The Meaning of Life
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Dedicated to Emily Schaffner
What is the meaning of life? Is there one? Is there a universal point? Does everyone have the same meaning to his or her life, the same reason for existing? Unlikely, due to the fact that we do not share a collective conscious, that is to say, we are all individuals, it would not make sense for us all to share the same meaning. Therefore each individual would have his or her own individual purpose in life.
Now, assuming there is a point for being here, we must ask how do we know what the point is? And also, who decides what our higher purpose is? Now, these two questions are linked. Find one answer, you can find the other. Of the two, the second would be the logical choice to answer first. Find the source, then you can figure out how to get there.
Who decides? Is it divine? God? It would make sense for God to give a higher purpose to his believers. But what about, let's say, Hindus. Hindus do not believe in God. Therefore, to a Hindu, God does not exist. If God supposedly gave a Hindu a purpose, the purpose would have no meaning to the Hindu because to the Hindu, God has no meaning. Therefore, that would not be the meaning to the Hindu's life.
So is it up to the person, the human rather than the divine? Most likely. Why? The meaning of my life must have a meaning to me. If it means nothing to me, then it can not have the quality that is needed for it to be my reason for existence. ("It" being the purpose of my life) Now, continuing to assume there is a point to life, and that point is individualistic, that is each person has his or her own, and that the purpose of life is set by the person him/herself, we must ask 'how do we know what the point is?' To answer this, we must acknowledge a basic law of nature: with every action, there is a reaction. Now, an interesting aspect of this 'law'; is that to discover what the reaction is, one must first complete the action. The meaning to one's life is a feeling of purpose brought on by the deeds done in one's life. It is fulfillment. The only way to discover if a deed is fulfilling is to complete it. Therefore, the only way to see if one's life is fulfilling is to live. Therefore, when one is finished living he or she will be able to see if their life had a meaning. However, when one is finished living, one would be dead. An interesting aspect of dead people is that dead people do not realize they are dead. One might ask "What about the Afterlife?". However, if the divine has nothing to do with the meaning of life then how can we acknowledge the Afterlife, a location considered to be of divine origin, as the place where the dead could realize if their life was fulfilling? We can not. Now, we must also realize that the reason why dead people do not realize they are dead is that they lack the ability to think, consciously, semi-consciously, or unconsciously. If dead people can not think, then they can not ascertain whether or not their lives had meaning. If the only time to discover when one's life has meaning is post mortem and it is impossible to do so at that time then it is impossible to discover the meaning of life. If it impossible to complete the task, then what is the point in doing the task? There isn't one. If there is no point in doing so, therefore the task has no meaning, Therefore, there is no meaning to life.
What is the meaning of life? Is there one? Is there a universal point? Does everyone have the same meaning to his or her life, the same reason for existing? Unlikely, due to the fact that we do not share a collective conscious, that is to say, we are all individuals, it would not make sense for us all to share the same meaning. Therefore each individual would have his or her own individual purpose in life.
Now, assuming there is a point for being here, we must ask how do we know what the point is? And also, who decides what our higher purpose is? Now, these two questions are linked. Find one answer, you can find the other. Of the two, the second would be the logical choice to answer first. Find the source, then you can figure out how to get there.
Who decides? Is it divine? God? It would make sense for God to give a higher purpose to his believers. But what about, let's say, Hindus. Hindus do not believe in God. Therefore, to a Hindu, God does not exist. If God supposedly gave a Hindu a purpose, the purpose would have no meaning to the Hindu because to the Hindu, God has no meaning. Therefore, that would not be the meaning to the Hindu's life.
So is it up to the person, the human rather than the divine? Most likely. Why? The meaning of my life must have a meaning to me. If it means nothing to me, then it can not have the quality that is needed for it to be my reason for existence. ("It" being the purpose of my life) Now, continuing to assume there is a point to life, and that point is individualistic, that is each person has his or her own, and that the purpose of life is set by the person him/herself, we must ask 'how do we know what the point is?' To answer this, we must acknowledge a basic law of nature: with every action, there is a reaction. Now, an interesting aspect of this 'law'; is that to discover what the reaction is, one must first complete the action. The meaning to one's life is a feeling of purpose brought on by the deeds done in one's life. It is fulfillment. The only way to discover if a deed is fulfilling is to complete it. Therefore, the only way to see if one's life is fulfilling is to live. Therefore, when one is finished living he or she will be able to see if their life had a meaning. However, when one is finished living, one would be dead. An interesting aspect of dead people is that dead people do not realize they are dead. One might ask "What about the Afterlife?". However, if the divine has nothing to do with the meaning of life then how can we acknowledge the Afterlife, a location considered to be of divine origin, as the place where the dead could realize if their life was fulfilling? We can not. Now, we must also realize that the reason why dead people do not realize they are dead is that they lack the ability to think, consciously, semi-consciously, or unconsciously. If dead people can not think, then they can not ascertain whether or not their lives had meaning. If the only time to discover when one's life has meaning is post mortem and it is impossible to do so at that time then it is impossible to discover the meaning of life. If it impossible to complete the task, then what is the point in doing the task? There isn't one. If there is no point in doing so, therefore the task has no meaning, Therefore, there is no meaning to life.
