The Meaning of Life: Contemporary and Ancient Ideas

The Meaning of Life: Contemporary and Ancient Ideas

The discussion on what makes life worth living includes both contemporary and ancient ideas. I find the contemporary ideas are helpful because they explore the factors that make life worth living subjectively. For instance, in the discussion on the meaning of life by Richard Taylor, Taylor shares his personal opinions by giving examples of how meaning in life is achieved through a series of events. The events are brought out in the example of the life cycles of glow worms, birds, and salmon and how the life cycles create meaning in the creatures’ lives. Taylor argues that salmon, birds, and worms perpetuate life cycles to align with nature and their will (Cloos, 2019). He adds that these life cycles may seem different if the animals’ existence is viewed from within. He concludes that the meaning of life needs to be understood from the inside and is dictated by how people view things and having desires directed toward the right thing rather than focusing on the end product or accomplishments. On the other hand, ancient views of what makes life worth living focus on the end product. For instance, according to Ferrie (2023), ancient Hindu views on what makes life worth living suggest that living a meaningful life includes fulfilling one’s moral obligations and duties. In addition, contemporary views also emphasize people’s responsibilities, values, and actions as guided by religious, cultural, and philosophical traditions. Therefore, the ancient views may not be more helpful in understanding what makes life worth living because of the assumption that meaning is achieved by doing the right thing rather than doing what one requires to do at a given time to achieve a specific goal and happiness.

References

Cloos, C. (2019, December 21). Richard Taylor The Meaning of Life – Is life’s meaning totally subjective? The Philosophical Life. https://christophercloos.com/richard-taylor-the-meaning-of-life/

Ferrie, C. (2023, October 25). The meaning of life, according to Science. Medium. https://csferrie.medium.com/the-meaning-of-life-according-to-science-

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Please answer the question below. Your main post (“create a new thread”) will need to be at least 200 words long.

The focus of Part IX is a consideration of what makes life worth living. Here, we have six ancient views and five contemporary ones. Do you find the contemporary ideas more helpful than the ancient ones? Why or why not? Explain.

The World of Philosophy(an introductory Reader) is the book for this class.