Topics Existence

Question What is the meaning of life? What is the purpose of anything existing? Does existence exist for no apparent logical and answerable reason and therefore does not need an explanation and simply is a product of random, anomalous events, or does existence exist because there is a purpose or reason for me and existence to exist? I tend to think if there is a purpose behind existence there must be something guiding existence because existence has a purpose otherwise why exist at all. Am I alive and self aware and exist because something made me exist or am I the result of a randomness of phenomenon that allowed me to develop the conscious ability to question my existence and therefore find some justification for my existence even though the questioning of existence is pointless in any case? In other words do I and everyone else exist for a reason or is there meant to be no apparent reason for my existence therefore I am allowed free reign to believe I exist for some apparent reason which may or may not be a valid reason because existence does not occur for any specific reason or result except what I decide to make of my existence?

Accepted:
December 20, 2011

Comments

You certainly have asked THE big question! Many religious thinkers do believe that there is a meaning to life and a purpose as well. For a good representation of a broadly Christian point of view (but one that would be satisfying to traditional Jews, Muslims, and some Hindus) you might check out Mark Wynn's book God and Goodness. In this philosophy, you and the cosmos as a whole exist because it is good that you and the cosmos exist; moreover, it is created by an all good God whose purpose for creating was to being about goodness. I personally adopt such a position, but many fellow philosophers do not, either because they simply deny that there is a God or they are suspicious about objective values like goodness. But leaving aside religious concerns, if you simply recognize values like happiness (or flourishing) then you will find yourself among many philosophers (religious and secular) who think that a big part or the meaning of life (its point) is for there to be human flourishing, and going beyond that a flourishing of the whole community or body of living things that make up our planet. Aristotle is a good source on that, and a modern defender of happiness as the meaning of life today is Stewart Goetz.

Some of the things you might want to distinguish in your question: when someone asks for the meaning of life, I suggest two questions are at issue: the person is asking "what exists?" and "what should I value?" The first question is (I think) unavoidable and it has an answer even if no one knows that that answer is. In other words, either there is some kind of God or not, either there is some purpose for the cosmos or not, and so on... The second may lead in two directions. The first is the one I take which is that there really are goods and ills (justice and friendship really should be valued and cruelty and injustice should really be avoided or fought). A second approach is more skeptical and assumes that there are no real objective values. On this account, values might actually simply come down to felt, changing preferences. Then there is also a middle of the road: some things are objectively good and somethings (like whether you choose to have a romantic partner or a lifetime of celebacy --as the great scientist Newton chose and was proud of it).

Good wishes! For another great book on all this, check out Thomas Nagel's short book on what it all means (approximate title).