The Meaning Of Life

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What Is the Meaning of Life?

Introduction

The question of the meaning of life is about answering why human beings live or exist, why

human beings are on earth and generally what life is all about. The answer to these questions are

not simple but require critical thinking. Throughout history, there have been many metaphysical,

scientific theological and philosophical speculations on the meaning of life. In attempting to

answer this question, the paper draws on Aristotle's theory of happiness. This paper posits that

while life may generally be about happiness, happiness is not all that matters and that the point of

life is take actions that live to virtue because only then can someone find genuine happiness.

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Does the thought of happiness give our life meaning?

In finding happiness one finds meaning in life. As argued by Aristotle, "Happiness is the

meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." The understanding

of happiness by Aristotle and many of his contemporaries is that happiness is a long pattern of

action rather than an emotion. Put differently happiness is the sum of which was one's moral

character. Happiness refers to the habits that one acquired over the years as they exercised

appropriate virtues. To get the meaning of life, one must view happiness not as an individual

feeling but as something in the world. The happiness that gives meaning to life is not the kind of

happiness that brings a smile to one's face. The kind of happiness that gives meaning to life is a

site of things that arise in a larger context of conditions, actions and behavior.

Happiness is of course important but one has to live a meaningful life in order to be truly

happy. Living meaningful life entails four key things. The first one is belonging. One has to find

their social grouping where they are able to develop relationships where they feel recognized,

valued and understood. Secondly, a meaningful life entails finding a purpose for living. This

means that one must have the feeling that they are doing something worthwhile. The other aspect

is telling one's own story. The stories create a narrative about ones past and help the individual to

make a senesce of who they are presently. Finally, a meaningful life entails transcendence. One

has to find a moment that inspires awe in them (Hicks, Seto & Kim,2). Individuals have to feel

that they are part of something larger than themselves. Such a feeling can come through yoga

and meditation or by engaging in something creative for example music.

Happiness gives meaning to life because generally everything that man does is done in

pursuit of happiness. Every action that human beings take is taken with the belief that such

action will bring happiness either in the present or at some future date. There is no one who

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consciously works towards bringing unhappiness in their life. Those who manage to seek

unhappiness manage to do so because of misguided beliefs. According to Hicks, Seto and Kim

(4) every individual has the ultimate goal of leading a happy life and whether they are conscious

of it or not, all actions that people take is always an attempt to further attain happiness. The only

difference is that happens means different things and is unique to each person. If happiness

meant the same thing to all people, then individuals would act in the same fashion to obtain it.

According to Aristotle, happiness gives meaning to life because "Happiness is the highest

good. "Individuals realize happiness by practicing virtues. Happiness can therefore be seen as

having an outward gaze as it is obtained by cultivating moral habits. One of the actions that bring

happiness and therefore meaning to life is friendship. Friendship is central to the wellbeing of

human beings. Without friendship, it is not possible for humans to flourish. As noted by Aristotle

"Friends enhance the ability of one to think and act." The influence of friends in one thinking

refers to their capacity to make the individual make good to judgment and engage in a virtuous

behavior. Friends usually bring out the good of people by directing them towards the good.

Without friends, the possibility of failure is much higher. If one fails to be virtues, they can be

happy. Fortune and good luck are not necessarily determinates of happiness but they make the

possibility of one attaining the good life more likely.

If a person is severely lacking in certain advantages then, their happiness may be

endangered. Human flourishing can be hindered by misfortune and tragedy. The access to

knowledge, shelter and nutrition are essential for a good life. While good fortune may play a role

in happiness, luck is not a determining factor. Factors such as wealth and health account for a

very small portion of the variance in satisfaction in life. In general, people find meaning in life

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by acting virtuously in spite of their limitation. Despite the lack of material things, one can still

be happy and find meaning in life.

Is happiness the only thing that matters?

Much as happiness is the purpose of human life, it is not the only thing that matters. One needs

to engage in other things or find other purposes larger than oneself. There are other things that

bring meaning to life and they don't necessarily bring happiness. According to Shafer-Landau

(12), when one pursue happiness without meaning, they live a selfish, self-absorbed and

relatively shallow life. Such a life is characterized by avoiding entanglements and the easy

satisfaction of needs and desire. While a happy person derives joy from benefiting from others,

one can lead a more meaningful life by giving to others. This means in seeking happiness, there

is the tendency to give the self what it wants. Meaning, on the other hand, surpasses the self.

Helping others can see people achieve higher meaning in life. The pursuit of happiness cuts

across all living things but what is unique to humans that sets them apart from other animals is

the pursuit of meaning.

In finding meaning, one transcends not only the self but also the present moment. As an

emotion, happiness will be felt here and now and hence just like all emotions do it will ultimately

fade away. Happiness just like feelings of pleasure and positive effect is fleeting. While the

frequency and duration of time for which individuals report that they feel good or bad correlate

with happiness, it has no correlation with meaning. This means that meaning is enduring,

connecting the past to the present and the present to the future. According to Shafer-Landau (67),

"thoughts that go beyond the present moment and dives into the future as well as the past signify

a relatively meaningful but unhappy life. This means that in general contemplating about the past

or the future does not bring happiness. Put differently, people who think more about the present

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area generally happier, but those who spend more time contemplating the future or the sufferings

that they have undergone in the past feel more meaning in their life but they are less happy.

Therefore, happiness is not all that matters. Being human entails doing something that is

directed to other people apart from the self(Strecher,102). The goal to be more human is equally

important as happiness is. By giving oneself to a cause or giving oneself to love another person,

the more one forgets themselves. The more a person forget themselves, the more human they

become. Humans are made uniquely human by the pursuit of meaning. Putting aside one's selfish

interests to serve others or to engage in something greater or larger than oneself. Human beings

express their fundamental humanity by abandoning their selfish interests in order to serve a

purpose larger than themselves and by dedicating their lives to giving than receiving. Hence by

dedicating one's life to serving others (Strecher,106).

Is the point of life to live virtuously or to live a pleasant life or have pleasure?

The point of life is to live virtuously for the virtuous living brings happiness which is the

ultimate purpose of living. While human beings have the tendency to seek pleasure in life,

pleasure is not good in itself because pleasure is incomplete by its nature. One can still enjoy life

by engaging in a worthwhile activity since there is a distinctive pleasure associated with

worthwhile activities. Hence human beings are rightly guided by their natural preference for

engaging in pleasant activities as opposed to those that are unpleasant. The achievement of

genuine happiness can only be found in engaging in actions that lead to virtue for in so doing one

finds true value more than mere amusement. According to Aristotle, the highest form of moral

activity is contemplation. This is because contemplation is self-sufficient, pleasant, continuous

and complete (Ackrill,35) When human beings engage in an intellectual activity, Aristotle argues

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that they nearly approach divine blessedness. With intellectual activity comes the realization of

all the human virtues that are genuine.

Every action or thing has a specific function that they can best be used to perform. The

point of life for human beings should then be to involve the entire function of their whole life.

This can only be an act of the soul that when one engages in, there is the expression of genuine

virtue (Akrill,38). This means in life a person should aim at living in conformity to one's rational

natures. In this regard, satisfying one's desires and acquiring material goods are not comparable

to achieving virtue. The acquisition of material goods and the satisfaction of one's desire are of

less. For one to be happy they have to exhibit an appropriate balance in their personality. The

personality of a happy person should lie at the midpoint of reason and desires. The person should

not have excess or too little of either. All actions that lead to happiness should be characterized

by moderation. In the light of this argument, virtue is its own reward. To attain true happiness,

the individual ha to cultivate the virtues that will make their life complete. Hence the point in life

is to live virtuously.

Conclusion

The question of the meaning of life entails answering the essence or significance of living.

Happiness is the purpose of life. All actions that human beings take are done with the belief that

they will bring happiness in the present moment or at a moment in the future. Therefore, in

finding happiness, one finds meaning in life. As much as happiness is the ultimate goal, there is

more to life than being happy. Happiness is not all that matters in life. There are activities that

bring greater meaning in life and these are equally important. Dedicating life to a cause one

believes in or serving a purpose greater than making oneself happy also matters. The point of life

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for human beings should then be to involve the entire proper function of their whole life. This

means the cultivation of virtue hence a virtuous life is a complete life.

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Works Cited

Ackrill, John L. "Aristotle On Eudaimonia (Book I. 1–5 [1–3] And 7–8 [5–6])." Aristotle’s

“Nicomachean Ethics”. Brill, 2010. 33-52.

Hicks, Joshua A., Elizabeth Seto, and Jinhyung Kim. "Meaning of Life." The Encyclopedia of

Adulthood and Aging(2015): 1-5.

Shafer-Landau, Russ. "The fundamentals of ethics." (2014).

Strecher, Victor J. Life on purpose: How living for what matters most changes everything.

HarperCollins, 2016.

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