Essay:The meaning of life

This essay is an original work by Bazer63.
It does not necessarily reflect the views expressed in RationalWiki's Mission Statement, but we welcome discussion of a broad range of ideas.
Unless otherwise stated, this is original content, released under CC-BY-SA 3.0 or any later version. See RationalWiki:Copyrights.
Feel free to make comments on the talk page, which will probably be far more interesting, and might reflect a broader range of RationalWiki editors' thoughts.

The meaning of life. The thing that has stumped philosophers for millennia. So what is it. We will look at a few examples, then decide. It must be kept in mind that not all of them are incompatible.

Popular culture[edit]

42[edit]

Yep, we've started off with the thing in Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, 42. While it's a funny joke, I'm going to debunk it here and now. Why 42? Saying that a computer calculated it based on nothing. I could calculate the ratio of the length of a knife to the number of letters in the alphabet with the same amount of credibility.

Genuine Theories=[edit]

To serve God/Allah/FSM/[insert god here][edit]

This can be achieved in a number of ways. It could be 'good works in the name of [insert god/s here],' worshiping their god/s or 'spreading the faith.' This one is a problem because god (almost certainly) doesn't exist.

To do good[edit]

This one means trying to influence the world around you in a positive way. This one is a problem as morality is subjective.

There is none/Life is what you make it[edit]

This one says that there is no meaning of life, and you can decide what you can do with it. This one bears in mind the uniqueness of every individual, and the freedom to make choices.

To live life to it's fullest[edit]

I.e. Explore, run round, do good, try out new things, find stuff out, find out what you want to do with life, YOLO.

To learn[edit]

Basically, the more you know when you die, the better.

To fulfill your dreams[edit]

I.e. If you want to do something, don't stop till you do it.

Conclusion[edit]

I believe that life is what you make it. There is no 'right way' to live your life. There is such a vast range of personalities and backgrounds, that no one way to live your life can be right for everyone. So just go out there, live your life, explore life, and find a path that you enjoy.