Is there any reason to search for the meaning of life?
It seems as though we live in a culture that has abandoned the question almost altogether, which is especially alarming considering that the question is only getting more complex. We're dealing with ancient questions and modern ones alike. The new ones seem to pile on by the minute. Is it ethical to clone humans? Can we achieve immortality through medicine? Is changing the social dynamic a good or bad thing? How can so many still be starving in the world? Are we powerless against fate?
There are arguments to support a need for ignorance though. It's difficult to watch those around us who float through life without any desire to look upwards to the sky or inward into themselves. They are content to consume whatever's given to them. And they're happy. With intelligence comes sadness - the knowledge of the greater implications of one's actions or inactions is enough to drive one to drinking. The evils of the world are overwhelming when taken in all at once.
But the meaning of life is a necessity, so I've been thinking about a rebuttal to the main arguments.
1) There is no meaning of life.
Of course there is. As there is a system, there is a set of rules for it. Because there are a set of rules for it, there is a correct way to navigate those rules. To claim that there is no absolute truth is an absolute truth statement. At the end of the day, somewhere in the universe, there is an absolute truth that governs all of existence.
2) We, as humans, cannot find or understand that truth.
As if this was an excuse not to look for it. Not to leap off of the deep end in search of something buried deep within the human spirit. Sometimes I feel like we're attacking on all fronts. Science is furiously working to understand the world. Philosophy is furiously working to understand man. And Theology is furiously working to understand the beyond. Plus, even if we never find or understand the Truth, isn't the search most of the fun?
3) You don't need a meaning of life to live it.
This is the prevailing wind of the day. It seems like our peers are awash in the spirit of undefinability. Now, I'm all for casting off the old, dusty definitions that our parents created, but I want to replace them with something. I want to be a pioneer, not someone who gets in the car, starts her up, and has no idea where he's going or what's powering the motor. To be alive, you have to know what you're living for.
This thought seems more bravado-filled than normal, but it needs to happen every once in a while. Figure out what you're living for. What drives you. Stop what you're doing until you know. Maybe what you're doing is a waste of time, maybe it seems like a waste but isn't, maybe you're exactly on track.
The search for the meaning of life is easy. It can be found in giant, old tomes or at the bottom of a laundry basket or in the end credits of a movie or in a friend's handshake. Live your life as that search, and it'll at least be worthwhile. Or at very least, entertaining.
05 November 2007
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