What is the meaning of life?

Question

litterally, what is the REAL definition of the word life?

Answer 1

The philosophical question "What is the meaning of life?" means different things to different people. The vagueness of the query is inherent in the word "meaning", which opens the question to many interpretations, such as: "What is the origin of life?", "What is the nature of life (and of the universe in which we live)?", "What is the significance of life?", "What is valuable in life?", and "What is the purpose of, or in, (one's) life?". These questions have resulted in a wide range of competing answers and arguments, from scientific theories, to philosophical, theological, and spiritual explanations.

These questions are separate from the scientific issue of the boundary between things with life and inanimate objects.
Popular beliefs
"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives, most in the context "What is the purpose of life?" Here are some of the many potential answers to this perplexing question. The responses are shown to overlap in many ways but may be grouped into the following categories:

Survival and temporal success
...to live every day like it is your last and to do your best at everything that comes before you
...to be always satisfied
...to live, go to school, work, and die
...to participate in natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race
...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future of intelligent life
...to compete or co-operate with others
...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance
...to gain and exercise power
...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
...to eat
...to prepare for death
...to spend life in the pursuit of happiness, maybe not to obtain it, but to pursue it relentlessly.
...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction (alike to participating in evolution)
...to protect and preserve one's kin, clan, or tribe (akin to participating in evolution)
...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially
...to observe the ultimate fate of humanity to the furthest possible extent
...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate
...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means
...to attempt to have many sexual conquests (as in Arthur Schopenhauer's will to procreate)
...to find and take over all free space in this "game" called life
...to seek and find beauty
...to kill or be killed
...No point. Since having a point is a condition of living human consciousness. Animals do not need a point to live or exist. It is more of an affliction of consciousness that there are such things as points, a negative side to evolutionary development for lack of better words.

Wisdom and knowledge
...to master and know everything
...to be without questions, or to keep asking questions
...to expand one's perception of the world
...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers
...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes
...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom
...to understand and be mindful of creation or the cosmos
...to lead the world towards a desired situation
...to satisfy the natural curiosity felt by humans about life

Ethical
...to express compassion
...to follow the "Golden Rule"
...to give and receive love
...to work for justice and freedom
...to live in peace with yourself and each other, and in harmony with our natural environment
...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
...to serve others, or do good deeds

Religious and spiritual
...to find perfect love and a complete expression of one's humanness in a relationship with God
...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
...to become like God, or divine
...to glorify God
...to experience personal justice (i.e. to be rewarded for goodness)
...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. to seek objectivity)
...to be a filter of creation between heaven and hell
...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment, and atonement
...to understand and follow the "Word of God"
...to discover who you are
...to resolve all problems that one faces, or to ignore them and attempt to fully continue life without them, or to detach oneself from all problems faced

Philosophical
...to give life meaning
...to participate in the chain of events which has led from the creation of the universe until its possible end (either freely chosen or determined, this is a subject widely debated amongst philosophers)
...to know the meaning of life
...to achieve self-actualisation
...all possible meanings have some validity
...life in itself has no meaning, for its purpose is an opportunity to create that meaning, therefore:
...to die
...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
...nature taking its course (the wheel of time keeps on turning)
...whatever you see you see, as in "projection makes perception"
...there is no purpose or meaning whatsoever
...life may actually not exist, or may be illusory )
...to contemplate "the meaning of the end of life"

Other
...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")
...to find a purpose, a "reason" for living that hopefully raises the quality of one's experience of life, or even life in general
...to participate in the inevitable increase in entropy of the universe
...to make conformists' lives miserable
...to make life as difficult as possible for others (i.e. to compete)

Answer 2

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. John 14:6
The whole point of our being here on earth is to get to know our Creator, to have fellowship with Him and to glorify Him.
Here are some Bible verses to look up: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:13, John 3:16.

Answer 3

Aaron S did not reference the source of this poem ... so I will. "Desiderata," an inspirational prose poem, first copyrighted in 1927 by Max Ehrmann. If interested, you can read more about this piece at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderata

Wonderful words indeed, but I don't consider this poem as an effort to define the meaning of life ... but, rather, as offering thoughts on how to obtain happiness in life.

To directly answer the asker's question, I think the Westminster Confession comes about as close as possible to a suitable answer. "The chief end of man is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever." (Or was it Webster's definition you were looking for?)

On a humorous note, a recent Strange Brew cartoon pictured a cave-man-looking charactor saying, "Well, I'll be!" The caption: "Man's first thought."

Answer 4

Yes I consider that lifestyles for repeat offenders is well.I imply reason a majority of these murders would were avoided if the killers could have stayed in prison. I can relate to the sufferers households. My buddy was once killed in 1997 and they've no leads.An I recognize in many instances the jury permits them to off however come on if the man or woman killed greater than as soon as you already know hes going to do it once more.

Answer 5

To Love, To Cry, To Feel, To Sing, to Live Your Passions, To Help Others.

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.


With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Answer 6

Life has no synonyms! The explanations come through experiences, through life lived: life well lived suggest substantial meanings, explanations: not so well lived, sometimes may seem 'meaningless', in a misguided manner! Life could be 'energy' (praana!), life could be 'love', life could be 'compassion' (Dalai Lama! Mother Theressa!)....it is beyond definition, really! But, the certain thing about life is, "Life is beautiful"!

Answer 7

Well, I think that the simple definition of life is "to have a cognitive existence" which is a fancy way of saying that you realize you are here. However, don't miss out on life while you're busy trying to figure out what it is!!

Answer 8

I Dont Know.....

I Just Know.......

Life Is Hard, It Is Suffering. The World Is Cursed But Still U Will Find Reasons To Keep Living It.

Answer 9

To treat others the way you want to be treated and to fulfil your goals and achievements for the purpose you were put on this earth for. Everyone have their purpose in life, so find out what it is and do it well. Reap your awards along the way and learn from your mistakes as well.

Answer 10

The answers are as numerous as the sands of the beach.

Procreation, to decimation.

And everything in between

Answer 11

Old English: body, continuance, perseverance. Jesus Said "I am the way the truth and the life."