philosophy of religion
Oscar
As a child, there were many things on my mind. Just as many others, I strove to become a rock star. This seemed unlikely and even silly to most, but to me it was set in stone. I was going to do anything and go through everything to make this become a reality. This was my purpose and everyday was one step closer to the dream. Without this driving force to motivate me, I would have been lost. Many people in today’s world lack this purpose or meaning in their life and it leaves them feeling void. When people claim that their life is meaningless, it is more often than not a result of nothing to look forward to, a feeling of no options and a lack of impact they have on the world.
Since the dawn of time, man has pondered the question of the meaning of life, but if we do not know what this is, are all our lives meaningless? It is these kinds of questions that have lead many to suffer from this void. A feeling of purposelessness can be caused by a variety of things including an excess of ‘Big Picture’ thinking, which can lead to people viewing their actions as insignificant. Also, a lack of motivation can bring about a boring rut in your life. The same routine everyday, dragging on until we pass away. Since we have not found out the universal meaning of human life, we must look at meaning for the individual.
There are countless philosophers who devoted much of their life to solving this problem. Three of the more well know philosophers are Paley, Nietzsche and Tolstoy. Although the three claim to have discovered the meaning of life, they all have differing theories. Paley takes the stance that only a few key things need to be in place for one to have a sense meaning in life. It is simple, “private happiness is our motive, and the will of God our rule”(Stewart 55). You must, first and foremost, follow the will of God and live for him. But, in addition to that, you must also live for yourself and not change in accordance to others opinions.
As a child, there were many things on my mind. Just as many others, I strove to become a rock star. This seemed unlikely and even silly to most, but to me it was set in stone. I was going to do anything and go through everything to make this become a reality. This was my purpose and everyday was one step closer to the dream. Without this driving force to motivate me, I would have been lost. Many people in today’s world lack this purpose or meaning in their life and it leaves them feeling void. When people claim that their life is meaningless, it is more often than not a result of nothing to look forward to, a feeling of no options and a lack of impact they have on the world.
Since the dawn of time, man has pondered the question of the meaning of life, but if we do not know what this is, are all our lives meaningless? It is these kinds of questions that have lead many to suffer from this void. A feeling of purposelessness can be caused by a variety of things including an excess of ‘Big Picture’ thinking, which can lead to people viewing their actions as insignificant. Also, a lack of motivation can bring about a boring rut in your life. The same routine everyday, dragging on until we pass away. Since we have not found out the universal meaning of human life, we must look at meaning for the individual.
There are countless philosophers who devoted much of their life to solving this problem. Three of the more well know philosophers are Paley, Nietzsche and Tolstoy. Although the three claim to have discovered the meaning of life, they all have differing theories. Paley takes the stance that only a few key things need to be in place for one to have a sense meaning in life. It is simple, “private happiness is our motive, and the will of God our rule”(Stewart 55). You must, first and foremost, follow the will of God and live for him. But, in addition to that, you must also live for yourself and not change in accordance to others opinions.