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The ultimate meaning of human life is not comprehensible by human beings
By John DeVries | February 8, 2008
Through religion, science and philosophy, man has largely come to an agreement on the subject of “the meaning of life”.
What is the general consensus? Please excuse the following oversimplification of quite possibly the least complicated answer, to the most important question known to human existence.
The Human species’ answer - “We don’t know.”
Disconcerting, no?
The Muslims say your purpose is “submission to Allah”. Christians say you are to follow Jesus and serve God’s will. Buddha said we should transcend ourselves to discover out true nature. And an untold number of scientists and philosophers have agreed that the question is basically unanswerable.
Though each of these models suggests one ultimate truth, each one of them is both different, and the same. Consequently, no matter what one you choose to follow, there are a few billion people both alive and dead who disagree with you. As far as I’m concerned, if a few billion folks disagree on something this important, then probably none of them are 100% correct. Paradoxically, they also probably have come upon the closest thing we have to ultimate truth on planet earth.
In his book “Man’s Ultimate Search for Meaning”, Dr. Viktor Frankl presents an analogy for human purpose I find particularly enlightening.
Here is an excerpt from his book. It’s a true story of a suicidal mother and her disabled son admitted to the clinic in his hospital (retold by Frankl).
At the death of her boy she was left alone with another, older son, who was severely handicapped. The poor boy had to be moved around in a wheelchair. his mother rebelled - against her fate. But when she tried to commit suicide together with him, it was the son who prevented her from doing so; he liked living! For him, life had remained meaningful despite the handicap. Why was it not so for his mother? How could her life still have a meaning? And how could we help her to become aware of it? Improvising, I participated in the discussion, and addressing myself to the whole group, I asked the patients whether an ape which was being used to develop poliomyelitis serum, and for this reason punctured again and again, would ever be able to grasp the meaning of its suffering. Unanimously, the group replied that of course it would not; with its limited intelligence, it could not enter into the world of man, i.e., the only world in which the meaning of its suffering would be understandable. Then I pushed forward with the following question: “And what about man? Are you sure that the human world is a terminal point in the evolution of the cosmos? Is it not conceivable that there is still another dimension, a world beyond man’s world; a world in which the question of an ultimate meaning of human suffering would find an answer?”
By combining my knowledge of religion and philosophy, I think it’s safe to say that human beings lack the intelligence to understand their “ultimate” meaning and purpose for existence. If you believe God is that meaning, you are essentially agreeing with me (and I with you). Since you do not know God’s ultimate will, you essentially do not know your own above what you feel God calls you to do.
In short, the ultimate meaning of human life is not comprehensible by humans.
I do believe our souls are immortal and that we will one day understand the nature of our existence. However, just as the ape lacks the intelligence to contemplate the meaning of his suffering, we too lack the intelligence to enter the realm of divinity. Thus, we are rendered uncertain as to the overall purpose of our existence and suffering.
Life Without Meaning
Yet, you can’t ignore your spiritual nature. Whether you fill that void with a specific religion, a cause, or even atheism, pretending that humans do not at all require any type of spiritual understanding and connectedness is naive and will probably be destructive for you to varying degrees.
Your spirituality, your belief in God, others, or ultimate good is largely what guides your actions. If you choose to ignore this dimension of your life, you’ll eventually find that you’re not actually making conscious decisions that lead you towards a more meaningful and purposeful existence. Other peoples’ goals, beliefs and desires will take the place of your lacking ones. As the years pass, your external circumstances will begin to run the show. You’ll simply become whatever your relationships and surroundings dictate. At best, your fears will determine the course of your actions, causing you not to act for the betterment of others, but rather for the preservation of self - a perfect recipe for a pointless, worthless, meaningless, and largely irresponsible life. Not to mention the likely-hood of pessimism, learned helplessness, and depression.
Don’t put yourself in this position. Have a reason. Have a purpose. Live the life you consciously know to be the best that is within you. In the words of Joseph Campbell “Follow your bliss.”
Stop searching
But in light of this realization, I would encourage you to stop searching the limitless infinity of the cosmos for your answer. God, the universe, and the cosmos are asking you what your life is about. You can’t answer humanity’s ultimate question, but you can answer your own.
What is the purpose and meaning behind your life and how should you find it?
The next few paragraphs aren’t intended to reveal the purpose of life to you, but I’m hoping to point you in a more clear direction.
First of all, your life purpose paradoxically exists both outside of you and inside of you. If you ignore either one, you’ll end up with a feeling of incompleteness. Let me explain.
I honestly can’t tell you why, but I do know that the people who feel the most purpose centered in the world are those who live in service to a cause higher than themselves. That could mean giving others spiritual direction, housing the homeless, organizing people’s finances, serving your country, doing God’s will or even taking care of animals. I certainly can’t say what it is for you, but I do know you’re unique and you have something unique to offer the world.
Before you can really begin a search for purpose and meaning, you first need to take some time to identify both your gifts (the things you’re best at) and your beliefs. Without some clarity about you, you’re unlikely to find clarity regarding what you are here for.
The following resources were extremely helpful to me regarding that search
Stevepavlina.com - Meaning of Life series
- Books -
“Life on Purpose” - W. Bradford Swift
“Now Discover your strengths” - Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
“Is your Genius at work?” - Dick Richards
If all else fails, experience your purpose
After you’ve gone through the above resources you may have a very clear answer. If you don’t - chill. Don’t fret about it. Instead of looking for an answer intellectually, start searching through experience. Start living a life that you feel is a close to your purpose as you can possibly get, over time you’ll start to see the answer begin to unfold.
Topics: Life, Meaning, Purpose |