The Thoughts of We

The answer to the seemingly simple question: “what is the meaning of life?” pertains generally to the meaning of life or, more specifically, the meaning of human life. Many other related inquiries include; “Why are we here”, “what is the point of life? “or “what is the meaning of death?”

The answers to these questions are as varied as the number of persons inquiring concerning the same. However, some general answers are available in order to help those who are asked the question not only understand the answers but also make meaning of their own lives. The most basic answer to the first question in regards to meaning of life is that there is no meaning to life that can be objectively measured or scientifically proven. In this type of answer, one is merely offered an umbrella theory, a general idea of what makes life meaningful, and a glimpse of what this theory might be like in its particulars. Another answer that may be given in response to the inquiry “what is the meaning of life?” is that it is primarily meaningless from a subjective perspective, and therefore there is no such thing as objective meaning or truth.

A more subjective answer is that there are objective and falsifiable means by which to study and discover the meaning of life. The means might include scientific research, religious revelation, or even art, literature or music. In any of these ways, the meaning of life is studied from various perspectives and accepted as meaningful when the various perspectives are agreed upon as valid. The more objective answers to the original question of what is the meaning of life tend to reject any and all subjective theories as meaningless or irrelevant, while accepting only those answers that can be scientifically proven or accepted as true.