What do we Mean by "The Meaning of Life?"
Recently I have had the pleasure of writing an assignment regarding the meaning of life. While this assignment asked whether the transient nature of time makes life meaningless, and that I royally screwed up the conclusion section of said assignment, it none-the-less made me consider what we want to know when we ask the question “What is the Meaning of Life?” There seems to be some sort of emotion which communicates something the words do not in that question. Perhaps the one who asks this is looking for a purpose. Or perhaps they are just making sure we do have free will and humanity isn't just some pawn being manipulated by some greater being.
So in this post I will provide an interpretation of what we
might mean by the word “meaning”, state my personal opinion based on this new
interpretation, and give an explanation as to why we might take issue with
questioning the meaning of life.
The Connotation of Meaning
So, the dictionary definition of the word meaning can
provide us with some foundation of what the word means. However the dictionary
definitions rarely communicate the connotation a word might have when it is
used in the English language. It’s important that we understand a word’s
definition is different to the word’s connotation. By connotation, I am
referring to the ideas and feelings one may experience when using a certain
word to convey meaning.
Let us take the connotation of the word “meaning” as to
provide a subjective sense of deeming something as having a satisfying reason
as its purpose. In other words, I suggest that meaning is found in something,
only if the explanation of that thing’s purpose is deemed satisfactory to you
on a subjective, emotional and/or logical level. By this, as long as it provides
this feeling (the feeling of “it feels right”) to you in any form, you can
accept the explanation as something’s meaning.
In consideration of this, I talked to some friends and
colleagues who stated their opinion on what gives their life meaning. One
friend, who is seemingly content in their position in life right now, initially
made witty remarks in response to it, but as the conversation continued, deeper
ideas and beliefs began to show up until a meaning for their life was
articulated. Another friend, endlessly critical, stated their disapprobation at
the lack of convincing explanations for the meaning of life in a more objective
sense and was critically analysing the former’s given answer, stating
inconsistencies via examples, to which the other seemed to become disquieted by
this.
It appears they took two different approaches to the meaning
of life in this case. They either questioned up until a certain point, to which
they find unappealing to question any further, for whatever reason it is and
adopt it as their view; or they question everything and find themselves in an
uncomfortable situation in which they may feel out of place and see no
satisfaction in any given answer to meaning.
Personal View (Subjectivist Incoming)
My personal view of the question of the meaning of life is
one based in subjectivity: it is possible for people to find their purpose, one
which makes them feel satisfied, and which justifies their existence; but
whether or not we were given a purpose at the outset of our life is not for me
to say. To say this is to assume things true with which I am not satisfied
with.
Take for instance the pious man who fervently believes his life
is given purpose by god. If someone were to question this purpose, this man
becomes upset and keeps trying to justify his belief to the questioner, and perhaps
to himself. Now compare this to the woman who believes science can tell us the
meaning of life. Trying to convince her otherwise might cause her to become
defensive and bring scientific evidence to her defence. I believe this
defensiveness to be a form of mental protection, warding out ideas which are
not welcomed for they may make you experience unpleasant-ness in the form of
existential crises or doubt.
Here is where my point draws from. These people become
uncomfortable questioning beyond these foundational beliefs that they have
either been told or formulated on their own, given the definition of meaning I
have provided above. The pious man and the science advocate are in the same
boat as each other; they have found for themselves a convincing (to them)
meaning for their life which they can accept. To extend the concept to a
universal “meaning of life” seems counter intuitive to what the word meaning
connotes to us. It is possible for someone to be content in what appears to be
an objective meaning of life, in which case they have found an explanation they
are subjectively content with. I wouldn't recommend saying their idea is subjective
to them, however. Trying to convince someone who is already convinced in
something else is a turbulent endeavour.
Limits to Metaphysical Consideration and Conclusion (Don't think too much about things unless you really want to. The conclusion is in here somewhere too.)
The point made earlier about using your foundational beliefs as a
defence against unwanted ideas isn't intended to limit philosophical thoughts
on matters you find yourself interested in. Rather, it serves to help us filter
out information which we feel we shouldn't bother ourselves with if we already
have some form of belief or opinion on the matter with which we feel satisfied.
Alternatively, if the explanation of something’s meaning is seemingly
insignificant to you then considering its meaning is likely to be subjectively
pointless.
In conclusion, this post is meant to convey the thoughts
that meaning is found only subjectively, even if you are convinced it is
objective because it requires a subjective sense of satisfaction in order for
an individual to accept the given meaning as true. We should be aware that
people become uncomfortable questioning meaning beyond a certain point. Whether
or not there is meaning to absolutely every physical, metaphysical and
psychological phenomenon is not relevant to the considerations of this article,
only that we can find meaning to things which we find relevant to our
interests.
One last point. Should you start to question whether life
has meaning or not, it might help you if you consider how relevant to know this is in
your day-to-day life. If you can't answer this, then don't worry about it. The meaning of life, as with the meaning of
many other complicated ideas, should only be contemplated as long as it causes
no intentional distress to either you or others around you.
As normal, any thoughts on this matter from the readers are entirely welcome! Just click the comment button at the base of this post to do so!
Author:
Clayton de Groot (Wynn)
