What is the meaning of life?

A question that spans the ages of humanity. What is the meaning of life? People of all ages, cultures and religions have been faced with this question at some point in their existence. For philosophy, this has been an essential question. This is, after all, a subject of deep interest, and the search for an answer brings a host of new questions.

Many people claim that the meaning of life lies in finding one's place in the world, and relate this meaning to personal achievement or satisfaction with relationships. In any case, there is no single answer, and discovery is always an individual journey.

The meaning of life for Viktor Frankl

We will learn about the ideas about the meaning of life developed by neuropsychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who has written extensively on the subject. Follow along.

The book by Viktor Frankl

Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) was an Austrian neuropsychiatrist. He founded a school of psychology known as the "Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy or Logotherapy and Existential Analysis." The focus of this approach is the search for the meaning of life.

Frankl developed his theory from personal experience. From a Jewish family, he was sent, along with his relatives, to the concentration camps during the Holocaust. In 1946, as a survivor of the horrors of Nazism, he published the book "In Search of Meaning", a work in which he examines the reasons for surviving and finding meaning in a world plagued by evil and suffering.

Living with decision

In his book "In Search of Meaning", Viktor Frankl observes that, first of all, people need to make the decision to live in order to find meaning, saying yes to life. Then, from there on, one must choose a path to follow.

In this sense, it is necessary to reach a degree of determination that will guide us in all the moments and challenges we face. When we decide to go in search of something, according to Frankl, we have to believe in ourselves and decide that we will pursue what we want.

This means becoming masters of our own destiny, finding the courage to follow a chosen path.

Clarity of purpose

Viktor Frankl associates the search for meaning with clarity of purpose. That is, seeking meaning in life is what saves us from depression and the feeling that we are living without goals. But to pursue the meaning of life, it is necessary that we have, first of all, clarity of purpose.

Having a purpose means having a why. According to Frankl, people who know the why of their lives endure all the 'hows'. Life purposes are things we can build. It takes focus and determining for ourselves the path we would like to take. This is a good starting point.

Change of attitude

In order to find in oneself a clarity of purpose and begin to make decisions, a person must first go through a process of changing one's attitude. It is important for a person to be aware that he is not able to change all things, however. Accepting what happens to us means making peace with the past.

But we should not be prisoners of it. In this sense, our attitude can transform: from negative reaction to action, with positive effects. Resilience consists of seeking to see possibilities despite bad events, looking for ways out and using the experiences of suffering as learning.

The meaning of life and happiness for thinkers

Below, understand how various thinkers from different eras have approached the question of the meaning of life and the pursuit of happiness. Check it out.

Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) was an American writer and professor of mythology. For him, the meaning of life is something attributed by ourselves, that is, instead of looking for it as something vague and unknown that we do not know very well when we will find it, it is in the very fact of being alive.

In other words, we are the ones responsible for determining our reason for living, our purpose in this existence. According to Campbell, happiness will be found when we insist on living what makes us good, that is, many times we are not happy because we are afraid to pursue what we really want.

Plato

Plato, one of the best known and important Greek philosophers, lived in the 4th century before Christ, in ancient Greece. Happiness, for Plato, is fundamentally related to ethics. Thus, it is not possible to achieve happiness without first perfecting within oneself the virtues, the main ones being justice, wisdom, temperance and courage.

For Pathan, the meaning of life would be the acquisition of happiness, something that can only be achieved through self-improvement, which necessarily involves the pursuit of the common good. The purpose of a person, therefore, from Plato's perspective, is to pursue ethical fulfillment.

Epicurus

Epicurus, a Greek philosopher who lived during the Hellenistic period, believed that happiness is the common purpose of all people. In this sense, we should pursue personal satisfaction in our lives, seeking to abstract our problems and overcome the barriers between us and our joy.

This search focuses on the experience of pleasure, that is, we should find what makes us feel good and get as far away from worries as possible. Thus, the meaning of life, according to Epicurus, would be to try to avoid all non concrete pains, and to bear those of the body, since we cannot always escape them, remembering that everything is fleeting.

Seneca

Seneca was a philosopher belonging to the Stoicism stream, and lived in first century Rome. Seneca's beliefs regarding the search for the meaning of life and happiness are in agreement with the teachings of this philosophical school.

The Stoics sought to base their lives on the virtues and strove to distance themselves from destructive emotions. Thus, for Seneca, happiness could only be found in moral well-being, which consists primarily of the practice of ethics.

Thus, a person's purpose should be to endure hardship, be indifferent to pleasure as much as he can, and be content with enough.

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a German-speaking writer born in what is now the Czech Republic. His view on the meaning of life can be considered tragic or extremely pessimistic. The author wrote that "the meaning of life is that it ends." However, we find a deep philosophical question in this quote.

In Kafka's work, themes such as oppression, punishment and cruelty of the world are used to reflect on a society that is guided by the most complete loss of meaning. This is because, for Kafka, there is no sense in maintaining an unjust system, based on fear and oppression, and happiness can only exist with the absence of fear.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was an influential German philosopher. Nietzsche's thought about happiness is that it is a human construct. That is, for the philosopher, people need desire much more than achievements.

In this way, happiness is seen by Nietzsche as something fragile and impossible to be constant, being touched in only a few moments in life. As for the meaning of life, Nietzsche believed it was necessary to go in search of it, finding for himself well-defined purposes.

Thus, the meaning of life, in his perspective, depended on the desire and will of each person to achieve self-realization.

The meaning of life and eternity for religions

Learn in this section how religions talk about the meaning of life and eternity, addressing similarities in viewpoints. Check it out!

Christianity

Christianity preaches that the meaning of life is in the actions we perform for the good. This means that, for Christians, there is only happiness and meaning in the practice of goodness and justice, and that we should live our earthly experiences aiming at the development of the spirit.

The teachings of Jesus Christ serve as a model for Christians, a spiritual goal to pursue. The eternity of the righteous is the rest and reward for actions performed during the physical life. During the process of spiritual improvement, we should seek repentance and elevate our thoughts to God, turning away from material pleasures.

Judaism

For the followers of Judaism, the meaning of life is contained in the sacred scriptures and can be summarized as the fulfillment and observance of the divine laws.

Thus, knowledge of the teachings recorded in the Torah, for example, coupled with constant reverence for God and acceptance of his will, leads Jews to assume in their lives behaviors based on spiritual values.

In this way, practicing Jews must seek the Divine Presence within themselves. It is through this practice of God's laws that a person secures his place in eternity, which, for Jewish understanding, is immortality in fullness.

Hinduism and Buddhism

For Hinduism, the meaning of life and eternity are deeply intertwined. This is because Hindus believe that human beings fulfill a purpose on earth that leads to the eternal peace of life after death. This purpose passes through stages called desire, liberation, power and moral harmony.

Buddhists believe that the being is destined to Absolute Happiness, something that begins to be achieved in physical life through spiritual improvement, and culminates in an eternity of peace and fullness. The Law of Cause and Effect, therefore, governs the world: we will reap what we sow.

Similarities

All religions in history have dealt with the question of the meaning of life. Similarly, they have all dealt with the theme of eternity, related to the continuity of the spirit, or soul, after death.

For some religions, the spirit must return, in incarnational cycles, in order to achieve the spiritual evolution, heading to perfection. For others, it is the actions in the present physical life that will guarantee the happiness of the soul after death, in eternity.

In any case, there is a consensus among different religious approaches about the need to live a life based on moral values and seek to do good in order to achieve happiness.

Tips for finding the meaning of life

Read on to learn and delve into some valuable tips for finding the meaning of life. It is important to value individuality and discover your preferences. Follow along.

Discover your preferences

There is a consensus around the search for the meaning of life: only those who have a purpose can find it. But to define what the purposes of your life are, it is necessary, first of all, to know yourself. Knowing yourself, of course, goes through discovering your preferences.

In agreement with many philosophers and thinkers who have addressed the subject of the meaning of life, common sense also tells us that we need to find joy in what we enjoy doing. Dedicate yourself, therefore, to finding your pleasures in life, your passions and dreams. Pursuing a purpose is important: to pursue is to live meaningfully.

Valuing individuality

A vitally important aspect of finding the meaning of life is to value individuality. The world, after all, is made up of very diverse people of distinct cultures, particular views and particular experiences. To know ourselves well and be comfortable in our own skin, it is necessary that we dedicate ourselves to self-worth.

Knowing that everyone has a special and particular value, one can follow one's own path, aiming less at comparison with the lives of others and more at one's own characteristics and qualities. In fact, the meaning of life is not universal. It is always a notion adapted to our desires, to what can make us full and satisfied.

Pursue purpose

The search for purpose is a fundamental step to find meaning in life. It is not possible to be happy without purpose. Goals, projects, dreams, desires: when we are willing to trace a path for ourselves, we are outlining a purpose. It is necessary to respect, first of all, our own desire.

Ask yourself what, in your perception of yourself, is missing for you to be happy. For some, it is financial security, for others, it is starting a family. Still others seek to work with what they love most. In fact, more important than achievements, is to have something to pursue, because desire is the fuel of life.

Focus on what works

The search to identify and determine one's purpose in life goes through experience. Mistakes and successes are part of every experience in this earthly existence. Those who want to find a life project, or who wish to discover a meaning for being here, must therefore take a risk.

Experience is a school for us to know what works and what does not work for our personality. Once you have dedicated yourself to a task, project or goal, pay attention to how you felt. If that made you happy and full, if a certain path proved to be pleasant and full of possibilities for you, pursue it.

Pay attention to detail

The meaning of life is something that we can pursue throughout existence, but if we stop to reflect deeply, it can be found in everyday life, even in the simplest things. Paying attention to the details of your experiences on Earth is learning to see how each thing can be full of meaning.

To be healthy, for example, is to have the opportunity to experience countless possibilities of being alive. Going through health problems, on the other hand, can be a school on suffering and overcoming. He who is attentive to what the universe says finds the answers within himself more easily.

General considerations on the meaning of life

In the following, we will address some very important topics for those who wish to know more about the meaning of life and happiness. Learn more!

The pursuit of happiness

One of the greatest questions of humanity is the search for happiness. Much has been written about the human desire to find happiness. There are schools of thought that even question its very existence.

If happiness is a utopia, that is, something idealizable but unattainable, there are also thinkers who propose that the meaning of life is not in finding it, but in pursuing it.

The very path we walk in search of the things that make us feel good and bring joy and personal satisfaction would be, in this perspective, the reason for our existence. Happiness consists in experience, especially in determining purposes for our lives.

We reap what we sow

Some currents of philosophy, as well as some religions, center the question of destiny in something that can be called the Law of Cause and Effect, but also karma. This perspective argues that we will encounter on our path something like a devolution of our actions.

However, it is not only the actions that are at stake in the harvests of life. The thoughts and attitudes that we assume in front of various situations give us indications of what we may find ahead. Thus, seeing our mistakes and the bad things that happen to us can be something to be faced under a learning perspective.

What we consider to be correct

The search for the meaning of life is based on a number of factors. It is important, among them, to know clearly what we want and to work towards achieving the desired goals. However, there are ethical issues that are necessary to reflect on ourselves.

Everything we do has consequences in the universe. Our actions are guided by our personality, but also on what we have been taught, whether by parents, school or by our lived experiences.

There are, however, common values for society, and what we consider to be right should be based on seeking the best for ourselves without harming others.

Personal improvement

The path to happiness inevitably passes through personal improvement. There are people who bet all their chips on material benefits. They seek a life of comfort for themselves, but neglect emotional and spiritual aspects, for example.

Furthermore, the consciousness that disconnects itself from the common well-being, that is, from empathy with the collective, ends in stagnation. Stagnation is the effect of vain satisfactions, those that last a short time and that do not, in fact, fill the soul.

That is why many thinkers focus the meaning of life on personal improvement, and believe that only through the development of humanity itself can we attain happiness.

Happiness must be shared

Almost everyone has read or heard the maxim: happiness is only possible if shared. This is a phrase that guides one to seek, above all, personal development, that is, the improvement of values and perceptions such as empathy. The search for material benefits brings comfort and satisfaction, but the happiness it generates is temporary and without depth.

In the end, people need other people, interactions that involve understanding, affection, recognition. Moreover, in a society full of inequality, those who seek to engage with the common good tend to find greater meaning and fulfillment for their personal journeys.

Desire is more important than satisfaction

There are thinkers who situate the meaning of life in the very search for meaning. Thus, they argue that desire is more important than satisfaction. This is because when we manage to reach an intended goal, or realize a dream, the tendency is that we ask ourselves: and now, what comes after that?

A void can follow that needs new purposes to be filled. Therefore, the human inclination is to keep searching. What transforms a trajectory, from the feeling of being lost to the feeling of being alive for some reason, are the purposes. People need purposes, dreaming is fundamental and accomplishing is a consequence.

Why seek the meaning of life?

A person cannot go through life without purpose. It is common that we abandon a project, that we do not achieve a certain dream, or that our wishes and desires change, being replaced by others.

However, something remains as a great restlessness for most people: we want to know what the meaning of life is. We feel that happiness can only be found when we answer this question.

The meaning of life is not the same for everyone, but there is something in common: it is the search itself that brings us surprises, self-knowledge, sensitivity and wisdom. Perhaps, the meaning of life is exactly to focus on the cultivation, not the harvest.