The Meaning of Life (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Philosophy - Miscellaneous, grade: 2,0, University of Dortmund, language: English, abstract: This paper deals with the topic 'The Meaning of Life'. The aim is to give a good overview and thoughts around this subject. As this is overly complex and therefore beyond the scope of this paper, I will focus on a few interesting ideas that are part of the overall topic.

The term meaning of life refers to the questioning of the origin, nature, and purpose of life or, more generally, of existence, especially human existence.

The question about the meaning of life includes in a broader sense the question about the purposeful (teleological) meaning of life in the universe itself. In a narrower sense, it inquires into biological and socio-cultural evolution and, in particular, the question of a possible meaning for Homo sapiens. In the narrowest sense, it researches the 'interpretation of the relationship in which man stands to the world' (Tiedemann, 1993).

It is closely linked to the questions 'Where do we come from? Where are we going? Why are we here on earth?' and further: 'How should we live to fulfil our purpose of existence?' Here, it is discussed whether this purpose is predetermined by an external institution, such as a divine commandment, whether a certain behavior originates in nature, e.g. that man follows the purpose of reproduction or species conservation, or whether he is required to lead a self-determined life autonomously and to choose a path of life that he considers meaningful. A life appears meaningful when it corresponds to an ideal set of values (see Gerhardt, 1995).

Throughout history in human cultures, many intellectual, philosophical, artistic, religious, or scientific people have taken up these questions and treated them each in their own way, resulting in just as many different and sometimes even contradictory approaches and answers - depending on historical and individual background.