Meaning of life

What is life? What do we purpose of

existence.

Philosopher explain life as a jigsaw

puzzle.

Socrates believed that no clear

conception of human life exist.

General classification.

To understand the meaning of life,

philosophers have set out a general

classification which are:-

(1) Questioning the question view

(2) Pessimisms

(3) Religious view

(4) Secular-humanism

Questioning the question view

According to this approach, philosophers

believe that the question ‘meaning of life’

makes no sense. They believe its nonsense

and meaningless to talk about life, meaning

of life or the reason for our existence.

Pessimism

Pessimist claim that there is no meaning of life.

Pessimism is sometime also referred to as

‘Nihilism’ which means nothing is ultimate. The

pessimist view of can be expressed in

Shakespeare Macbeth, in which he describes life

as:-

‘ a tale told by idiots – full of sound and fury and

signifying nothing.’

Religious view

These philosophers think that there is

one grand picture into which the

individual pieces of our lives can be

fixed. They SEEK THE MEANING OF

LIFE.

Religious thinkers believe that humans

were bought into this world to serve

some divine purpose.

Religious view continued..

Plato and Aristotle believed that human life is the nature of cosmos (the universe seen as a well-ordered.)

Plato and Aristotle might not have believed in God personally but they did believe that their was some nonhuman, metaphysical object that has aligned our lives.

To understand the religious view more thoroughly we may look the confession of Leo Tolstoy – An acclaimed Russian writer.

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy – My Confession(Dialogue)

Had I simply understood that life has no meaning, I might

have been able to calmly accept it; I might have

recognized that such was my lot. But I could not rest

content at this. Had I been like a man who lives in a

forest from which he knows there is no way out, I might

have been able to go on living; but I was like a man lost

in the forest who was terrified by the fact that he was

lost, like a man who was rushing about, longing to find

his way and knowing that every step was leading him

into deeper confusion, and yet who could not help

rushing about. . . .

In my search for answers to the question of life I felt

exactly as a man who is lost in a forest.

Explanation of Dialogue

Tolstoy in this dialogue tries to explain

that he is living in a state of madness

followed by the thought of suicide. He

cam across people who seemed to have

a sense of the meaning of life but those

people did not include anyone among

his company or his fellow intellectuals.

Leo Tolstoy – My Confession(Dialogue continued…)

So I began to examine the life and the teachings of these people, and the closer I looked, the more I was convinced that theirs was the true faith, that their faith was indispensable to them and that this faith alone provided them with the meaning and possibility of life. Contrary to what I saw among the people of our class, where life was possible without faith and scarcely one in a thousand was a believer, among these people there was scarcely one in a thousand who was not a believer.

Explanation of dialogue.

To study the meaning of life in more

detail he started to observe the lives of

believers among ‘the poor, the simple

and uneducated folks.’ And he came to a

conclusion that the people among this

group has their life based faith and

beliefs.

Positive/ Negative evaluation of Religious view.

Positive:-Religious view helps an individual to find

the ultimate meaning and purpose of life

and provides those basic needs.

Negative:-Atheist exist too. They live a meaningful,

joyous life. Don’t these people prove that

religion is not the basic ingredient of life?

Secular Humanism

⁻ No ultimate meaning to either to universe

or human life.

⁻ Experiences and moments are like mosaic.

⁻ Philosophically, Secular Humanists

are naturalists.

⁻ Believe in evolution.

Secular Humanism continued..

⁻ The purpose of life?

⁻ The way to feel happy.

⁻ Meaning of life comprises of a number of

categories:

○ Psychological

○ Scientific

○ Philosophical

Black Lines by Vasily Kandinsky

Perspective of Existentialism

⁻ Philosophical movement that arose in 19th

century in the writings of two main philosophers:

Soren (a passionate Christian)

Jean Satre (intense atheist)

⁻ Influence of existentialism.

⁻ Individualism is one of the major themes of existentialism.

⁻ Diverse group of thinkers.

⁻ However, there do exist some common approaches.

Five common insights of to this approach.

1. In answering the questions of philosophy, make sure the

answers are your answers.

2. Take the standpoint of one who is down on the field engaged

with the game and not that of the spectator.

3. Recognize that choice, commitment, responsibility and risk are

inescapable.

4. Make use of all the rational, objective considerations possible,

but realize that in the end philosophy does not make the

decisions for them.

5. Live out your choice authentically.

Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog by Caspar David.

Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog

by Caspar David.