What is the meaning of life?
This is a question I have asked many people but where I seldom get satisfactory answers. Instead I have found insightful answers from various schools of philosophy. Here is a synopsis of what I’ve found:
- Plato-attaining highest form of knowledge
- Aristotle-pursuit of happiness, well-being, flourishing, and excellence
- Cynicism-self-sufficient and mastering of one’s mental attitude; suffering is caused by false judgments dictated by society.
- Cyrenaicism-hedonistic pleasure
- Epicureanism-modest pleasure
- Stoicism-reason; logic; natural law; free from anger, envy, and jealousy
- Kantianism-do that which could be practiced universally
- Utilitarianism-greatest happiness to the greatest amount of people
- Marxism-to serve each other as equals
- Nihilism-nothing
- Existentialism-each person creates their own essence (meaning) of their life. Existence precedes essence. A man is defined insofar as he acts and that he is responsible for his actions. The world is absurd. You exist then you define yourself; not the other way around.
- Absurdism-man desires order, meaning, and purpose to life, but the universe is meaningless. Three ways to resolve this dilemma: Suicide, Religion (philosophical suicide), or accept the absurd.
- Secular Humanism–the question of meaning of life evaporates if one is fully engaged in life. The question then morphs into more specific worries such as “What delusions am I under?”, “What is blocking my ability to enjoy things?”
- Naturalistic Pantheism (Spiritual Naturalism)–to care for and look after nature and the environment
- Instinctivism-to reproduce
- Theistic Religion–to serve god; afterlife
- Buddhism-end suffering by detachment of cravings and materialistic things;
- Taoism-introspection; self-realization
- Confucianism-reason, relationships, and minimization of negative energy