we try to achieve a higher good. Many of these are based in the fact that we are human beings, and because of that are flawed by the ways of our culture. Things such as self-doubt, worry, ignorance, and the values put into our heads since the day we were born all are roadblocks on our way to a higher level. Also being human beings makes vulnerable to the ways of the world around us, so it is not easy to block these things out of our lives. This life is a stage in which we are to develop our minds, bodies, and souls to their highest potential in preparation for the afterlife. Only God could ever really show anyone true meaning.
There 's a larger meaning to it you just haven 't reached that point yet. For example you might have a passion for science and working in a lab one day you stumble upon an official cure for breast cancer by accident. Now you are claimed a world hero for saving millions of lives around the globe and helping future Breast cancer patients Or on a smaller scale, you successfully raise your children to be great people in this world and for them to pass on that greatness to their children. You might also see life from a religious point of view. Nagel explains his argument about God in a way that there is meaning to
In Islam, the purpose of life is to worship God. Life is only a test or trial for the individual to show his true nature. Muslims believe that they were created by God, will only spend a period of time in this world, and that they will be judged fairly by Allah for all their deeds. The purpose of this life is to determine the outcome and permanent position of an individual in the next life. If the purpose of life was to accumulate wealth or some other material possession, there would be no purpose after becoming wealthy or acquiring this possession. Therefore, the purpose of life must be to worship God as any purpose of life that revolves around material acquisition would be purposeless after acquiring that material. Worship is also a broad term in this context; worship can be seen as doing the obvious acts of worship, as well as; helping others around you, studying and making contributions to the advancements in the world. This is clearly conveyed in the following Hadith of the Prophet (P.B.U.H),
What makes a meaningful life? It varies for each person as we are all very unique and different from one another. Even the definition of what is meaningful will vary as it may be making an imprint/significance in their lifetime or a happy life is enough to be meaningful. Though there is so much variation among the definition, there are some essentials that could relate across the board. The recipe to having a meaningful life may contain the ingredients of: happiness, fulfillment, authenticity, living more fully in the present and having a sense of purpose.