what is the meaning of life?

Question

science

Answer 1

For such a question you will receive many answers; some wise, some earnest and some based on personal experience. The problem is determining which one?

My suggestion to you is that the word "life" and its evolution provides an excellent answer to your question.

The following are my words from my web site www.ucadia.com
See: http://www.ucadia.com/gen_life_definition.htm

++Origin of the word "life"++

The word "life" and its historic meanings have existed in recorded culture for at least fifteen hundred years. The actual word "life" in English can be attributed to the word "lif" used in Old English and Old Saxon meaning- life, body.

The word is linked to the emergence of a religious and social philosophy of European Celtic mythology (around 550AD) that believed human beings possessed a special "quality of life", that vanishes at the point of death. This has often been described as the "essence of life", or the "fifth essence" after fire, water, earth and wind. "Losing" this essence has therefore been historically linked to human death for at least fifteen hundred years.

Prior to this period (550AD), there does not appear to be corresponding words in either Ancient Latin or Greek. This supports the argument that the word lif was created in both a social and religious (metaphysical) context.

++Extending the meaning of life to include “soul”++

It is no surprise then, that the word "lif " was quickly associated with another philosophical belief that all humans possess a special spirit called the "soul".

Philosophers (around 1350AD) speculated that this essence is derived from the presence of the "soul", which at the point of human death leaves the body. The belief of the soul leaving the body at death precedes the concept of the essence of life by at least one thousand years (around 600BC for the first writings on the concept of Soul).

Then around 1650, Renne Descartes published a historical work that for the first time provided a scientific basis for proving that human beings are aware and self aware. It was Descartes that wrote the now famous self aware proof of existence "I think, therefore I am."

++Understanding animals also have “life”++

In the past three to four hundred years, the historical usage of the word "life" has been extended to describe a wider quality which all plants and animals on Earth possess before a the state of death. Interestingly, this broadening of the definition of life has almost a direct correlation to the advancement of science into atomic and biologic areas. Everytime science has proven that more objects in the Universe share similar qualities to humans, the philosophical defintion of life has appeared to widen around ten to twenty years after the discovery.

In the last sixty years, a further attribute to what is "life", has been assigned being the quality of awareness. Therefore, almost all modern interpretations on the meaning of life includes as part of the definition of life a state of "awareness".

++The development of the word "life" and the awakening of humanity++

That humanity fifteen hundred years ago recognized a special quality of being human and classified it as lif is the beginning of an amazing journey that has as its destination-today. That Descartes linked the unique quality of being human "life" as being definable through awareness " I think etc." is equally important.

Since the emergence of the word "life" fifteen hundred years ago, we have seen the growth of the word, to mean that all things in the Universe possess this same special essence, which we can openly define as both awareness and life meaning the same thing.

Therefore, the words life and awareness, life and awareness of matter, life and the Universe are all wholly interchangeable. By the modern "evolved" definition of life- everything in the Universe is very much alive. Only levels of unique self awareness change. Awareness as a whole never dies, only grows.

The meaning of life then is both to truly appreciate the inter-connectedness between all things and that life itself is the most precious state of being human.

That we have reached this expanded definition of life now, at the beginning of the 21st century is a profound philosophical event as significant as any recent scientific discovery or cure for a disease. The awesome importance of humanity culturally permitting the expanded definition of life (that the Universe is alive) is not yet fully comprehended by 20th Century thinking philosophers or religious leaders.

It has literally paved the way to the opening of understanding of what is awareness and Unique Collective Awareness.

Answer 2

The above answers are interesting, but it deserves to be said that this is not a science question, briane. This is not a question that science even hopes to ever answer - it's outside the territory of finding out how the world works.

It is a philosophy question, and will likely never have something considered one right answer, unless it is an answer that is just an openness to other answers, like what's stated above.

Answer 3

Yes I think that life for repeat offenders is good.I mean cause most of these murders could have been prevented if the killers would have stayed in jail. I can relate to the victims families. My friend was killed in 1997 and they have no leads.An I know sometimes the jury lets them off but come on if the guy or girl killed more than once you know hes going to do it again.

Answer 4

The biological imperative of all living things is to reproduce in order to maintain your genetic lineage. If you want to give meaning to that, well, whatever floats your boat. If you mean what does it mean to be alive, there's a list of about 8 or 9 commonalities among all living things--made up of cells, metabolism, use of energy, reproduction, evolution, and so on. If you want the true meaning of your existence, ask the question in philosophy and have a blast.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

I thunk there is no unique and universal meaning of life. Instead, I think that everybody puts his own understanding into "meaning". So the meaning of life is finding one's unique and own meaning: one lives for money, others for respect, the thirds for all the others. This is a quite personal and specific matter and surely depends on the person's system of values.

Answer 7

I don't believe it would be too spammish to endorse some existing answers simultainiously ,if we agree the attainment of perfection is possible and worthy of producing meaning,
it will still be perceived as " an infinitesimal moment of harmony in movement" (Creative Meditation and Multidimensional Consciousness by Lama Govinda p.227 or the quote allready expressed...from p 190 "Life has no meaning in itself,but that we give it")he goes on to recomend we choose to convert it to a divine form instead of a vessel of temporary utility...though the latter requires the former, as Ken Wilbur aptly points out in his new "Integral Spirituality" which builds on his "theory of everything" and has much to say regarding the validity of all former and consequent meanings mastered at each stage and each level !
Erich Jantch on page298 of his "Self-Organizing Universe" says..."Intensity,autonomy, and meaning generally increase in evolution with higher complexity......and may act autocatalytically to generate the conditions of their own increase " Maurice cotterell's new book elucidates the theory of "god increasement" to explain our Purpose for existing ,while stephen Wollinsky embraces Nagarjuna's and Wittgenstein's Neti-Netis which even Charles S. Pierce recognized....."both nothing and something are abstractions of NOTHING and exist in language only" perhaps the meaning is to discover the meaning you are allready projecting...and upon ceaseing that feel the "MEANING" that arises and flow with that for an apparent bit..aLa ."Ganga Ji"
Victor Frankl,Rollo May,Erick Fromm,and Paul Tillich have in many ways "written the book" that seems to me american culture's current take on how mind can make a (good;courageous;authentic;even actualizing) reality.....yes much help from Mazlow,Jung,Rodgers,and Berne..............but far too few of us are using the meaning models generated and shared by Korzybsky,Fuller ,Minsky,Leary and Bateson....if there is one thing I have learned about meaning giving (perhaps a summum Bonum itself) having some is mostly better than getting caught with none so i personally recomend everybody grab lots more multiple types of meaning my most favorite smorgasboard is.."Maps of the Mind" by Charles Hampden Turner and remember to have fun trying to be psycoethically and neurogenetically
balanced while embracing your multidimensional evolving consciousness.....like "manifest destiny" god intends his thought/word to behave like any photon and carry on as a wave in all directions(add a few more each day) and to compassionatly shine when collapsed into a particle upon encountering an observer as you THINK/MEAN yourself to be!

Answer 8

The meaning of life is to feel good about whatever you're doing in your life.
It is to enjoy living and love whatever good or bad it brings.
By the way,
Is that the best question you could ask?

Answer 9

There is no one answer to the "meaning of life". Its how YOU live it. Dont let "life live you". To find the meaning of life depends on what you make of it.

Answer 10

in this context it normally means our present being here on earth, but this may be generalized to include life as a particular type of organization and development characterizing biological organisms, and even more universally as organization and development in general.