Meaning of life

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Not to be confused with the Ultimate Question or Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
This article is about the concept of the meaning of life. For the Monty Python film, see Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

The meaning of life is an elusive concept that has been the subject of much philosophical, scientific and theological speculation.[1]
It is often expressed in various related questions:

There are many different approaches and answers to these questions, and the issue is one of continued debate.

Contents

[edit] Philosophy and the meaning of life

Philosophy is concerned with issues like ethics, what constitutes genuine knowledge and proper reasoning. The issue of the meaning of life has a rich tradition of thought in the history of philosophy. For example, philosophers have considered such questions as: "Is the question 'What is the meaning of life?' a meaningful question?";[12] "What does the question 'What is the meaning of life?' mean?";[13] and "If there are no objective values, then is life meaningless?"[14] Some philosophical disciplines have also aimed to develop an understanding of life that explains, regardless of how we came to be here, what we should do now that we are here (such as humanism, which presents a code of conduct - see the ethics of humanism explained below).

[edit] Western philosophy

[edit] Ancient philosophy

[edit] Platonic view of the meaning of life

Plato was one of the earliest and most influential thinkers of Western philosophy, most famous for his realist stance regarding the existence of universals. In the Theory of Forms he asserts that universals do not exist in the way that ordinary physical objects exist, but rather with a sort of ghostly or heavenly mode of existence. He describes the Form of the Good in his dialogue, The Republic, speaking through the character of Socrates. The Idea of the Good is the child or offspring (ekgonos) of the Good, the ideal or perfect nature of goodness, and so an absolute measure of justice.

For Plato the meaning of life is to attain the highest form of knowledge, which is the Idea (or Form) of the Good. It is from this which all things that are good and just gain their usefulness and value. Humans have a duty to pursue the good, but no one can hope to do this successfully without philosophical reasoning.

[edit] Aristotelian view of the meaning of life
Main article: Aristotelian ethics

Aristotle, a student of Plato, was another of the earliest and most influential philosophers. He believed that ethical knowledge is not certain knowledge (like metaphysics and epistemology) but is general knowledge. Because it is not a theoretical discipline, he thought a person had to study in order to become 'good'. Thus if a person were to become virtuous, he could not simply study what virtue is, he had to actually do virtuous activities.

In order to do this, Aristotle had to first establish what was virtuous. He began by determining that everything was done with some goal in mind and that goal is 'good':

Every skill and every inquiry, and similarly, every action and choice of action, is thought to have some good as its object. This is why the good has rightly been defined as the object of all endeavor. (NE 1.1)

But, if action A is done with the goal B, the goal B would also have a goal, goal C. Goal C would also have a goal and this would continue until something stopped the infinite regress. This was the Highest Good, and he said that it must have three characteristics:

  • desirable for its own sake
  • not desirable for the sake of some other good
  • all other ‘goods’ desirable for its sake

Thus for Aristotle, the meaning of life involves achieving eudaemonia, which is usually translated as "happiness," but could also be "well-being" or "flourishing."

What is the highest good in all matters of action? As to the name, there is almost complete agreement; for uneducated and educated alike call it happiness, and make happiness identical with the good life and successful living. They disagree, however, about the meaning of happiness. (NE 1.4)

[edit] Epicurean views of the meaning of life
Main articles: Epicureanism and Hedonism

While the pursuit of pleasure formed the focal point of the philosophy, this was largely directed to the "static pleasures" of minimizing pain, anxiety and suffering.

"When we say...that pleasure is the end and aim, we do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or the pleasures of sensuality, as we are understood to do by some through ignorance, prejudice or wilful misrepresentation. By pleasure we mean the absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul. It is not by an unbroken succession of drinking bouts and of revelry, not by sexual lust, nor the enjoyment of fish and other delicacies of a luxurious table, which produce a pleasant life; it is sober reasoning, searching out the grounds of every choice and avoidance, and banishing those beliefs through which the greatest tumults take possession of the soul."[15]

Epicureanism rejects immortality and mysticism; it believes in the soul, but suggests that the soul is as mortal as the body. Epicurus rejected any possibility of an afterlife, while still contending that one need not fear death:

"Death is nothing to us; for that which is dissolved, is without sensation, and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us."[16]

[edit] Stoic views of the meaning of life

Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason (logos). Stoicism's prime directives are virtue, reason, and natural law. The Stoics did not seek to extinguish emotions, only to avoid emotional troubles by developing clear judgment and inner calm through diligent practice of logic, reflection, and concentration. Stoics believe that to live according to reason and virtue is to live in harmony with the divine order of the universe, which entails the recognition of the common reason and essential value of all people.

The foundation of Stoic ethics is that good lies in the state of the soul itself, and it is exemplified by wisdom and self-control. The meaning of life is to be free of suffering through apatheia (απαθεια) (Greek) or apathy where apathy is understood in the ancient sense — being objective or having "clear judgment" — rather than simple indifference. Another essential aspect of Stoicism involves improving the individual’s spiritual well-being: "Virtue consists in a will which is in agreement with Nature."[17] This principle also applies to the realm of interpersonal relationships; "to be free from anger, envy, and jealousy",[18]

[edit] 19th century philosophy

[edit] Nihilist views of the meaning of life

Nihilism rejects claims to knowledge and truth, and explores the meaning of an existence without knowable truth. Though nihilism tends toward defeatism, one can find strength and reason for celebration in the varied and unique human relationships it explores. From a nihilist point of view, morals are valueless and only hold a place in society as false ideals created by various forces. The characteristic that distinguishes nihilism from other skeptical or relativist philosophies is that, rather than merely insisting that values are subjective or even warrantless, nihilism declares that nothing is of value, as the name implies.

Friedrich Nietzsche characterized nihilism as emptying the world and especially human existence of meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. He also saw nihilism as a natural result of the idea that God is dead, and insisted that it was something to be overcome, by returning meaning to the Earth.[citation needed]

Martin Heidegger described nihilism as the state in which "there is nothing of Being as such",[citation needed] and argued that nihilism rested on the reduction of being to mere value.[citation needed]

[edit] Pragmatist views of the meaning of life

Pragmatism is a school of philosophy which originated in the United States in the late 1800s. Pragmatism is characterized by the insistence on consequences, utility and practicality as vital components of truth. Pragmatism holds that it is only in the struggle of intelligent organisms with the surrounding environment that theories and data acquire significance. Pragmatism does not hold, however, that just anything that is useful or practical should be regarded as true, or anything that helps us to survive merely in the short-term; pragmatists argue that what should be taken as true is that which most contributes to the most human good over the longest course. In practice, this means that for pragmatists, theoretical claims should be tied to verification practices--i.e., that one should be able to make predictions and test them--and that ultimately the needs of humankind should guide the path of human inquiry.

Pragmatic philosophers suggest that rather than a truth about life, we should seek a useful understanding of life. William James argued that truth could be made but not sought.[citation needed] Thus, the meaning of life is a belief about the purpose of life that does not contradict one's experience of a purposeful life. Roughly, this could be applied as: "The meaning of life is those purposes which cause you to value it." To a pragmatist, the meaning of life, your life, can be discovered only through experience.

[edit] 20th century philosophy

[edit] Existentialist views of the meaning of life

Arthur Schopenhauer offered a bleak answer to "what is the meaning of life?" by determining one's life as a reflection of one's will and the will (and thus life) as being an aimless, irrational, and painful drive. He saw salvation, deliverance, or escape from suffering in aesthetic contemplation, sympathy for others, and asceticism.[citation needed] Søren Kierkegaard invented the term "leap of faith" and argued that life is full of absurdity and the individual must make his or her own values in an indifferent world. For Kierkegaard, an individual can have a meaningful life (or at least one free of despair) if the individual relates the self in an unconditional commitment to something finite, and devotes his or her life to the commitment despite the inherent vulnerability of doing so.[citation needed]

[edit] Humanist views of the meaning of life
Main article: Humanism (life stance)

According to humanism the human race came to be by reproducing in a progression of unguided evolution as an integral part of nature, which is self-existing.[19][20] Knowledge does not come from supernatural sources, rather it flows from human observation, experimentation, and rational analysis preferably utilizing the scientific method: the nature of the universe is what we discern it to be.[19] As are "values and realities", which are determined "by means of intelligent inquiry"[19] and "are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience", that is, by critical intelligence.[21][22] "As far as we know, the total personality is [a function] of the biological organism transacting in a social and cultural context."[20]

Humanists believe that human purpose is determined by humans, completely without supernatural influence; it is human personality (in the broadest sense) that is the purpose of a human's life, and this humanism seeks to develop and fulfill:[19] "Humanism affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity."[21] Humanists seek enlightened self-interest and the common good for all people. The happiness of the individual is inextricably linked to the well-being of humanity as a whole, in part because we are social animals which find meaning in relationships, and because cultural progress benefits everybody who lives in that culture.[20][21]

Posthumanism and transhumanism (sometimes used as synonyms) are extensions of humanistic values. Like humanism, they propose that we should seek the advancement of humanity and of all life to the greatest degree feasible, with an emphasis on reconciling the views of Renaissance humanism to correspond more closely to the 21st century's concepts of technoscientific knowledge. These views insist that all living things be granted the basic option to inquire after their own personal or social "meaning(s) of life" (including meanings that human beings are currently incompetent to comprehend) as much as it is physically possible to do so, and no less.[23] They insist that the meaning of life is necessarily indefinite and ambiguous, and should be left to the philosophical inclinations of the individual; however there is a moral imperative common to all intelligent agents to improve their lives.

[edit] Logical positivist views of the meaning of life

Of the meaning of life, Ludwig Wittgenstein and the logical positivists said: expressed in language, the question is meaningless. This is because "meaning of x" is a term in life usually conveying something regarding the consequences of x, or the significance of x, or that which should be noted regarding x, etc. So when "life" is used as "x" in the term "meaning of x", the statement becomes recursive and therefore nonsensical.

In other words, things in a person's life can have meaning (importance), but a meaning of life itself, i.e., apart from those things, can't be discerned. In this context, a person's life is said to have meaning (significance to himself and others) in the form of the events throughout his life and the results of his life in terms of achievements, a legacy, family, etc. But to say that life itself has meaning is a misuse of language, since any note of significance or consequence is relevant only in life (to those living it), rendering the statement erroneous. Bertrand Russell, for example, wrote that although he found it impossible to bring himself to seriously believe that his distaste for torture was similar in nature to his distaste for broccoli, he nonetheless could find no satisfactory empirical method of proving this.[24] He wrote:

“ When we try to be definite as to what we mean when we say that this or that is "the Good," we find ourselves involved in very great difficulties. Bentham's creed that pleasure is the Good roused furious opposition, and was said to be a pig's philosophy. Neither he nor his opponents could advance any argument. In a scientific question, evidence can be adduced on both sides, and in the end, one side is seen to have the better case - or, if this does not happen, the question is left undecided. But in a question as to whether this or that is the ultimate Good, there is no evidence either way; each disputant can only appeal to his own emotions, and employ such rhetorical devices as shall rouse similar emotions in others...Questions as to "values" - that is to say, as to what is good or bad on its own account, independently of its effects - lie outside the domain of science, as the defenders of religion emphatically assert. I think that in this they are right, but I draw the further conclusion, which they do not draw, that questions as to "values" lie wholly outside the domain of knowledge. That is to say, when we assert that this or that has "value," we are giving expression to our own emotions, not to a fact which would still be true if our personal feelings were different. ”

—Bertrand Russell, Science and Ethics, 1961[25]

[edit] Eastern philosophy

For Indian and Islamic philosophical views, please see Religious, spiritual and mystical views of the meaning of life

[edit] Chinese philosophy

[edit] Confucist views of the meaning of life

[edit] Taoist views of the meaning of life

[edit] Persian philosophy

[edit] Zoroastrian views of the meaning of life

[edit] Japanese philosophy

[edit] Korean philosophy

[edit] Scientific approaches to the meaning of life

The primary aim of the scientific approach to the meaning of life is to describe the empirical facts about human existence. Claims that empirical science can shed light on issues such as the meaning of life are highly disputed within the scientific and philosophy-of-science communities, and have been from the very beginning of science. In spite of this, science has provided many theories about the origin of life, in the areas of abiogenesis (for the origins of biological life) and cosmogony (for the origins of the universe). Both of these areas are quite hypothetical; cosmogony because no existing physical model can accurately describe the very early universe (the instant of the Big Bang),[26] and abiogenesis because the environment of the young earth still not accurately known, and even though the conditions and chemical processes that may have been present then have been reproduced in a laboratory, to produce organic molecules, those very conditions are still under debate.[citation needed]

[edit] Origin and nature of life

The exact mechanisms by which life originated on Earth are unknown, but multiple theories have been posited, including the contemporary RNA world hypothesis. Some scientists claim life began on Earth as a primeval soup, while others believe that a more "complete" form of life arrived on our planet through panspermia. The initial mechanisms by which primitive cells were formed notwithstanding, almost all scientific origin theories are contingent upon the evolution of traits through mutation and natural selection.[27] Near the end of the 20th century, equipped with insights from the gene-centered view of evolution, biologists such as George C. Williams, Richard Dawkins and David Haig, to name a few, have suggested that insofar as there may be a primary function to life, it may be the survival of genes; following this approach, success isn't measured in terms of the survival of species, but one level deeper, in terms of the successful replication of genes.

[edit] Significance and value of life

Science may or may not be able to tell us what is most valuable in life in a philosophical sense, but some studies bear on related questions: Researchers in "positive psychology" (and earlier and less rigorously in Humanistic Psychology) study factors that lead to satisfaction in our lives. Social psychology examines factors that lead to infants thriving or failing to thrive, and in other areas of psychology questions of motivation, preference, and what people value. Economists have learned a great deal about what is valued in the marketplace; and sociology examines value at a social level using theoretical constructs such as value theory, norms, anomie, etc.

Author and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, in his Discovery Science video 'The Big Question: Why are we here?', argued that teleology is an illusion and does not exist.

[edit] Religious, spiritual and mystical views of the meaning of life

 Spirituality Portal

[edit] Abrahamic religions

[edit] Christian views of the meaning of life

Christians draw many of their beliefs from the Holy Bible. Christians, and many other Abrahamic religions believe that reaching Heaven in the afterlife is the meaning of life. In order to achieve this one would live their life by Christian values.

The Bible states that that it is God "in whom we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). The notion here is that they respond to a higher authority who will give their lives meaning and provide purpose through a relationship with the divine. The Bible says that to fear God is the beginning of wisdom, and to depart from evil is the beginning of understanding (Job 28:28). Micah 6:8 states, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." The Bible also says, in Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

[edit] Islamic views of the meaning of life

Islam's viewpoint is that God created man for one purpose only and that is to worship God: "I only created jinn and man to worship Me" (Qur'an, 51:56). Worshiping in Islam means to testify to the oneness of God in his lordship, names and attributes. To Muslims, life was created as a test, and how well one performs on this test will determine whether one finds a final home in Jannah (Heaven) or Jahenam (Hell).

The esoteric Muslim view, generally held by Sufis, the universe exists only for God's pleasure. However, because the happiness of God is not dependent on anything temporal,[citation needed] creation works as a grand game with God serving as the principal player and prize.[citation needed]

[edit] Jewish views of the meaning of life

Jews believe the purpose of life is to worship God and to prepare for the world to come, "Olam Haba".

[edit] Dharmic religions

[edit] Hindu views of the meaning of life

Hinduism is an extremely diverse religion. Although some tenets of the faith are accepted by most Hindus, scholars have found it difficult to identify any doctrines with universal acceptance among all denominations.[28] Most Hindus believe that the spirit or soul—the true "self" of every person, called the ātman—is eternal.[29] The purusharthas are the canonical four ends or aims of human life.[30][31][32] These goals are, from lowest to highest importance: Kāma (sensual pleasure or love), Artha (wealth), Dharma (righteousness or morality) and Moksha (liberation from the cycle of reincarnation)

According to the monistic/pantheistic theologies of Hinduism (such as the Advaita Vedanta school), the ātman is ultimately indistinct from Brahman, the supreme spirit. Brahman is described as "The One Without a Second;" hence these schools are called "non-dualist."[33] The goal of life according to the Advaita school is to realize that one's atman (soul) is identical to Brahman, the supreme soul.[34] The Upanishads state that whoever becomes fully aware of the ātman as the innermost core of one's own self, realises their identity with Brahman and thereby reaches Moksha (liberation or freedom)[29][35][36] In these monistic traditions, the notion of lila (literally, "play") suggests that the meaning of life is not a final goal which can be arrived at in time, but rather a sort of game in which every being is unwittingly playing. Although it is pleasurable or fulfilling to 'win' the game of existence (at the end of one's life or at the end of time), the game itself, like music, dance, or sport, creates meaning as it moves through time.[citation needed]

Other Hindu schools, such as the dualist Dvaita Vedanta and other bhakti schools, understand Brahman as a Supreme Being who possesses personality. On these conceptions, the ātman is dependent on Brahman, and the meaning of life is to achieve Moksha through love towards God and on God's grace.[37]

[edit] Buddhist views of the meaning of life

One of the central views in Buddhism is a nondual worldview, in which subject and object are the same, and the sense of doer-ship is illusionary. On this account, the meaning of life is to become enlightened as to the nature and oneness of the universe. According to the scriptures, the Buddha taught that in life there exists Dukkha, which is in essence sorrow/suffering, that is caused by desire and it can be brought to cessation by following the Noble Eightfold Path. This teaching is called the Catvāry Āryasatyāni (Pali: Cattāri Ariyasaccāni), or the "Four Noble Truths".

  1. There is suffering (duhkha)
  2. There is a cause of suffering—craving(trishna)
  3. There is the cessation of suffering(nirvana)
  4. There is a way leading to the cessation of suffering—the Noble Eightfold Path

Theravada Buddhism promotes the concept of Vibhajjavada (Pali), literally "Teaching of Analysis." This doctrine says that insight must come from the aspirant's experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by blind faith; however, the scriptures of the Theravadin tradition also emphasize heeding the advice of the wise, considering such advice and evaluation of one's own experiences to be the two tests by which practices should be judged. The Theravadin goal is liberation (or freedom) from suffering, according to the Four Noble Truths. This is attained in the achievement of Nibbana, or Unbinding which also ends the repeated cycle of birth, old age, sickness and death.

Mahayana Buddhist schools de-emphasize the traditional Theravada ideal of the release from individual Suffering (Dukkha) and attainment of Awakening (Nirvana). In Mahayana, the Buddha is seen as an eternal, immutable, inconceivable, omnipresent being. The fundamental principles of Mahayana doctrine are based around the possibility of universal liberation from suffering for all beings, and the existence of the transcendent Buddha-nature, which is the eternal Buddha essence present, but hidden and unrecognised, in all living beings.

[edit] Sikh views of the meaning of life

[edit] Jain views of the meaning of life

[edit] Mystical views

The view of mysticism varies widely according to how each speaker describes it. In general the view is broadly that life is a happening, an unfolding.

[edit] Popular views about the purpose of life

"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives, most in the context "What is the purpose of life?"[4] Here are some of the life goals people choose, and some of their beliefs on what the purpose of life is:

[edit] ...to survive

[edit] ...to find happiness

[edit] ...to seek wisdom and knowledge

  • ...to end suffering, to create equality, to challenge oppression, to distribute wealth, be generous, to contribute to a community, to help others, be creative and have fun. And to be a true authentic human being and accept and forgive human flaws.[citation needed]


[edit] Humorous and entertainment media treatments

The concept of life having a meaning has often been parodied in popular culture.

Later, in the hopes that his subconscious holds the question, Arthur Dent attempts to guess at the question, and comes up with "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?" Although this equals 54 in base ten, making the question either nonsensical or incorrect, it does equal 42 in base thirteen. After being told this, Douglas Adams replied that even he doesn't "make jokes in base thirteen".[50]
  • At the very end of the film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, we can see Michael Palin being handed an envelope, he opens it, and provides the viewers with the meaning of life: "Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try to be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations."[51]
  • In The Simpsons episode "Homer the Heretic", a representation of God tells Homer what the meaning of life is, but as usual the one who really wanted to know (the viewer) is left disappointed. The dialogue goes as follows:
Homer: God, what's the meaning of life?
God: Homer, I can't tell you that.
Homer: Why not?
God: You'll find out when you die.
Homer: Oh, I can't wait that long.
God: You can't wait 6 months?
Homer: No, tell me now...
God: Oh, OK... The meaning of life is...
At this point, the credits music starts and the show ends. The writer's original idea was that a commercial would come after this scene and before the credits, thus having the commercial interrupt God's explanation to humorous effect.
  • The crew of the Red Dwarf is captured in episode 2 of season 5 by a powerful being called The Inquisitor, a self-repairing simulant who survived until the end of time and, coming to the conclusion that there is no God and no afterlife, decided that the only point of life was to make something of yourself. The Inquisitor then proceeds to put each of the Red Dwarf misfits on trial and forces them to justify their existence. Failure to do so will result in a sentence of being erased from history.
  • Peanuts: Charlie Brown explains he thinks the purpose of life is to make others happy, to which Lucy responds that she doesn't think she is making anyone happy, and—more importantly—no one is making her happy, so someone isn't doing their job.[citation needed]
  • The Alchemist and the movie City Slickers both present a similar theme: the meaning of life is an individual journey to find one's own "path". In this context, the "path", similar to what is defined in Buddhism as the "4th Noble Truth", is best explained simply as the overall way one chooses to lead their life.

[edit] See also

Look up meaning of life in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 Personal life Portal

[edit] What is the origin of life?

[edit] Nature of life (and of the universe in which we live)

[edit] Significance of life

[edit] Value in life

[edit] Purpose of life

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Julian Baggini (September 2004). What's It All About? Philosophy and the Meaning of Life. USA: Granta Books. ISBN 1862076618. 
  2. ^ Robert Nozick (1981). Philosophical Explanations. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674664795. 
  3. ^ Albert Jewell (2003). Ageing, Spirituality and Well-Being. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 184310167X. 
  4. ^ a b c Question of the Month: What Is The Meaning Of Life?. Philosophy Now. Issue 59. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
  5. ^ a b Glenn Yeffeth (2005). The Anthology at the End of the Universe: Leading Science Fiction Authors on Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. BenBella Books, Inc. ISBN 1932100563. 
  6. ^ Ronald F. Thiemann; William Carl Placher (1998). Why Are We Here?: Everyday Questions and the Christian Life. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 1563382369. 
  7. ^ Dennis Marcellino (1996). Why Are We Here?: The Scientific Answer to this Age-old Question (that you don't need to be a scientist to understand). Lighthouse Pub. ISBN 0945272103. 
  8. ^ F. Homer Curtiss (2003). Why Are We Here. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0766138992. 
  9. ^ a b Paul Davies (March 2000). The Fifth Miracle: The Search for the Origin and Meaning of Life. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-86309-X. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  10. ^ Rick Warren (2002). The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?. Zondervan. ISBN 0310255252. 
  11. ^ Puolimatka, Tapio; Airaksinen, Timo (2002). Education and the Meaning of Life (PDF). Philosophy of Education. University of Helsinki. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
  12. ^ Wohlgennant, Rudolph. (1981). "Has the Question about the Meaning of Life any Meaning?" (Chapter 4). In E. Morscher, ed., Philosophie als Wissenschaft.
  13. ^ Richard Taylor (January 1970). Good and Evil. Macmillan Publishing Company, "The Meaning of Life" (Chapter 5). ISBN 0026166909. 
  14. ^ McNaughton, David (August 1988). Moral Vision: An Introduction to Ethics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, "Moral Freedom and the Meaning of Life" (Section 1.5). ISBN 0631159452. 
  15. ^ Epicurus, "Letter to Menoeceus", contained in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book X
  16. ^ Russel, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy, p. 247.
  17. ^ Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. p. 254
  18. ^ Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy. p. 264
  19. ^ a b c d Humanist Manifesto I [1]. American Humanist Association (1933). Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
  20. ^ a b c Humanist Manifesto II [2]. American Humanist Association (1973). Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
  21. ^ a b c Humanist Manifesto III [3]. American Humanist Association (2003). Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
  22. ^ A Secular Humanist Declaration [4]. Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism (now the Council for Secular Humanism) (1980). Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
  23. ^ Nick Bostrom (2005). Transhumanist Values. Oxford University. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.
  24. ^ Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy, New York: Simon and Schuster; London: George Allen and Unwin, 1946
  25. ^ Science and Ethics, Bertrand Russell, 1961
  26. ^ Brian Greene (2004). The Fabric of the Cosmos. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 272. ISBN 0375727205. 
  27. ^ Charles Darwin. (1859). On the Origin of Species.
  28. ^ Weightman 1998, pp. 262–263
  29. ^ a b Monier-Williams 1974, pp. 20–37
  30. ^ For dharma, artha, and kama as "brahmanic householder values" see: Flood (1996), p. 17.
  31. ^ For the Dharma Śāstras as discussing the "four main goals of life" (dharma, artha, kāma, and moksha) see: Hopkins, p. 78.
  32. ^ For definition of the term पुरुष-अर्थ (puruṣa-artha) as "any of the four principal objects of human life, i.e. धर्म, अर्थ, काम, and मोक्ष" see: Apte, p. 626, middle column, compound #1.
  33. ^ & Bhaskarananda 1994
  34. ^ Vivekananda 1987
  35. ^ Werner 1994, p. p37
  36. ^ See also the Vedic statement "ayam ātmā brahma" (This Atman is Brahman).
  37. ^ Werner 1994, p. 7
  38. ^ Lopez, Mike (September 22, 1999). Episode III: Relativism? A Jedi craves not these things. The Michigan Daily. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
  39. ^ Lovatt, Stephen C. (2007). New Skins for Old Wine. Universal Publishers, The Meaning of Life. ISBN 1581129602. 
  40. ^ Raymond Kurzweil; Terry Grossman (2004). Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever [5]. Holtzbrinck Publishers. ISBN 1-57954-954-3. 
  41. ^ Cameron, Donald (2001). The Purpose of Life. Woodhill Publishing. ISBN 0-9540291-0-0. 
  42. ^ Wayne, Larry; Johnson, Grace. Expanding The Oneness. SelfGrowth.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
  43. ^ Nick Lane (2005). Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192804812. 
  44. ^ Kenneth M. Weiss; Anne V. Buchanan (2004). Genetics and the Logic of Evolution. Wiley-IEEE. ISBN 0471238058. 
  45. ^ Jennifer Ackerman (2001). Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity. Houghton Mifflin Books. ISBN 0618219099. 
  46. ^ Boyce Rensberger (1996). Life Itself: Exploring the Realm of the Living Cell. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195125002. 
  47. ^ Lee, Dong Yul; Park, Sung Hee; Uhlemann, Max R.; Patsult, Philip (June 2000). "What Makes You Happy?: A Comparison of Self-reported Criteria of Happiness Between Two Cultures". Social Indicators Research 50 (3): 351-362. doi:10.1023/A:1004647517069. Retrieved on 2007-07-26. 
  48. ^ Social perspectives, ACM Digital Library
  49. ^ Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama (2000). The Meaning of Life: Buddhist Perspectives on Cause and Effect. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861711734. 
  50. ^ Lenoir-Jourdan, Nicole (1998). Douglas Adams Interview. The Digital Village. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.
  51. ^ Terry Burnham (2005). Mean Markets and Lizard Brains: How to Profit from the New Science of Irrationality. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0471716952. 

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