Purpose Of Life (Essay Sample)

What is the meaning of life? This question has attracted different views from different scholars and philosophers. What one is supposed to do, the worth of living, how to deal with daily life encounters, and what one is purposed to achieve are some of the few parameters used to explain the meaning of life. Different perspectives and explanations have been brought forward on what society thinks of life's meaning depending on person to person. Although there have been different views on the meaning of life, I believe that there is no singular meaning of life for us all, leading to different views on what is meant by life. The troubles we encounter in life form the suffering part that I think is essential in life complicated by stress that may affect the involved persons. It's tough to explain the meaning of life. As I grew up, my parents usually shared their life experiences and struggles they had been through, which set a basic meaning of what life is. I believe that the meaning of life is based on religion, happiness, achievements, and the ambitions we have in our lives. In this paper, I will address the meaning of life based on some authors' views and link it with my views on what is meant by life.
Phrasing the statement, the meaning of life contradicts the sense that there is only one meaning of life, which is not the case. Understanding the meaning of life is to clarify what life itself is. There is also an expansive range of explanations by different researchers and scholars on what is meant by the word meaning. Based on this argument, defining and understanding the meaning of life relies on how being alive varies from being dead and comparisons made between organic and inorganic matter. In my view, life has four dimensions that can be used in defining the meaning of life. First, daily activities that involve individual human life as the meaning of personal life. Taking humanity as a whole is what I think revolves around the meaning of human existence. The life of all living organisms collectively is also fronted to be the meaning of life based on biological evidence. Lastly, the meaning of life can be viewed as all of space-in-time existence from arguments of meaning it all. Different theories and parameters have been used in explaining the meaning of life. This paper will rely on my views, works by Du Bois and Nietzsche.
Religion has been used for the longest time to explain life's meaning. The relationship between religion and the meaning of life has grown, with many people finding a sense of purpose, physiological support, and understanding of life in religion. The ability to cope with stress and some major suffering events in life is one of the bases of using religion to explain life's meaning. The understanding and dealing with critical life events have been replicated across all religions (Nietzsche, 2008). There are positive and negative religious coping methods linked with explaining the meaning of life. Religion is used as a defence mechanism from these methods by integrating it with challenging life experiences. Religion has shown that life is worth the troubles we encounter. Most religious leaders like Jesus Christ, among others, are portrayed in religious books to have suffered in their lives, and that's what many people believe to date. Super naturalists believe that God's existence gives a purpose to explain the meaning of life. Metaphysical, epistemological, and relational-axiological axes are used by those who believe in supernaturalism in advancing the meaning of life. Most religious people have used God-centred views and soul-centred views. This is what Nietzsche believes in from his works. Nietzsche is also a believer in what religion offers to the meaning of life. Though he is seen to pose several rhetorical questions on the existence of God and how life is linked with God, he believes that life cannot be explained without addressing Godly matters (Nietzsche, 2008). The view from both authors and what I believe in the meaning of life coincide and hence the ability to explain the meaning of life using religion. In this view, I agree with what religion offers as the meaning of life. The sufferings of biblical religious leaders offer a reason for the belief. Du Bois, in his works, is seen to have a view that religion can be used to explain the meaning of life. Using biblical stories of Canaan and Egypt, he is seen as a critic of religion being used to explain the meaning of life (Du Bois, 1903). The pains and sufferings amongst the Negroes make Du Bois question the existence of God and what he has for his people. He seems to doubt the existence of God who is pivotal in explaining the meaning of life.