Meaning of life Essay -- essays research papers

The True Meaning of Life What is the meaning of life? Well known Greek philosphers such as Socrates and Plato believed that our purpose in this life was to gain knowledge in preparation for the next life. Other Philosophers such as Epicurus believed that pleasure is the main goal in life. After giving these ideas lots of thought, I have come to my own conclusion that the true meaning of life is far more complex than either of these; far too complex for any human to fully comprehend. In fact these two different philosophies are only part of the grand picture. If it were that easy for men to figure out our lives wouldn't be so messed up now. The meaning of life revolves around many different things. I think these things include: self-understanding, development of mind and soul, and an afterlife. According to Epicurus, pleasure was the meaning of life. His ideas of life were completely opposite of Plato. Epicurus, in my opinion was a little bit niave and narrow minded in his view on the subject. He would say that the meaning of likfe was to experience pleasure until the end of your existence. He did not believe in an afterlife or that a person had a soul that lived forever. He just thought when you are gone that's it. I disagree with all of that because I have many religious beliefs from which I derive the meaning of life. One of these beliefs is that there is life after death, and that there is one supreme being of the universe. This goes back to Aristotle's first mover theory. I would however agree that life is a balancing act between pain and pleasure; or good and evil. You can't have one without the other. For every thing in existence there is always something of opposition. Another ancient Greek philosopher was Socrates. Socrates said "the unexamined life is not worth living." I agree with this in a sense that if you can't look back at your life and be proud of your accomplishments, then everything that you ever did was in vain. You have to be able to look at the mistakes you have made and be able to learn from that or you are doomed to repeat those mistakes. Maybe on a deeper level Socrates might have been talking about analyizing the purpose of one's life. This in my opinion is just as important. I feel that in order for me to succeed in life I ha... ... of these different philosophers are not necessarily inaccurate, just incomplete. All peices to a puzzle that I have no way of fully figuring out. Socrates spoke of a higher good to be achieved. Nobody has seemed to accomplish this yet in life. There are so many obstacles that we face as we try to achieve a higher good. Many of these are based in the fact that we are human beings, and because of that are flawed by the ways of our culture. Things such as self-doubt, worry, ignorance, and the values put into our heads since the day we were born all are road blocks on our way to a higher level. Also being human beings makes vulnerable to the ways of the world around us, so it is not easy to block these things out of our lives. In a summary I believe this life to be stage in which we are to develop our minds, bodies, and souls to their highest potential in preparation for the afterlife. A person living by this philosophy would probably become a genius or great thinker. But like Eupic ures, Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato I could only form my own opinions of the subject. There isn't anyway for me to figure out whether I am right or wrong. Only God could ever really know the true meaning.