Theology: Meaning of Life
Meaning Of Life
Douglas Adams
"What is the meaning of life?" is probably the most-asked philosophical question by humanity at large. Common answers include: happiness or flourishing; love; compassion; pleasure; power; knowledge, understanding, or wisdom; and being blessed, or achieving union with God or the divine; or simply that there is no meaning to life. Philosophers, religious authorities, artists, scientists, and countless ordinary people have thought a great deal about the question. In fact, the very concept has become such a cliche that it has often been parodied.
What does it mean to ask what the meaning of life is?
When people ask for a meaning of life, they are asking for life's purpose, justification, or goal — not a "meaning" in the sense in which words have meaning. The definition of life is an interesting issue in its own right, however, especially as relating to artificial and extraterrestrial life. We can also separate this question into two different questions; one about the objective purpose of life, and the other about subjective purpose of life. The subjective purpose of life varies of course from person, and need not be considered any further. Many deny that an objective purpose of anything is possible. Purposes, they argue, are purely subjective. Others claim that life has an objective purpose, though they differ as to what this purpose is, or where it comes from. Topics that one might contemplate, related to the meaning of life, include:
• What kind of life is worth living?
• What should we, as individuals, seek to do or be in our lives? This is a basic question of ethics, particularly virtue ethics, which asks how we should develop our characters.
• Is there a goal toward which society, or the cosmos, is attaining? Many religious believers hold that the world will be transformed or redeemed in the future by divine intervention -- such as the Second Coming of Christ, or the end of the Hindu Kali Yuga. Some
Douglas Adams
"What is the meaning of life?" is probably the most-asked philosophical question by humanity at large. Common answers include: happiness or flourishing; love; compassion; pleasure; power; knowledge, understanding, or wisdom; and being blessed, or achieving union with God or the divine; or simply that there is no meaning to life. Philosophers, religious authorities, artists, scientists, and countless ordinary people have thought a great deal about the question. In fact, the very concept has become such a cliche that it has often been parodied.
What does it mean to ask what the meaning of life is?
When people ask for a meaning of life, they are asking for life's purpose, justification, or goal — not a "meaning" in the sense in which words have meaning. The definition of life is an interesting issue in its own right, however, especially as relating to artificial and extraterrestrial life. We can also separate this question into two different questions; one about the objective purpose of life, and the other about subjective purpose of life. The subjective purpose of life varies of course from person, and need not be considered any further. Many deny that an objective purpose of anything is possible. Purposes, they argue, are purely subjective. Others claim that life has an objective purpose, though they differ as to what this purpose is, or where it comes from. Topics that one might contemplate, related to the meaning of life, include:
• What kind of life is worth living?
• What should we, as individuals, seek to do or be in our lives? This is a basic question of ethics, particularly virtue ethics, which asks how we should develop our characters.
• Is there a goal toward which society, or the cosmos, is attaining? Many religious believers hold that the world will be transformed or redeemed in the future by divine intervention -- such as the Second Coming of Christ, or the end of the Hindu Kali Yuga. Some