Question Being a non-religious person I do not believe in 'Intelligent design', I am a strong adherent to evolution. Yet I still wonder 'What is the meaning of life'. After much thought and some reading/learning I have come to the conclusion that the meaning of life is to pass one's ('one' being anything alive, plant or animal) genes or DNA along to the next generation thereby renewing the cycle of life. What are your thoughts on this subject? Another question - If my meaning of life is true, do you think that man, with his science, can surpass this meaning and redefine the meaning of life? David D.

Accepted:
October 6, 2005

Comments

Frankly, I've never understood what "the meaning of life" issupposed to mean. It's an odd phrase. I take it that the question issupposed to be what the purpose or point of life is, but that's an oddway to ask the question, and I'm not sure I really understand it then,either. Why think that life, as such, that of plants or animals,bacteria or gnus, has any uniform point or purpose? What differencewould it make if it did or didn't?

I think people who have asked what "the meaning of life" is have wanted some understanding of what they were supposed to be doing with their lives: If we knew what the meaning of life was, the thought is, then we'd have some idea what the goalof life was, and that would give us some sense of what a well-livedlife would consist in. Then we'd have some idea what we ought to bedoing here. The cover of Killing Joke's second album shows a young ladlooking up at the sky and screaming, "What's this for!?" That's thefeeling behind the question.

But note that the real question isjust this one: What ought one to do with one's life? Or simpler still:How ought one to live? (The Greeks were a big fan of that question.)It's just not obvious that there has to be some goal everyoneis supposed to be trying to reach for there to be some sensible answerto the question how one ought to live. But ultimately, of course, thequestion is a personal one: How ought I to live? What do I wish to do with mylife? These are profound questions with which we all have to struggle,and I pity the person who does not struggle with them. Moreover, I verymuch doubt that the theory of evolution has much to tell us about theanswer, and I doubt that intelligent design does, either. And I'm notsurehow much philosophy as practiced today, or for that matter ever, has toteach us here, either. Frankly, when I find myself puzzled or troubledaboutwhat I'm doing with my life, I'm not very likely to turn to Kant oreven to Plato, let alone Frege or Quine! I'm much more likely to turnto fiction, to poetry, orto music. Or to the Bible, but not because I think it will answer my questions for me.

If one understands the question what the meaning of life is in thisway, then I think the answerat which you're arrived is pretty unattractive. Of course, that's nothow you were understanding the question. But then your answer is beside the point, because youweren't answering the question that was actually botheringpeople.