May 16, 2007
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The meaning of an individual life and death
This topic can be either gloomy or hopeful, depending on your viewpoint.
If an individual is born, lives, and does nothing to influence other people, than her life has meaning only to her, as does her death. There are probably not many individuals who have lived such a benighted life. Almost everyone has had some influence on someone else and to the extent that others are influenced, so is that person's life and death notable.On the other hand, to the individual his life has the meaning and importance he gives it. The scholar who dedicates her life to the understanding of some obscure backwater of knowledge (assuming there are such) or the monk who lives a cloistered and silent life of contemplation still may be quite contented with the meaning they have chosen for their lives.
Even the philosopher who decides life has no meaning at all may be quite pleased and satisfied with his pronouncements and the recognition they have gotten.Is the foregoing correct? Is the meaning of life only what we give it, or is there some independent universal meaning?
Comments (16)
Does a Monk's life not affect others simply because he has no interaction with them? Are there examples in history of Monks whose lives had great purpose despite vows of silence and seclusion?
Gregor Mendel comes to mind right off the top of my head. On further thought, how about all those scriptors (?) who carefully copied manuscripts and so helped preserve the knowledge of Classical antiquity?
I frankly think its a bit a stretch to include negative or potential influence when you are talking about a meaningful life.
Whether life has any intrinsic meaning, independent of that which we assign to it, can be best described as speculative. As far as I can see, life obtains meaning without our assignment of it only if one believes that God has assigned it some meaning. Even then, that meaning is subject to individual belief.
But we do know for certain that we can assign meaning to our lives. If we want meaning in life, it may be best to stick with this certainty - otherwise we'll forever be searching.
"Is the meaning of life only what we give it, or is there some independent universal meaning?"
Without God in the equation, I'd have to say that life only has the meaning we give it. With God in the equation, the meaning and value of life suddenly becomes so much more, wouldn't you agree? That value and meaning will vary with the individual's view of God and His purpose. The ultimate truth about it all will have to wait for God to finally answer the question, since any answer we can possibily offer would only be speculation.
Saint Anthony comes to mind, if I have it right. He was agast at the way Roman society had degenerated and despaired of it. Quite still quite young, he went off into the desert - Eqyptian I think, and became a hermit. Others were attracted to his example, which he may not have meant to give, and followed him out there, accepting his spiritual leadership. In time he set up a list of rules for them. From this developed the monastic system which when Rome was finally conquered by the barbarians and the shadows of the Dark Ages spread, kept learning alive when all around collapsed. People complain of the ignorance of the monks but they were channels of Roman civilisation, however inadequately. All because Anthony despaired and gave up on it. One never knows the results of your actions.
I think it's interesting that so many of us feel we must use God to give meaning to our lives. I think this is sort of a circular argument as we also tend to self-define what God means to us.
Logically, does that not mean that we give meaning to God?
Of course, neither God nor the Universe depends very much on what essence or meaning we give them, or do they?
Actually, I recognized the name "Socrates Cafe" and figured it was you.
Dear Dick,
There is "some independent universal meaning". We just don't know what it is yet. George Bailey, the protagonist of Billy Wilder's ubiquitous Christmas film "It's a Wonderful Life" didn't think he was that important until the angel showed him what life would have been like for others without him.
Life, humanity and total existence is a vast and complcated fabric of moments and memories. Without even bringing "God" into the picture, the cosmos is completely intertwined with everything within and without it. We are all "star stuff" as Carl Sagan so eloquently used to put it. The "gloomy or hopeful" aspect is personal, and we are all personal beings, but sometimes the life we lead, whether or not we know it, bisects and impacts the lives of everyone around us, and perhaps even those in times to come and places far away.
Re: Your entry about cataract surgery. Although the 'interactions" don't work anymore, I wrote an article for my "operations" series on my cataract surgery in 2006.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
"Even the philosopher who decides life has no meaning at all may be quite pleased and satisfied with his pronouncements and the recognition they have gotten."
He gave meaning to the person that discovered/developed Prozac.
ryc: Maybe this paranoid trend is the result of information overload?
Maybe, but I think what's more likely is we overload ourselves on certain kinds of information as a result of paranoia. We start listening to the shriekers and the doomsayers and the negative part of everything, which feeds the fear. Paranoia is an endless cycle.
I think anyone who believes in God thinks that there is an independent universal meaning for our life. If God is there, and God has a plan or a structure for us, then the meaning of our life must be more than what we apply to it.
Do you think that the meaning we apply to our lives influences that independent universal meaning for it?
Does belief in God, as Squeaky suggests, necessarily mean we believe God has a plan or structure for us?
She is probably right to uspect that somehow the meaning we personally give our lives is the primary maning ir has.
I'd say that whatever universals can be said to exist, if universals can be said to exist, give us meaning (with or without god). By our being here and moving around on this earth, we contribute to whatever meaning any one person has for his/her life. Even if it is a monk who goes off in silence and solitude, it is the negation of the rest of us that gives that silence and solitude meaning. As far as I see it, we can't help but have meaning. Is that a satisfying answer to the 'purpose' question? Maybe not, but that's more individual.
I think that the moral side of prostitution is completely different from whether or not it should be legal. I personally don't think it's very moral, but at the same time... I understand why people engage in it.
I am aware that there are other books in the series. I haven't read any, but I plan on it. Have you read any of them? Do you recommend them?
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