A citizen with a terrible face was convicted in accordance with Article 2 of April 19, 1943....
The meaning of human life- this is all for which he lives on earth. But not everyone really knows what makes them live. Every thinking person has a moment when he is faced with the question: what is the meaning of a person’s life, what goals, dreams, desires make people live, overcome all life’s trials, go through the school of good and evil, learn from mistakes, make new ones, and so on. Various sages, outstanding minds of different times and eras tried to find the answer to the question: “what is the meaning of human life?”, but no one, in fact, came to a single definition. The answer is individual for each person, that is, what one individual sees as his meaning of existence may not interest another at all, due to differences in individual characterological characteristics.
The meaning of a person’s life lies in the value he perceives, to which he subordinates his life, for the sake of which he sets life goals and realizes them. This is a component of the spiritual meaning of existence, which is formed independently of social values and constitutes an individual human value system. The discovery of this meaning of life and the creation of a value hierarchy occurs in each individual in his reflections, based on personal experience.
The purpose and meaning of human life social studies sees fully realized only in the case of the necessary conditions of society: freedom, humanism, morality, economic, cultural. Social conditions should be such that a person can realize his goals and develop, and not become an obstacle to his path.
Social science also sees the purpose and meaning of a person’s life as inseparable from social phenomena, therefore it can know what its purpose is, but society may not share it and in every possible way hinder its implementation. In some cases this is good when it comes to the goals that a criminal or sociopath wants to achieve. But when a private small business owner wants to develop, and socio-economic conditions slow him down, and he is not allowed to express his opinion, this, of course, does not in any way contribute to the development of the individual and the implementation of his plans in life.
The meaning of human life philosophy
A pressing issue in philosophy is the meaning of human life and the problem of existence. Even ancient philosophers said that a person can philosophize by getting to know himself; the whole mystery of the existence of a person lies in himself. Man is the subject of epistemology (cognition) and at the same time, he himself is capable of knowing. When a person comprehended his essence, the meaning of life, he had already resolved many issues in his life.
The meaning of human life philosophy briefly. The meaning of life is the basic idea that determines the purpose of any object, object or phenomenon. Although the true meaning may never be fully comprehended, it may lie in such deep structures of the human soul that a person has only a superficial understanding of that meaning. He can know it by looking inside himself, or by certain signs, symbols, but the full meaning never comes to the surface, only enlightened minds can comprehend it.
Most often, the meaning of a person’s life is considered to be the meaning of objects and phenomena with which he endows them himself, depending on his individual perception, understanding and degree of importance of these objects directly for this person. Therefore, the same objects can have multiple meanings, depending on the people with whom they interact. Suppose some thing may be completely inconspicuous, and it is of no use to one person at all. But for another person, this same thing can mean a lot, it is filled with a special meaning. He may associate her with certain events, a person, she may be dear to him not in material terms, but in spiritual terms. A common example of this is the exchange of gifts. A person puts his soul into a gift, regardless of its price. The main thing is that he wants the memory of him to remain. In this case, the most ordinary object can acquire an unprecedented meaning; it is filled with love, wishes, and charged with the energy of the giver.
Just like the value of objects, there is also the value of an individual’s actions. Every action of a person is charged with meaning when he makes a certain decision that is important to him. This meaning means that certain actions carry value, depending on the decision made and its value for the person and those around him. It also lies in the feelings, states, emotions and realizations that arise in an individual.
The meaning of human life, as a philosophical problem, is also studied in religion.
The meaning of human life in religion- means contemplation and personification of the divine principle in the soul, its direction towards the superhuman shrine and accession to the highest good and spiritual truth. But the spiritual essence is interested not only in the truth that describes an object, its real meaning, but the very meaning of this object for a person and the satisfaction of needs.
In this sense, a person also gives meaning and assessment to facts, incidents and episodes from his life that were significant to him and through the prism of this he realizes his value attitude towards the world around him. The peculiarity of the individual’s relationship with the world occurs due to the value attitude.
The meaning and value of human life, are correlated like this - a person defines value as everything that has significance for him, carries meaning, is native, dear and sacred.
The meaning of human life - philosophy briefly, as a problem. In the twentieth century, philosophers were especially interested in the problems of the value of human life and put forward various theories and concepts. Theories of value were also theories of the meaning of life. That is, the meaning and value of human life, as concepts, were identified, since the meaning of one passed into the other.
Value is defined almost equally in all philosophical movements, and the lack of value is also explained by the fact that a person is indifferent and is not interested in any differences in life between the categories of good and evil, truth and falsehood. When a person cannot determine values, or does not know which of them to guide him in his own life, it means that he has lost himself, his essence, the meaning of life.
The most important among the personal forms of the individual’s psyche are the values of will, determination, etc. The most important value guidelines of a person are faith, as a person’s positive aspirations. It is thanks to faith that a person feels alive, he believes in a better future, he believes that he will achieve his life goal and that his life has meaning, without faith, a person is an empty vessel.
The problem of the meaning of human life began to develop especially in the nineteenth century. A philosophical direction was also formed - existentialism. Existential questions are the problems of a person living everyday life and experiencing depressive emotions and conditions. Such a person experiences a state of boredom and a desire to free himself.
The famous psychologist and philosopher Viktor Frankl created his own theory and school in which his followers studied. The object of his teachings was man in search of the meaning of life. Frankl said that when a person finds his destiny, he becomes mentally healthier. In his most famous book, which is called “Man’s Search for the Meaning of Life,” the psychologist describes three ways to comprehend life. The first path involves performing labor actions, the second - experiences and feelings associated with a certain person or object, the third path describes life situations that actually cause a person all his suffering and unpleasant experiences. It turns out that in order to find meaning, a person must fill his life with work, or some main activity, caring for a loved one, and learn to cope with problematic situations, drawing experience from them.
The problem of the meaning of a person’s life, the study of his life path, trials, severity and problems is the subject of a direction in existentialism - logotherapy. At its center stands man, as a creature who does not know his destiny and seeks peace of mind. It is precisely the fact that a person poses the question of the meaning of life and existence that determines his essence. At the center of logotherapy is the process of searching for meaning in life, during which a person will either purposefully search for the meaning of his existence, think about this question and try what to do, or he will be disappointed in the search and stop taking any further steps to determine his existence.
The purpose and meaning of human life
A person must think carefully about what his purpose is, what he wants to achieve at the moment. Because throughout life, his goals may change, depending on external circumstances and internal metamorphoses of the individual, her desires and intentions. Changing life goals can be traced using a simple life example. Let's say a girl finishing school dreams of passing her exams with flying colors, entering a prestigious university, she is delirious about her career and is postponing her wedding with her boyfriend until an indefinite time. Time passes, she acquires capital for her business, develops it and becomes a successful businesswoman. As a result, the initial goal was achieved. Now she is ready to have a wedding, she wants children and sees in them her future meaning in life. In this example, two very strong goals were set, and regardless of their order, they were both achieved. When a person knows exactly what he wants, nothing can stop him, the main thing is that these goals and the algorithm of actions to achieve them are correctly formulated.
On the way to achieving the main goal in life, a person goes through certain stages, between which there are also so-called intermediate goals. For example, first a person studies to acquire knowledge. But it is not the knowledge itself that is important, but its practical application. Then, receiving a diploma with honors can help you get a prestigious job, and the correct performance of your duties will help you improve your career ladder. Here you can feel the transition of important goals and the introduction of intermediate ones, without which the overall result cannot be achieved.
The purpose and meaning of human life. It happens that two people with the same resources live their life paths completely differently. One can achieve one goal and come to terms with the fact that he does not feel the need to go further, while another, more purposeful, constantly sets himself new goals, achieving which he feels happy.
Almost all people are united by one life goal - creating a family, procreation, raising children. Thus, children are the meaning of life for many people. Because, with the birth of a child, all the general attention of the parents is focused on him. Parents want to provide the child with everything necessary and work for this, trying as best as possible. Then they work to provide education. But, most importantly, every parent dreams of raising their child in the right way, so that he grows up to be a kind, fair and reasonable person. Then the children, having received all the necessary resources from their parents in their old age, can thank them and make it their goal to take care of them.
The meaning of human existence is the desire to leave a mark on the earth. But not everyone is limited to the desire to procreate; some have more requests. They express themselves by trying to stand out from the gray mass in various areas of life: sports, music, art, science and other areas of activity, it depends on the talents of each person. Achieving some result can be a person’s goal, like a bar he has jumped over. But when a person’s goal is realized by an achievement and he understands that he has brought benefit to people, he feels much more satisfied with what he has done. But achieving and fully realizing such a great goal may take years. Many outstanding people were never recognized for their lives, but the meaning of their value was understood when they were no longer alive. Many die at a young age, when they have achieved a certain goal, and no longer see the meaning in life, having finished it. Among such people there are mainly creative individuals (poets, musicians, actors), and the loss of the meaning of life for them is a creative crisis.
Such a problem gives rise to thoughts about extending human life, and it may be a scientific goal, but one must clearly understand why this is needed. If you look from the perspective of humanism, then life has the highest value. Therefore, its extension would be a progressive step in relation to society, and also to individuals specifically. If this problem is considered from a biological point of view, then it can be argued that there are already some successes in this area, for example, organ transplants and the treatment of diseases that were once considered incurable. A lot is said about the elixir of youth, as a source for maintaining an eternally young body, but this is still at the level of science fiction. Even if you delay old age by adhering to a healthy and correct lifestyle, it will inevitably come, along with all its manifestations, psychological and biological. This means that the goal of medicine should also be some way so that older people do not feel physical discomfort and do not complain about reason, memory, attention, thinking, so that they retain mental and physical performance. But not only science should be concerned with life extension, society itself should also create the necessary conditions for the development of human talents and ensure inclusion in public life.
The life of a modern person is very fast, and he has to expend a lot of energy and effort to meet the standards of society and keep up with progress. When a person is in such a rhythm, he has no time left to stop, stop doing everyday activities and memorized, practiced movements to the point of automatism and think about why all this is being done and how expensive it really is, deeply comprehend life and develop the spiritual sphere life.
The meaning of life for modern man- this is the pursuit of mirages, imaginary success and happiness, templates implanted in the heads, the false consumer culture of our time. The life of such a person has no value in spiritual terms; it is expressed in constant consumption, squeezing all the juices out of oneself. The result of this lifestyle is nervousness and fatigue. People want to grab a big piece for themselves, to take a place in the sun, regardless of the needs of others. If you look from this perspective, it seems that life is going downhill, and soon people will become like robots, inhuman, heartless. Fortunately, the likelihood of such a course of events is very low. This idea is very extreme, and, in fact, only applies to those who have truly shouldered the burden of a career and all the difficulties associated with it. But modern man can be viewed in a different context.
The meaning of life for a modern person is to give birth and raise children to be proud of, and to improve the world. Every modern person is the creator of the future world, and every human labor activity is an investment in the development of society. Realizing his worth, a person understands that his life has meaning, and he wants to give of himself even more, invest in the future generation, and do good deeds for the good of society. Involvement in the achievements of humanity gives people an understanding of their own importance, they feel like bearers of a progressive future, because they were lucky enough to live in such a time.
The meaning of life for a modern person is self-improvement, advanced training, obtaining a diploma, new knowledge, thanks to which one can generate new ideas and create new objects. Such a person is naturally valued as a good specialist, especially when he likes what he does and considers it his meaning in life.
When parents are smart, then their children should be smart too. Therefore, parents strive to develop and educate their children so that they become worthy members of society.
The meaning of life and human purpose
To answer the question: “what is the meaning of human life?”, you must first explain all the constituent terms. “Life” is understood as the category of a person’s location in space and time. “Meaning” does not have such a specific designation, since the concept is found in scientific works and also in everyday communication. If you analyze the word itself, it turns out “with thought,” that is, understanding an object or acting with it, with certain thoughts.
Meaning is manifested in three categories – ontological, phenomenological and personal. From an ontological view, all objects, phenomena and events of life have meaning, depending on their influence on his life. The phenomenological approach states that in the mind there is an image of the world, which includes personal meaning, which gives an assessment of objects for a person personally, and indicates the value of a given phenomenon or event. The third category is human semantic constructs that provide self-regulation. All three structures provide a person with an understanding of his life and the discovery of the true meaning of life.
The problem of the meaning of a person’s life is closely intertwined with his purpose in this world. For example, if a person is sure that his meaning in life is to bring goodness and God’s grace into this world, his destiny is to be a priest.
Destination is a person’s way of being; it determines his meaning of existence from birth. When a person clearly sees his goal, knows what to do, he completely devotes himself to it with all his body and soul. This is the purpose, if a person does not fulfill it, he loses the meaning of life.
When a person thinks about his purpose in life, he comes closer to the thought of the immortality of the human spirit, his actions, their meaning now and in the future, what will remain after them. Man is mortal by nature, but since he has been given life, he must understand that everything that is connected with him in this short period of his life is limited only by the date of his birth and death. If a person wants to fulfill his destiny, he will do things that are socially important. If a person does not believe in the immortality of the soul, his existence will be unthinkable and irresponsible.
The meaning of life and the purpose of a person is a vital decision. Each person chooses for himself how to perceive himself, as a person, body and soul, and then think about where to go and what to do. When a person has found his true purpose, he becomes more confident in the value of his life, can clearly build his life goals and treat the world with kindness and gratitude for the gift of life. Destination is like a river along which a person floats, and if he himself does not know which pier to swim to, not a single wind will be favorable to him. Religion sees its purpose in serving God, psychologists – in serving people, some in the family, some in preserving nature. And you can’t judge someone for the path they have chosen; everyone acts as they want, as they feel.
1. Approaches and solutions to questions about the meaning of life
2. Finding the meaning of life
Introduction
Man is the only creature who is aware of his mortality and can make it a subject of discussion. The calling, purpose, task of every person is to comprehensively develop all his abilities, to make his personal contribution to history, to the progress of society, its culture, the meaning of the life of society. The meaning of life lies in life itself, in its eternal movement as the formation of man himself. Death is terrible for those who do not see how meaningless and disastrous his personal lonely life is, and who thinks that he will not die. A man has died, but his attitude towards the world continues to affect people, even differently than during life.
Meaning of life - this is a perceived value to which a person subordinates his life, for the sake of which he sets and achieves life goals. The question about the meaning of life is a question about the meaning of human death and his immortality. If a person did not leave a shadow after his life, then his life in relation to eternity was only illusory. Understand the meaning of life and determine your place in the eternal flow of changes.
The question of the meaning of life, one way or another, arises before every person - if he has at least developed as a person. Usually such questions come in early youth, when a newly created person must take his place in life - and strives to find it. But it happens that you have to think about the meaning of life both in old age and in a dying state. This collision of an individual person with himself as a particle of a huge, endless world is not always easy. It’s scary to feel infinity in yourself - and it’s scary not to notice it. In the first case, it is an incredible burden of responsibility, too jubilant pride, from which the soul can be torn; the opposite is a feeling of one’s own illogicality, hopelessness of existence, disgust for the world and for oneself. However, thinking about the meaning of life is necessary for any person, without it there are no full-fledged people.
1. Approaches and solutions to questions about the meaning of life
The question of the meaning of life is the question of whether life is worth living? And if it’s still worth it, then what is there to live for? People have long wondered about this question, trying to find the logic of their lives.
There are two answers to this question:
1. The meaning of life is originally inherent in life in its deepest foundations, this approach is most characterized by a religious interpretation of life. The only thing that makes life meaningful and therefore has absolute meaning for a person is nothing other than effective participation in the divine-human life.
2. The meaning of life is created by the subject himself- in accordance with this statement, we can understand that we ourselves consciously move towards the goal set before us, by any means of being. We give meaning to life and thereby choose and create the human essence, only we and no one else.
Awareness of the meaning of life, as the main value, is historical in nature.
Each era, to one degree or another, influenced the meaning of a person’s life.
Life is meaningful - when you are needed for something and you understand why. Even in a semi-animal state, in the web of everyday worries and in the swamp of narrow bourgeois interests, a person does not cease to be universal, belonging not only to himself, his family, his class, but also to humanity as a whole, and to the world in its entirety. Of course, a separate person, an individual, cannot be a person in general, these are different levels. But man in general is represented in each individual, since the universal can exist only as a community of its representatives. Each of them reveals its own side of the universal - and any side of it must necessarily be represented by someone, must be incarnated and go its way as a thing, or a living being.
When a person lives meaningfully, life does not become easier for him, quite the contrary. But a person who knows his purpose, his destiny is always strength. He may doubt and suffer, he may make mistakes and give up on himself - this will not change anything. The meaning of his life will guide him and force him to do what is required - even against the will of the person himself, his desires and interests, as far as he is aware of them.
There are various approaches to solving the problem of meaning in life, of which the following can be distinguished:
The meaning of life is in its spiritual foundations, in life itself;
The meaning of life is taken beyond the boundaries of life itself;
The meaning of life is brought by the person himself into his life;
There is no meaning to life.
Within the first approach, there is a religious version. The meaning of human life was given by God already at the moment of human creation. Having created man in his own image, he endowed him with free will. And the meaning of a person’s life is to achieve a given similarity with God. The meaning of human life is to preserve and purify one’s immortal soul.
Philosophy considers the moral meaning of human life in the process of improving its spiritual foundations and its social essence on the principles of good.
The meaning is contained in life itself, but, unlike the religious point of view, it is argued here that a person finds the meaning of life in it himself. The meaning of life consists of situational, specific meanings that are individual, just as life itself is individual. Based on situational meaning, a person outlines and solves situational problems of every day or even hour.
The second approach takes the meaning of life beyond the specific life of a person; there is an extrapolation of the meaning of human existence to the progress of mankind, for the benefit and happiness of future generations, in the name of bright ideals and justice.
All of the above is the highest meaning and end in itself, while each human generation and each person now living acts as a means to achieve this goal. Many people live for the sake of their own future.
From the point of view of supporters of the third approach, life in itself has no meaning, but a person himself brings it into his life. Man, as a conscious and volitional being, creates this meaning in his own ways. But a will that ignores the objective conditions of human existence and imposes its own meaning turns into voluntarism, subjectivism and can lead to the collapse of meaning, existential emptiness and even death.
From the mouth of a modern young man you can hear that the meaning of his life lies in pleasure, joy, and happiness. But pleasure is only a consequence of our aspirations, and not its goal. If people were guided only by the principle of pleasure, this would lead to a complete devaluation of moral actions, since the actions of two people, one of whom spent money on gluttony, and the other on charity, would be equivalent, since the consequence of both is pleasure.
As for joy as the meaning of life, joy itself must have meaning. Even a child with his very mobile nervous system directs his joy outward, to the object or action that causes it. Joy, therefore, is also not an end in itself, but a consequence of an achieved goal. The meaning of life is revealed to a person only when objective necessity requires it, when humanity as a whole is mature enough to accept, to master this particular side of its existence. In other words, the meaning of an individual’s life is realized when this life becomes truly universal, when a person’s actions and actions are not his individual characteristics, but something inherent in many people, at least to varying degrees, and not all together
But still, attempts to find the meaning of human life have prevailed in the history of human thought:
The meaning of life is in its aesthetic side, in the achievement of what is majestic, beautiful and strong in it, in the achievement of superhuman greatness;
The meaning of life is in love, in the pursuit of the good of what is outside of man, in the desire for harmony and unity of people;
The meaning of life is to achieve a certain human ideal;
The meaning of life is to maximize assistance in solving the problems of social development and comprehensive development of the individual.
The realized meaning of life, which has value not only for the living person, but also for society, frees a person from the fear of death, helps to meet it calmly, with dignity and a sense of fulfilled duty.
The article involves a journey through the moments of eternity into the minds of the greatest thinkers and scientists, so that you can more easily understand the questions, the answers to which promise the highest peace and limitless understanding. The purpose and meaning of one’s own life is one of many such questions. By the way, they are a little amusing, because getting an answer to them means revealing all the plans of the Universe. Only.
Religious theory of the universe
The mysteries of life have fascinated philosophers and scientists throughout earthly existence, because answers are necessary. For example, it would be possible to explain to mothers who have lost their children why such terrible things happen; If we know the meaning of existence, it will become clear where we are striving, what to live for, and most importantly, why is the world so unfair?
Unfortunately, the answer was not found. Even if there was, it is difficult to believe in 100% truth in words, you must agree. Moses, Jesus, Muhammad - they officially spoke to God, offering us answers. Now it is really difficult to judge the correctness of the prophets of past years, especially if you read their texts, where God is presented not only as a loving, but also as a power-hungry, cruel and jealous ruler. Crusades, mass extermination of people by the Inquisition, even the creation of ISIS... All actions are based on approximately the same methods of achieving justice that are described in the Old Testament and the Koran. It is quite difficult for us to admit this.
The topic of the meaning of existence could not do without religion, but we do not claim that religion is a breeding ground for problems and a stronghold of cruelty. In many ways, of course, people exaggerated the calls and information from the holy scriptures for their own convenience. However, this fact does not allow us to accept faith as the truth and the answer to our existence. If only because there are more than 1000 religions, and which one should we believe in?
Philosophical theory of the Universe
If you think about philosophers, you can remember one statement that Palahniuk once voiced: “We are all going to die. The goal is not to live forever, the goal is to create a thing that will live.” And that's damn fair.
More than 100 billion people died before we were born, how many of them do we remember? Only inventors, writers, musicians, philosophers who published their works, political figures, and, less often, actors. Perhaps Palahniuk is right, and the meaning of his statement is that in order for the world to remember you, you need to create something that makes sense in this quickly slipping eternity. The purpose of life in philosophy is the embodiment of thoughts and images in reality. Everyone who proposed an idea, like Palahniuk, also proposed a guide to action.
“Love is the only thing worth living for,” wrote Beigbeder.
Perhaps Beigbeder is right, but not Palahniuk, who knows? You can list hundreds of quotes from a variety of authors, and they will all sound beautiful, encourage you to take some action or thought, but who to believe? Who is right after all? What to do if life does not bring pleasure and gives only bitterness and suffering?
Answer: live. What other alternatives are there? Suicide? There is an infinitely high probability that beyond the step into the abyss there is only emptiness. Philosophers of yesteryear and their contemporaries understood this, clinging to their purpose and meaning of human life.
Scientific theory of the universe
Science has long been offering its theories of how life works. And if religion cannot put up with this, then philosophy, on the contrary, calmly accepts innovations and already argues against the background of completely new data. The existence of man, the purpose and meaning of human life are explained by science very simply. 3.7 billion years ago we were born. The event itself is beautifully described in the work of one of the great scientific figures, Krauss Lawrence, “A Universe from Nothing.” This book became a real breakthrough in science; over time, scientific ideas developed and changed. “We” - the people of Krauss Lawrence - are still microbes, which evolution has brought together over an incredibly long period of time.
Modern research proves the correctness of the theory put forward by Krauss Lawrence. Anyone can prove it using Dawkins' advice:
- To do this, you will need to collect a stack of frogs in your backyard.
- Next, take a closer look at those of them whose legs are longer than the rest, and break them into pairs.
- New pairs will need to be formed only from the offspring of these pairs.
- The result of this experiment will be that in 5-7 generations you will breed a new species of frogs, whose legs will be much longer than the legs of ordinary frogs.
And only one type of experiment will show such data! Nature has thousands of types of similar material, which can change each time depending on the genes of parents, climate and enemies (for, as we know from the laws of nature, only the strongest survive).
In order to be in harmony with oneself and to be truly strong, a modern person needs to be able to cope with stress. You will learn about the signs of stress, its characteristics, and how to overcome it. And this article provides detailed information about destructive human addictions and the principles of combating them.
Defining the purpose and meaning of modern man
It is unlikely that you can choose a particular theory and live by it until the end of your days. Everything that we call life was invented by people. Graduating from college, looking for your other half, starting a family, engaging in self-development, believing that love is the meaning of life, or that being remembered in this eternity is what suits everyone. All these are the thoughts and views of certain people, ancient philosophers, modern psychologists... The reality is that in life everyone adapts to the rules that others have come up with, or creates their own. And everyone must make their own choice.
The meaning of life, the meaning of being is a philosophical and spiritual problem related to determining the ultimate goal of existence, the purpose of humanity, man as a biological species, as well as man as an individual, one of the basic ideological concepts that is of great importance for the formation of the spiritual and moral image of an individual.
The question of the meaning of life can also be understood as a subjective assessment of the life lived and the correspondence of the achieved results to the original intentions, as a person’s understanding of the content and direction of his life, his place in the world, as the problem of a person’s influence on the surrounding reality and a person’s setting goals that go beyond the scope of his life . In this case, it is necessary to find an answer to the questions:
“What are life values?”
“What is the purpose of life?” (or the most general goal of human life as such)
“Why (what) should I live?”
The question of the meaning of life is one of the traditional problems of philosophy, theology and fiction, where it is considered primarily from the point of view of determining what the most worthy meaning of life for a person is.
Ideas about the meaning of life are formed in the process of people’s activities and depend on their social status, the content of the problems being solved, lifestyle, worldview, and the specific historical situation. In favorable conditions, a person can see the meaning of his life in achieving happiness and prosperity; in a hostile environment of existence, life may lose its value and meaning for him.
People have asked and continue to ask questions about the meaning of life, putting forward competing hypotheses, philosophical, theological and religious explanations. Science is able to answer, with a certain degree of probability, specific questions like “How exactly...?”, “Under what conditions...?”, “What will happen if...?”, while questions like “What (is) the goal (meaning of life?" remain within the framework of philosophy and theology. The psychological reasons for the emergence of such issues are studied in psychology (see also suicide). norms and values, demonstrating the goals that justify the activities they prescribe.
The social position of individuals, groups, classes, their needs and interests, aspirations and expectations, principles and norms of behavior determine the content of mass ideas about the meaning of life, which under each social system have a specific character, although they exhibit certain moments of repetition. Subjecting to a theoretical analysis of the ideas of mass consciousness about the meaning of life, many philosophers proceeded from the recognition of a certain unchangeable “human nature”, constructing on this basis a certain ideal of man, in the achievement of which the meaning of life, the main purpose of human activity, was seen.
Great philosophers - such as Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Diogenes and many others - had clear ideas about what kind of life is “best” (and therefore most meaningful) and, as a rule, associated the meaning of life with the concept of good.
From a scientific and philosophical point of view, the definition and concept of the meaning of life imply the presence of certain goals of existence, individual and general purpose of a person.
The meaning of being is the basis of a worldview that determines the entire path of development of the moral character of people.
In philosophy
In most cases, the meaning of life is perceived and positioned as a philosophical problem. Philosophers of antiquity wrote that the secret of human existence lies in himself, and, trying to know himself, he recognizes the surrounding space. There are several historically recognized points of view on the problem of meaning:
- The followers and receivers of Socrates said: “It is a shame to die without realizing your spiritual and physical strength.” Epicurus, exploring the topic of human death, urged not to be afraid of it, because the fear of death is inherently irrational: when death occurs, a person no longer exists. However, oddly enough, the attitude towards death significantly influences and determines the attitude towards life.
- The problem of the meaning of life was also actively discussed in Kant's philosophy. In his opinion, a person in himself is the goal and the highest value, he is an individual and the only creature on the planet capable of independently managing his life, pursuing any goals and achieving them. The great philosopher said that the meaning of a person’s life is not outside, but within himself: at the same time, the determining factor is the idea expressed through moral laws and duties. Kant also tried to describe what “meaning” is. In his opinion, meaning cannot exist independently, as a certain object of reality, it is in the minds of people and it also determines their behavior, forcing them to voluntarily obey the laws of morality and thereby placing a person a step above other living beings on the planet. That is, from Kant’s point of view, a person’s destiny is expressed in the presence of a certain worldview, or religion. At the same time, Kant denies religion as an explanation for the emergence of our world - its significance lies precisely in the fact that it is the basis for the development of human morality.
- Kant's philosophy was further developed by other German classics. According to Fichte, the search for the meaning of human life on earth is the main task of any philosophical teaching. Comprehension of meaning is the complete agreement of the individual with himself, which is expressed in human freedom, rational activity, and development. Developing and becoming a free and reasonable person, a person changes and improves the surrounding reality.
Throughout the history of philosophy and religion, attempts have been made to find a universal, suitable for everyone, meaning of human existence.
Religion calls on a person to prepare himself for “life after death,” because it is outside the “biological” existence that real life begins. From the position of virtue, the answer to the question: “why do we live?” obvious: to do good deeds and serve the truth. In addition to religious ideas, there is a widespread point of view that sees the purpose and meaning of human life in obtaining physical and moral pleasures and the opposite, which presents suffering and death as the purpose of birth.
In psychology
Psychology also has not ignored the eternally pressing dilemma - why does a person live on earth. At least two directions in psychology are actively searching for a solution to the problem “what is the meaning of human life”:
- The well-known psychologist and philosopher Viktor Frankl worked for a long time to create his own school, focused on the study of a person searching for something worth living for. According to Frankl, goals to achieve true purpose ennoble a person, make him more conscious, intelligent and morally healthy. As a result of his research, the psychologist wrote a book: “Man in Search of the Meaning of Life.” This work contains answers to the most common questions about the search for meaning, covers this topic in detail and offers three ways to achieve it. The first path is aimed at comprehending the purpose of existence through work and bringing it to the ideal; the second way is the experience of feelings and emotions, which in themselves are meaning; the basis of the third is to gain experience through suffering, pain, anxiety and the struggle with earthly adversities along the path of life.
- Psychology has also been and is actively engaged in the study of the meaning of human life in the existential direction or logotherapy. This direction calls a person a being who does not know why and for what he came into this world and his goal is to find this knowledge. Therefore, the center of logotherapy is the psychological aspect of this process. And people have only two ways - either, despite possible failures and disappointments, look for their calling, be responsible for their actions, try, experiment; or - give up at the very beginning of his path and his life will pass without touching awareness.
Forms
The goals and meaning of human existence are rarely universal throughout life or consist of the same thing. Most often, they change with age, internal personality changes; or under the influence of external circumstances. For example, in adolescence and adolescence, the solution to the problem - what is the meaning of life - will be: obtaining an education and the necessary skills to start working; after 25 years, the most common answers are starting a family, building a career, improving material living conditions. Closer to retirement age, when life becomes more meaningful, people become puzzled by issues of spiritual development and religion. For some people, the problem of meaning is solved through a hobby in which a person is realized in parallel with the goals listed above. In the latter case, the lives of such people are more fulfilling and bright, because at the same time they achieve several goals and are not heavily dependent on one, which means they experience possible disappointments and obstacles more easily, are able to comprehend them and move on.
Having and raising children is one of the most common types of life goals and meaning in life.
The birth of a child leads to the fact that most of the parents' attention is focused on him: they earn money to provide their child with the best, try to provide a good education, help in difficult periods, and instill the right lifestyle. Most mothers and fathers try to raise their children properly, to instill in them the desire to live according to the principles of justice and high morality. And if this succeeds, the parents believe that the path of life was not passed in vain, it made sense to leave its worthy continuation on earth.
Leaving a mark on the earth is a rarer option for finding meaning. Most often, people with some rare talent are capable of this. These are great scientists, artists, representatives of royal, noble and other families, famous managers, etc. However, not everything is so sad.
A person who does not have a very bright talent, but is hardworking, persistent and purposeful, who lives, understanding and imagining what the meaning of his life can be, can leave his mark on earth.
For example, this is a teacher who puts his soul into his charges, or a doctor who has healed many people, a carpenter who improves people’s lives through his work, an athlete who may not have great abilities, but achieves better results every day, etc.
The problem of achieving meaning in a high-tech society
In the modern world, humanity lives at an accelerated pace and spends a lot of emotional and physical resources to maintain its standard of living. We rarely manage to stop and think about the meaning of human life. Society and progress require compliance with fashion, certain norms, and the format of relationships between people. A person is like a squirrel in a wheel, making thousands of monotonous movements brought to the point of automatism; he does not have time to think about what he himself wants and what he lives for.
Modernity is characterized by the daily pursuit of illusion, false ideals. The consumer culture does not allow for spiritual development; the moral side of modern man becomes less developed, down-to-earth and primitive; the miracle of life turns into ordinary existence.
Naturally, people have become more susceptible to diseases of the nervous system, depression, hysteria and chronic fatigue. The number of suicides has increased several times over the past decades. Human meaning has become an expensive luxury.
However, for people who are strong in spirit, persistent and resistant to social influence, and capable of thinking, progress opens up new opportunities for self-development and improvement of the world. Now it is much easier to obtain knowledge that contributes to the search for goals and meaning; it’s easier to promote your own ideas: they won’t be led to the gallows or burned at the stake for them; technological capabilities allow you to create and build new objects and items. We live in a relatively calm period and the desire to maintain peaceful relationships, take care of nature, find compromises and grow spiritually is the goal and meaning of human life.
