DD Month YYYY
The meaning of life is the motive of human life, the future, in which person lives. Search for the meaning of life is like finding like-minded friends: for someone it is important to find one real friend, someone has some true friends. No animal needs to understand the meaning of life. A desire to understand the purpose of his coming into the world distinguishes a human from animals. A human is the highest of living beings, it is not enough for him only to eat and reproduce, therefore, he tries to understand the meaning of life.
Human life is a mystery. For centuries, scientists, historians and philosophers worked to realize the meaning of human existence. The man has always tried to understand the secrets of the universe, but the universe still remains a mystery. The Bible’s answer to this question is as follows. The Bible proclaims that life purpose is to build a friendship with God. According to Psalm 145:16 God created us with a “spiritual need,” which includes the desire to find meaning in life (Matthew 5:3). The Bible answers short and clear: the meaning of life means to seek God and to serve Him with all heart. Everything comes from the idea that God created man in His own image. As a result of the falling away from God, he lost his likeness and his image was distorted by sin. Communion with God became difficult. Sin, evils have separated man from the Creator (The Holy Bible). Therefore, man's task is to reunite with God as the source of truth and life.
It is widely believed that the meaning of life is associated with the pursuit of happiness. But the psychologists explain that happiness drives people to get what makes them happy. But it is not about the meaning of life because animals also feel happy when their needs are satisfied. The pursuit of meaning, which is unique to humans sets human beings apart from animals (Smith, Emily). Even Viktor Frankl wrote: “Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.”. Most people think that feeling happy and meaningful life are related goals. Nevertheless, recent research suggests that these definitions often overlap, but they diverge in important and surprising ways. For example, Roy Baumeister provided a study to explain key differences between a happy life and a meaningful one. The surveys found that people’s happiness levels were positively correlated with whether they saw their lives as meaningful, therefore, things that make people happy not always bring a meaning of life. Happy people see life as easy and free from difficult events, being in good health and feeling well, but feeling happy doesn’t always bring a sense of purpose (Grewal, Daisy).
According to Martin E. P. Seligman, in the meaningful life, "you use your highest strengths and talents to belong to and serve something you believe is larger than the self.". A meaning in one's life looks like buying presents for friends, taking care of kids and arguing. For example, Baumeister stated that meaning of life is partly what people do to take care of others and contribute to others. This makes life meaningful but it does not necessarily makes people happy.". Everything comes from the idea that the pursuit of meaning makes human beings uniquely human. People serve others and devote their lives to "giving", that suggests that the good life is the pursuit of simple happiness (Smith, Emily).
The next idea is that happiness is a state of mind. Aristotle regards 'well-being', that is his term for happiness, a state of soul, and a disposition to behave in a certain way. According to Ludwig Wittgenstein, the body is the best image of the soul. Aristotle suggests that happiness is attained by virtue and it is a social practice, a practical way of life. Julian Baggini states that happiness is not the be-all and end-all of life. It is a different thing for all people. It can sound like a private pursuit, or like a good night, it is all about pleasure. A person can be happy for his special reasons that can seem strange for the society (something like feeding wild cats) (Eagleton, Terry).
Science also tries to realize the meaning of human existence. It presented a rational hypothesis and suggested that humans are one of many species on an evolutionary path. Many scientists believe that the purpose of human life is to create a rational comprehension of the world and to develop an understanding of the world. For example, Stephen Hawking, states that once people understand the structure of the universe and how it works it will then be possible to realize the meaning of a life. In other words, science seeks to improve categorical knowledge about the world, instead of explanation of existence (Hines, Jourdan).
A person is responsible for his achievements to make his meaningful. The main idea is that only achievements for which a person is responsible may contribute to meaning. Nevertheless, a person can kill someone, but such actions not affect the meaning of a life. Such special circumstances seem to be out of character; they reflect thoughts of a person. He is still responsible for his deeds, but they will unlikely make some difference to the meaning of life (Brogaard, Berit, and Smith, Barry). There are some ideas how to lead a meaningful life. A person should decide how to change his life and the world. His goals should match mental and physical abilities. Sometimes a person will have to sacrifice one goal for the sake of other, and work hard to realize long-term plans. A meaningful life means a life in which person makes and realizes what he likes and realizes his plans. There are some activities associated with a meaningful life- medicine, chess, athletics, opera-singing, natural science, exploration, invention, house-building and raising children (Brogaard, Berit, and Smith, Barry).
The key idea is that meaning of life is not a solution to a problem, but a matter of living in a certain way. It includes a quality of life, its intensity and success. When a person has a meaning of life, he shares the love with everybody (Eagleton, Terry). People feel better when they do good deeds. The world is ruled not by love or beauty, but by hormones. The worst scandals happen because of hormonal problems. The depression, divorce and sudden marriage, refusal to eat during the experience or vice versa - all these events stimulate different hormones in the body. Some people find the meaning of life in their career, while others see the meaning of life in family and children. Some people strive to be happy, someone is trying to get out of life, for someone it is important to have a wealth and live in comfort while others constantly seek meaning of life through personal gain and benefit. But it is not the same thing to know everything about the meaning of life and to live a full life. The main problem of a person is to find his place and the meaning of his life. When a person has a goal, something to strive for, it is definitely better for him and makes his life more interesting. When a person does not set any goals, then life loses all its meaning and becomes a monotonous gray life.
Works Cited
The Holy Bible. Retrieved from
http://www.gasl.org/refbib/Bible_King_James_Version.pdf
Brogaard, Berit, and Smith, Barry. «On Luck, Responsibility and the Meaning of Life». Philosophical Papers. Vol. 31. 2005. Retrieved from
http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/articles/OnLuck.pdf
Eagleton, Terry. «The Meaning of Life». Oxford University Press. pp.135-175. 2007. Retrieved from
http://environment.yale.edu/visions/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/meaning-of-life-eagleton.pdf?/newconsciousness/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/meaning-of-life-eagleton.pdf/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/meaning-of-life-eagleton.pdf
Grewal, Daisy. «A Happy Life May Not Be a Meaningful Life». Scientific American. 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-happy-life-may-not-be-a-meaningful-life/
Hines, Jourdan. «The Meaning of Life». UW-L Journal of Undergraduate Research XI. 2008. Retrieved from
https://www.uwlax.edu/urc/JUR-online/PDF/2008/hines.pdf
Smith, Emily. «There's More to Life Than Being Happy». The Atlantic. 2013. Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-more-to-life-than-being-happy/266805/
Taylor, Richard. "The Meaning of Life.". Good and Evil Amherst, N.Y. Prometheus Books. 2000. Retrieved from
http://faculty.smu.edu/jkazez/mol12/taylor.pdf
