Do you ever sit around and wonder what the meaning of life is? Yeah, me neither. Now, I do occassionally try to figure out what the meaning of my life might possible be. But, it's usually not when I'm "sitting around".
For the record, I'm pretty sure that, all guilt and humor aside, there is no meaning to my life. I'm okay with this. In fact, I think I might be disturbed to find out that there was a meaning to my life. I guess I kind of view the whole raison d'être thing as a bit too much like fate or at the very least, fatalistic. I mean, it would be all fine and dandy if you knew the meaning of your life was to party like it's nineteen-ninety-nine and die happy. But, what if you found out that the meaning of your life was too explore the depths of human suffering, both your own and what you would cause to practically everyone you came into contact with? It would totally suck, right?
I guess that I kind of view this whole meaning of life business a bit like religion, allbeit a bit more towards the deus ex machina end of the spectrum. In fact, the meaning of life seems a lot like the god in the mechanism.
I could go on ad nauseum about this, but I'll spare you, kind reader. Just because I don't think there is any menaing of (my) life, doesn't mean I don't think there is meaning in life. Let's see how quickly I contradict my earlier statements trying to explain my way out of this one... Our interpersonal relations give meaning to actions, they give us a context to function in and decide if something makes us happy or sad or neither, or maybe hungry. But, Eric, is there a sum of meaning that one could call the meaning of their life? Absolutely, probably, maybe not.
What do I know? I'm just some guy who doesn't think there is any meaning to (his) life, and who claims to find comfort in that. Well at least I'm explainning this idea ad absurdum, which is a way to prove to myself that I'm not as clear a communicator as I need to be to get these ideas across.
5 comments:
But what about agency, Eric? I mean, if I believe the purpose of my life is to love a great love or write a great novel or comment on a lot of blogs, who is to say it isn't? I certainly don't buy that Santa or god or Zeus is up there with a list and that I might someday be disappointed to learn that my purpose was to love a not-so-great love or write an average novel. With agency comes purpose, no? I choose my fate, I say. So there.
How about I say "inherent" meaning of life, or maybe an "a priori" meaning of life?
You're absolutely right, Kristy. :) I'm just really bad at communicating my thoughts most of the time.
I tried to make a semantic argument about "of" versus "in", but I should have been saying that life doesn't have meaning, it is given meaning.
Wait just a minute--that's a very good point. We are talking about chickens and eggs here perhaps. Do we come packaged with meaning or do we build it. Which came first, the meaning or the meaning?
Life has no meaning if we just wait for the tooth fairy to bestow an a priori or inherent one upon us. That's always been my (and yours too, I suspect) gripe with religion and spirituality.
So there may be no meaning of life, but certainly we have an opportunity to infuse life with meaning.
I, for one, find the idea that I inherited my life purpose from my parents or found it in a magic easter egg. I'd rather make up my own, wouldn't you?
Anyway, thanks for stirring up engaging topics in your blog. That makes me happy. I can't wait for another one.
The great science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov, posited that the purpose of life (not the meaning) is to move water around. :)
The meaning of life argument gets right tot the crux of religion and phenomenology. I am of the persuasion that there is nothing beyond the natural (of which I'm sure humans know an extremely, tiny small, minuscule amount of), and that nothing of a cognitive or intellectual exists a priori. But, then again there are instincts...is reacting the same as thinking? I would venture that fight or flight is not thinking, but how one chooses to do either of those options may involve thinking. :) Having this view doesn't diminish the beauty of the universe, I believe it enhances it. How so? Well, I'm glad you asked. If there is no creator being picking what I know or can know, I am left to my devices to derive the meaning of beauty, and so is everyone else. For some, arriving at what is beautiful may be as basic as doing what others tell them to do to arrive at beauty, but there are always those that will strike out on their own. :) And because humans are generally communal beings, we can all share. :)
I think about this in regards to politics quite a bit. George Lakoff wrote a great book called the "Elephant in the Room". In it, he breaks down the way conservatives and progressives use language differently to frame the conversation. In relation to this issue, he boils it down to conservatives having a sense of "father knows best" morality, while progressives are interested in a family-centric view where everyone can contribute on all levels. If I still had a copy of the book, I'd mail it to you, Kristy. :) (We bought five copies when it came out a couple of years back and sent them to family and friends, asking them to read it and then pass it on to someone that they think could use it, with instructions that they do the same.)
Yummy, I want to read it. Will pick up a copy.
xo
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