Everyone has their own problem with the meaning of life. The meaning of human life. What is the meaning of human life? The problem of the meaning of human life

ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT UNDER THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

Institute of Management Personnel

Department of Philosophical Sciences

Speciality: Public administration and economics

COURSE WORK

on the topic: The problem of the meaning of life in philosophy

1st year student, group GUE-4

Svyatskaya E. D

Supervisor

professor, candidate of philosophical sciences

Associate Professor Kasperovich G. I

Minsk, 2010

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The meaning of life

1.2 “Ideal types” of a person’s philosophical self-perception

2. Fate and the search for the meaning of life

2.1 Fate and life path

2.2 Search for the meaning of life

3. Freedom and creativity as existential orientations

CONCLUSION

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

The realization that a person lives only once and death is inevitable raises the question of the meaning of life with all its severity. The problem of the meaning of life is important for every person. Nietzsche argued: “If there is a Why to live, any How can be endured,” and he was right.

Of course, many modern philosophers are right when they claim that the choice of the meaning of life depends on many factors - objective and subjective. Objective factors include the socio-economic conditions that have developed in society, the political and legal system functioning in it, the prevailing worldview in it, the prevailing political regime, state of war and peace, etc. Subjective qualities of a person – will, character, prudence, practicality, etc. – also play a significant role in choosing the meaning of life.

A person turns out to be a problem for himself when he asks himself the question about the meaning of his own existence, the boundaries of his being, about his difference from his own kind, from all living beings. Only by problematizing the basics own life, a person truly becomes a person.

The problem of man is not purely theoretical problem, for reflection on which time is found at leisure. This is practical life problem. Finding himself in a critical situation, a person each time “chooses” himself, decides the question of the meaning of his existence. As soon as he stops thinking about this, he ceases to be a person, turns into a thing, freezes within certain boundaries, merges with a certain social role, is forever expelled from the world of free choice. The problem of man as a practical problem has always stood and will stand before each of us: at certain moments in life a person problematizes his existence, determines the meaning of his life, chooses a direction life path.

However, although the person himself always chooses, there is a unique “technique” for a person to problematize his own existence - philosophy. It is philosophy that organizes the “space of choice” by a person for himself; it seems to offer various systems of value coordinates of humanity developed by philosophical thought over the centuries.

Philosophy leaves the final choice of the “image of humanity” to the person himself. Therefore, she cannot dictate to a person what he should be. Philosophy cannot be reduced to the science of existence - to a simple statement of what a person “really” is like. Philosophy as a “technique” for a person’s reflection on himself is a form theoretical knowledge about the possible.

1. The meaning of life and its value: diversity of understanding

1.1 The meaning of life

The meaning of life is related to the question “What to live for?”, and not to the question of how to maintain life. The attitude of a person as a conscious, thinking being towards his life and himself is reflected in the meaning and purpose of his life. The meaning of life is a perceived value to which a person subordinates his life, for the sake of which he sets and strives to achieve life goals.

So what is the meaning of life? This question has always faced philosophers, and the answer to it has been considered from two different positions: from the point of view of an individual person and a person as a representative of humanity.

In the first understanding, the meaning of life is an element of the unique spiritual life of the individual, the fact that he forms himself independently of the prevailing systems in society public values. From these positions it is impossible to talk about a single meaning of life for everyone. Each individual discovers it in his own reflections and, based on his own experience, builds his own hierarchy of values. At the same time, the meaning of life also exists as a phenomenon of consciousness of the human race. His searches are prepared by the long process of human evolution, the development of the reflexive ability of his thinking, and the formation of consciousness.

Religious philosophy has retained the greatest fidelity to the search for the abstract universal meaning of human life. She connects the meaning human life with the contemplation and embodiment of the divine principle in man, the desire for superhuman shrines, communion with the truth and the highest good. The Russian religious philosopher S. Frank believed that the world in itself is meaningless and blind, just as the external life of a person is meaningless. But the human mind is already a breakthrough of meaninglessness. The inner spiritual life of a person, which S. Frank called true being, has meaning. It is accessible only to a soul experiencing anxiety, languor, dissatisfaction, and a “search for meaning.” In order for a person to discover the meaning of life, two conditions are needed: “firstly, the existence of God as the absolute basis for the power of good, reason and eternity, as a guarantee and triumph over the forces of evil, meaninglessness and corruption and, secondly, opportunities for me personally, in my weak and short life, communion with God,” wrote S. Frank.

A person is interested not just in the truth, which would represent the object as it is in itself, but in the meaning of the object for a person, to satisfy his needs. In this regard, a person evaluates the facts of his life according to their significance and implements a value-based attitude towards the world. The specificity of a person lies precisely in his value attitude towards the world. Value is for a person everything that has a certain significance for him, personal or social meaning. We deal with value where we're talking about about dear, holy, preferable, dear, perfect, when we praise and scold, admire and indignant, admit and deny.

All people have values, but not always the same.

The word “value” was already well known to the ancient Greeks.

In antiquity there was no clear understanding of the uniqueness of man in the world. A modern philosopher would say: “Let us clearly define what an idea is as a truth, as a concept, and what an idea is as a value, as an ideal.” But in antiquity they philosophized differently; here truth and value were not strictly separated from each other.

In the philosophy of the Middle Ages, it was believed that man exists in the name of God, and not God for man. We can say that it was about the values of God.

In modern times, philosophers identified reason as main feature person. The all-consuming interest in truth obscured the problem of value. Kant took the decisive step towards it; he “dissolved” truth, beauty and goodness. Truth is dealt with by reason, and value, as Kant’s followers believed, is dealt with by reason, or more precisely, by the rational will. By the twentieth century, all the conditions for the development of the doctrine of value had developed.

Philosophical trends of the twentieth century bring the problem of values to the fore. It is important that in all modern philosophical directions value is understood in the same way, according to at least, in one respect.

There is no value only where a person is indifferent to something, is not interested in the differences between truth and error, beautiful and ugly, good and evil.

Theories of value are theories about the meaning of life: great philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Spinoza and many others had clear ideas about what kind of life is best, and therefore most meaningful.

Among the various value forms of the human psyche vital importance has will, self-regulation by the subject of his activity, manifested as purposefulness, determination, self-control. According to Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, will occupies first place among all values.

In the world of human value orientations, faith, the act of accepting something as a positive value, is of enduring importance. Faith is preceded by doubt, which is translated into faith as a result of philosophical analysis.

M. Scheler put forward five “ideal types” of a person’s philosophical self-perception, which constitute the “space of choice” for oneself, provided by the entire history of philosophy to an individual. Scheler does not associate them simply with stages philosophical thought. All of them have the right to exist in our time, they all resonate in the human soul to this day.

The first “idea of man,” according to Scheler, is the idea of religious faith as the essence of man. True story human soul from this point of view, this is her divine origin, fall and future salvation. Christianity, with its doctrine of Sonship of God, ascribes a “metacosmic” meaning to man, elevating him above nature. But a solid divine foundation human existence conflicts with the earthly form human existence. Hence the feeling of breakdown, the nightmare of original sin, man’s burden with nature, fear of everything earthly.

The second ideal type is the type of homosapiens, man as a bearer of reason. Logos, consciousness, spirit elevate man above all that exists already among the Greeks of the classical period. Man carries within himself a divine active principle, which is not found in the rest of nature. This principle in man is akin to the Divine Logos; it does not change depending on circumstances and eras. These teachings, according to Scheler, could be both theistic (considering God as a perfect personality beyond the world) and pantheistic, dissolving God in the world. Intertwined with the first image of man, this idea takes such hold of mass consciousness, which becomes self-evident, a person begins to treat himself only as a mouthpiece of reason, identical with morality and beauty.

Meaning of life- this is a perceived value to which a person subordinates his life, for the sake of which he sets and strives to achieve life goals.

Meaning of life- an element of the unique spiritual life of an individual, the fact that he forms himself independently of the prevailing systems of social values in society. Each individual discovers it in his own reflections and, based on his own experience, builds his own hierarchy of values. At the same time, the meaning of life also exists as a phenomenon of consciousness of the human race.

Religious philosophy has preserved the abstract universal meaning of human life. It connects the meaning of human life with the contemplation and embodiment of the divine principle in man, the desire for superhuman shrines, and communion with the truth and the highest good.

A person is interested not just in the truth, which would represent the object as it is in itself, but in the meaning of the object for a person, to satisfy his needs. In this regard, a person evaluates the facts of his life according to their significance and implements a value-based attitude towards the world. The specificity of a person lies precisely in his value attitude towards the world. Value is for a person everything that has a certain significance, personal or social meaning for him. We deal with value where we are talking about native, holy, preferable, dear, perfect, when we praise and scold, admire and indignant, admit and deny.

Philosophical trends of the twentieth century bring the problem of values to the fore. It is important that in all modern philosophical movements value is understood in the same way, at least in one respect.

There is no value only where a person is indifferent to something, is not interested in the differences between truth and error, beautiful and ugly, good and evil.

Among the various value forms of the human psyche, the most important is will, self-regulation by the subject of his activities, manifested as purposefulness, determination, and self-control. According to Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, will occupies first place among all values.

9. Human freedom as a philosophical problem. The problem of determinism and free will.

The problem of human freedom - this is one of the main, if not the most basic, problem of philosophy, which largely determines the specifics of philosophical thought in general, its place in the system of spiritual culture, its difficulties and conflicts.

Human freedom is determined by the presence of objective and subjective prerequisites.

Free action is possible only if there are two types of prerequisites. The first is the objective presence of several degrees of freedom, the second is the subjective basis for choice. A person must be able to choose; objective circumstances must allow this. Engels wrote that free will means “nothing more than the ability to make decisions with knowledge of the matter.” The term “knowledge of the matter” precisely captures the subjective preconditions of freedom. They include at least two components: firstly, knowledge of the circumstances or patterns that allow this or that choice, and secondly, value systems, without which this choice is impossible as a conscious action.

Determinism– the doctrine of the universal laws of interconnections of everything that exists.

According to determinism, real natural, generally. and psychological phenomena and processes arise, develop and are destroyed naturally, as a result of the action of certain causes, and are determined by them. To explain a phenomenon is to find its cause. A cause is a phenomenon that gives rise to another phenomenon. Causal connections: direct, indirect, reflection, interaction, information, probabilistic causation.

Let's lie. determinism. Recognizes not only the causal, unambiguous nature of the interaction, but also the probable. characteristics of connections, functional, target, symmetrical, dependencies. Cause-and-effect relationship - as the main form of determination - is a two-way process, with feedback. Necessity and chance are the expressions of the determination of all things. Necessity - defined by internal relationships, follows from the essence of the process under study, what must happen. Accident is not defined by internal relationships; it may happen, or it may not.

Antiquity: freedom as possible and government action on the basis of reason, morality, laws of beauty in spite of blind fate. Christian philosophy: people are endowed with freedom in some world. Enlightenment: freedom - the manifestation of natural laws in accordance with knowledge of them. German.classical.fil-I: freedom-conscious.necessity. 20-21 centuries: freedom is the essence of a person, his generic characteristics (ontological approach): the possibility of knowledge and awareness of his own activities (epistemological approach); the possibility of power and control of other people and circumstances (ethical-psychological approach); the possibility of changing one’s place in the system of society (sociological approach).

Liberty– characteristics of an activity, not determined in relation to the subject by active reasons, committed under conditions of: limited ignorance; choice; lack of power. pressure; at your own request; for self-realization. Freedom as the ability to be a person and the remaining cause of oneself, as self-control, self-sufficiency, self-sufficiency, self-government, self-determination.

Introduction

One of the traditional problems of philosophy is determining a person’s place in life, the meaning of his existence.

The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that the question of the meaning and purpose of life is at the center of social and individual consciousness sane people for many centuries. Questions about the meaning of life have been and are still being asked by people, putting forward competing hypotheses, philosophical, theological And religious explanations. The need to seek, find, understand and experience the meaning of one’s existence among one’s own kind and other creatures is the basis of human spiritual existence. It is important that the problem is not limited to finding the meaning of life; a person still has to realize it 11, p.3.

The purpose of the study is to identify the specifics of the meaning of human life in the 18th–19th centuries, as well as in the conditions global problems modernity (XX century). The presented goal is specified and achieved by solving interrelated research problems, including the following:

provide a definition of the concepts “meaning of life”, “purpose of life”, as well as identify their differences, describe a person’s search for the meaning of life, reflect the relationship between the meaning of life and fate;

consider the understanding of the meaning of life in classical German and modern Western philosophy;

describe the meaning of human existence in the modern world.

The topic of the essay is a priority area that is developing in accordance with modern realities and continues world history philosophy.

According to this work, the problem of the meaning of life has been studied in German classical and modern Western philosophy. Philosophers of the 18th–19th centuries. and XX century did a great job of substantiating their concepts and solving the problem of the meaning of life. Was this essay based on the works of I. Kant? “Foundations of the metaphysics of morality”, G. Hegel? “Phenomenology of Spirit”, I. Fichte? “Facts of consciousness. Appointment of a person. Science”, L. Feuerbach? “Thoughts on Death and Immortality”, “The Essence of Christianity”, M. Heidegger? “Being and Time”, K. Jaspers? "The spiritual situation of the time."

The meaning of life as philosophical problem

The meaning of human life is philosophical reflection on the purpose and purpose of such a human gift as life. Meaning of life? a perceived value to which a person subordinates his life, for the sake of which he sets and strives to achieve the goals he has set, depending on the events and circumstances affecting existence. At the same time, this is a regulatory concept that helps a person live his years with dignity and meaning. Any developed worldview system has its own ideas about what life is and what its meaning is 6, p.3.

The concept of the meaning of life. The purpose of life. Search for the meaning of life. Man's destiny

Meaning of life? philosophical and spiritual problem related to determining the ultimate goal of existence, the purpose of humanity, man as biological species, one of the basic ideological concepts, which has great value for the formation of the spiritual and moral image of the individual.

The question of the meaning of life can also be understood as a subjective assessment of the life lived and the correspondence of the achieved results to the original intentions, as a person’s understanding of the content and direction of his life, his place in the world, as the problem of a person’s influence on surrounding reality and setting by a person goals that go beyond his life. In this case, it is necessary to find answers to the following questions:

“What are life values?”;

“What is the purpose of (someone’s) life?” (or the most general goal of life for a person as such, for a person in general);

“Why (why) should I live?”

Considering this question, one should clearly distinguish between the concepts of “meaning of life” and “purpose of life”. When a person has a goal to become, for example, a doctor, scientist, engineer, then this still does not answer the question that worries him about the meaning of life (in any case, the answer is felt by him only intuitively, in a purely emotional way). A person goes further in his thoughts: why do you need to become a doctor, engineer, scientist? Thus, if the goal indicates what a person strives for, then the meaning of life speaks of the purpose for which he does this.

The goal “sets” the integrity of the activity. If this is the purpose of life, then it determines the integrity of life. For a person who does not have a goal in life, life is not realized as an organic whole in the biosocial, i.e. human sense. “A life without a goal is a man without a head,” says popular wisdom.

Not every person sets a goal in life, but if he does, then the person considers it as a purposeful activity.

In real life, there is a whole tree of goals. The purpose of life is the main or general purpose of life. In addition to it, there are either subordinate, intermediate, or secondary goals.

Subordinate and intermediate goals are goals, the implementation of which opens the way to main goal life, brings us closer to it.

Side or parallel goals are goals that form the entire “cuisine” of life and determine the full harmonious development of a person. In their totality, they are no less important than the main goal of life (for example, the goal of improving health by means physical culture, build a house, various hobbies, hobbies). In some situations, a conflict arises between the main goal of life and secondary goals. This conflict can end either in the victory of the main goal of life or in the victory of secondary goals.

The main goal of life is a goal, the implementation of which justifies the life of a person as a whole, as an individual, a subject standing somewhere on an equal footing with society, aware of his goals as the goals of a person in general or the goals of a particular community of people. In the main goal of life, according to the logic of things, the aspirations of man as an individual and the goals of society merge together.

The problem of determining the purpose of life is close to the problem of choosing a profession. Moreover, the first is, as a rule, a continuation of the second. Chance, necessity, external circumstances, incentives, and internal motivations “participate” in the formation of the purpose of life.

In some cases, it also happens that a person does not stop at choosing one goal in life ( shining example: two lives of A.P. Borodin as a composer and chemist).

If a goal is set, then it becomes a law of activity, a categorical imperative, a necessity to which a person submits his will.

Thus, one can see two sides of conscious life activity: goal-setting (searching for a goal, choosing a goal) and purposefulness (determination, movement towards a goal, or rather, from a goal to a result). Both sides are equally important for a person.

While being aware of the importance of the goal and the goal-setting and determination associated with it, one should not, however, make it absolute. Life in a sense is the unity of purpose and aimlessness, that is, the unity of organization and disorganization, work and rest, tension and relaxation. Aimlessness is realized primarily in the fact that, along with the main goal of life, there are many secondary goals. The search and implementation of a secondary goal (and at the same time a distraction from the main goal) can be interpreted as aimlessness. They say that you can’t work all the time, think about one thing, that you need to be distracted, have fun, relax, relieve tension, and switch to another type of activity. Not by chance modern man pays more and more attention to side activities and hobbies, intuitively realizing that the stress of work, the main goal, the main business of life can simply destroy him.

It must also be borne in mind that a person’s life does not always proceed at the level of goal setting and goal implementation. A person can perform expedient actions, bypassing the stage of goal setting, purely instinctively, unconsciously. For example, the need for rest and sleep can be “realized” in the form of a goal (searching for a place to sleep, etc.) or directly - a person, unnoticed by himself, fell asleep in the subway. Or this example: when a person accidentally touches a hot object with his hand, he pulls it away - this is a completely purposeful action, but there is no goal-setting or conscious desire for a goal.

When does the need for goal setting arise? Probably when there is some kind of obstacle between the need and its satisfaction (not very large, but not very small either) or in order to satisfy the need it is necessary to perform complex indicative actions.

As for the question of finding the meaning of life, is the desire for it common to all people? it is an innate and natural quality inherent in each of us. Often it remains deeply hidden in the subconscious, and it can be difficult for us to explain and clearly formulate what we are actually striving for and what we want to understand. Every person's search for meaning is main force his life, and not by “secondary rationalization” of instinctive drives. When a person’s actions and actions make no sense, this automatically affects the quality of his life itself. The lack of meaning in life or the inability to realize it gives rise to a person’s state of existential vacuum, neurosis associated with apathy, depression and loss of interest in life.

The meaning of life is available to any person, regardless of gender, age, intelligence, education, character, environment and religious beliefs. However, the accumulation of meaning is not a matter of knowledge, but of vocation. It is not a person who asks questions about the meaning of his life, but life that poses this question to him, and a person has to answer it daily and hourly not with words, but with actions. Meaning is not subjective and man does not invent it, but finds it in the world and objective reality. That is why it acts for a person as an imperative that requires its implementation.

The Austrian psychologist W. Frankl introduces the concept of values, which allows us to generalize the possible ways through which a person can make his life meaningful. Firstly, with the help of what we give to life (in the sense of our creative work). Secondly, through what we take from the world (in the sense of experiencing values). And thirdly, thanks to the position we take in relation to fate, which we are not able to change. According to this opinion, three groups of values are distinguished: the values of creativity, the values of experience and the values of attitude.

The realization of the meaning of life is an imperative necessity for a person due to the finiteness, limitation and irreversibility of human existence in the world, the impossibility of postponing something for later, the uniqueness of the opportunities that each specific situation presents to a person. Meaning is unique and specific because it must and can only be realized by man himself and only when he reaches an understanding of what could satisfy his own need for meaning. A person is capable of living and even dying for the sake of saving his ideals and values. Thus, by realizing the meaning of his life, a person thereby realizes himself.

Considering the problem of the meaning of human life, it is necessary to note the totality of all events and circumstances that primarily influence being person, people(fate).

Ideas about the meaning of life are formed in the process of people’s activities and depend on their social status, the content of the problems being solved, lifestyle, worldview, specific historical situation. In favorable conditions, a person can see the meaning of his life in achieving happiness and prosperity. In a hostile environment of existence, life may lose its value and meaning for him.

Man embodied his attempts to distinguish the possible from the impossible, the desired from the actual, the probable from the inevitable in the image of fate.

Human life is the material into which fate embodies its dictates, it is the “empiricity of fate.” The way fate operates and its embodiment in human life can be different.

Fate can act as an absolute predetermination of all events in a person’s life, all his actions: what happened was bound to happen. Or in another way: what happens to you will definitely happen. This is how fate is understood in a fairy tale, where the hero can see in a magic mirror the entire course of his future life.

Fate can also be considered as the main tendency of life, which makes its way through the confusion of chance and the capriciousness of human actions. This form of existence of fate is best manifested in fate as a person’s character.

Incarnated in the image of fate different shapes a person’s experience of the limitations of his freedom. According to the Jewish philosopher M. Buber, “freedom and fate are entrusted to each other and embrace each other...”. You can humbly accept your lot, you can try to deceive fate, openly fight it, and experience it. But all attempts to build your life path as if away from the path of fate usually end in failure. The most basic question of a person’s relationship with fate (the question of the possibility of overcoming it) already contains an assessment of fate as misfortune. Ultimately, all attempts to overcome fate are a rejection of existence, a struggle against non-existence. The complete predetermination of human existence is non-existence: everything that is alien to me, that does not depend on me is not me, not my existence, non-existence. It is no coincidence that the theme of death is inseparable from the theme of fate.

From the point of view of non-existence, all life events turn out to be unimportant, insignificant. The main task of fate-non-existence, opposing man, is? absorb it. Therefore, death is the only significant “fateful” event. What happens in the interval between birth and death (life itself) is unimportant, illusory from the point of view of non-existence. All events are compressed to a non-spatial point on the thread of life.

Having accepted the point of view of “non-existence”, having submitted to fate, a person perceives his life as nothing other than absolute nonsense, where all events are equivalent or have no meaning. In this case, a person’s life path is not illuminated by purpose and highest values. Fate as non-existence deprives existence of meaning. Life as a meaningful and complete whole ceases to exist: this is not the life I conceived, I am not its author.

Only one feeling of unwillingness to submit to fate preserves the line that separates non-existence from being. Hamlet's question itself: to be or not to be, to bow down or to defeat it in confrontation is already a form of affirmation of being.

Does the desire to deceive fate, “playing” with fate imperceptibly change the characteristics of fate itself? she is “humanized.” Man is no longer confronted by fate as a blind and inevitable fate, but by fate as chance. Chance is the “alias of freedom.” You can come to terms with such fate-chance, you can deceive it. A man argues with fate. The feeling of predetermination in this case is lost, the tragic touch in the relationship between a person and his fate disappears. “Can Fortune be kicked like a woman? wrote Machiavelli, ? she is also capricious and capricious.” Finally, the person himself can take on the role of fate-chance. Lermontov called Napoleon “the man of fate”; N. Berdyaev wrote about Lenin as a “man of destiny”. The tragic opposition between being and non-being disappears. Fate turns out to be a material to which a person gives the desired form through his actions. The path of life and fate change places: a person creates his own destiny with his own deeds, with his own hands. A person, through his successful and cunning actions, turns fate-chance into fate as a person’s plan for himself.

This reveals the second main meaning of the concept of fate. Fate is not only the external conditionality of human life, but also the connectedness, completeness of human existence, its “logic.” Fate understood this way is no longer identical to misfortune; it can also be happy.

Fate is not a rudiment of an ancient worldview - it is a necessary element of our spiritual world, a kind of symbol of a person’s relationship with the world. Fate turns out to be an element of our very existence: a person performs certain actions in relation to fate: he fights with it, submits, resigns himself, plays. This is not a fight against fiction, human ideas about fate included in real life, acquire a mode, the quality of reality. Fate symbolizes that aspect of reality that is vital for a person. In other words, a person cannot master such phenomena as death, time, eternity, freedom except in the form of fate. Fate, therefore, is a necessary element of the human “life order”, life world, in which reality is given along with its awareness. This is not the world of a theorist, this is the world of human actions, choices, decisions.

Different ideas about fate - as in inevitable fate, the logic of character, the internal completeness of human existence, a person’s plan for himself - are realized differently in different life worlds.

The life world does not have strict contours, clear and conscious semantic structure; it is a kind of spiritual and material integrity in which the image of the world is not separated from its prototype.

Its main feature is a clear awareness of the goal, and thereby awareness of oneself and one’s needs. The entire natural world of immediate vitality is, as it were, recreated, constructed anew, rationalized. A person's mental gaze turns to himself. As a result, the original, vital needs lose their spontaneity, are corrected, “corrected” and thereby fade away, passed through the crucible of the mind. A second contradiction arises - in the individual's attitude towards himself.

Thus, at first glance, the simple attitude underlying the world of purpose opens up a whole spectrum possible ways existence in this world: from a fanatical desire to achieve a goal that subjugates a person completely, not allowing him to think, stop, or look back, to doubt that has grown to the size of the entire Universe, immersion in an endless search for the foundations of his own life, paralyzing any purposeful activity.

The world of purpose carries within itself the seeds of self-destruction; it is just as dangerous for a person as the world of immediate vitality.

The supposed day of fulfillment of all desires must inevitably turn out to be the day of the disappearance of human individuality, of everything that a person has acquired in the process of moving towards the goal. It is not for nothing that the image of death waiting for a person at the end of his life’s road leading to the fulfillment of desires is so characteristic of European culture. The main condition for defending oneself is the unattainability of the goal, constant movement towards it as an attempt, doomed in advance to failure, to connect the world of human subjectivity and external world. A person is constantly between two necessities, escaping the clutches of fate. The larger the goal, the more destructive its implementation is for a person. Stopping is also death, the collapse of the world, which is based on the activity of moving towards a goal.

It is human nature to seek answers to eternal questions: why did he appear on Earth, what is the meaning of life. The works of philosophers and scientists who lived several millennia BC illuminate the same search, but do not provide a definite answer. Pythagoras believed that you need to learn everything you need to know. Aristotle called for achieving perfection in the work begun.

For some, the meaning of life is family, children or building a career. In today's world the emphasis has shifted to achieving material goods. People set themselves the goal of buying expensive car, build big house, forgetting that real happiness lies in human communication and, to some extent, knowledge of the secrets of existence.

It is important to find a worthy task for which you have the strength to overcome obstacles and difficulties. Interest in the result inspires a person. He takes life into his own hands and enjoys it.

Sages of all times suggested thinking less about everyday life, so as not to envy others and live in harmony with yourself. Ancient Greek philosophers said: “Think positive thoughts.” A positive attitude, doing what you love, and hanging out with friends can make people happy.

The freedom-loving Greeks sincerely believed that the meaning of human life was the search for an activity that brought pleasure and revealed a person’s aspirations.

In the Middle Ages, religion took over the minds of people. Parishioners of temples and churches were convinced of the inevitability of retribution for the sins of earthly life and were offered to humbly serve God, repenting of bad deeds. Important place The sermons focused on the importance of the family and the upbringing of heirs who, from childhood, accepted the basic tenets of the faith.

Only in the 15th century the situation in Europe changed somewhat: arts and crafts developed rapidly, sailors discovered new lands. People again, as in ancient times, sought to understand the world around them and find their place in it.

Philosophers of the 20th century also continued to look for a way out of the impasse into which this or that teaching led them, and tried to figure out what was happening in the world. Nikolai Berdyaev wrote that one must strive for what is higher than man, and that the soul must constantly be active.

The last century brought many upheavals: large-scale wars, the collapse of ideologies, the abandonment of religion and a return to it. People's goals were constantly changing, and the meaning of human life was never found in the philosophy of the 20th century.

Religious views

The three main world religions - Christianity, Islam and Buddhism - have almost identical views on the meaning of people's lives.

Christians suggest finding God and going to him, doing good and helping others. The saints renounced all joys, devoting their strength to serving God and accepting suffering for their beliefs.

Muslims entrust themselves to Allah and strictly follow the commandments of the Koran, the only true ones in their understanding. However, some radical followers of Islam actively preach intolerance towards other religions.

Buddhists strive to live with dignity in order to fall out of the wheel of Samsara, that is, not to be reborn again, but to fall into higher worlds. Religions preach a certain way of life so that in the future people can get rid of suffering, because this, in their opinion, is happiness.

In turn, atheists made an attempt to abandon God, rely only on themselves in all matters and find as many like-minded people as possible, united by a common goal. It could be global construction, the development of new lands or the introduction of innovative technologies.

Atheists despised indifference and passivity towards life. Everyone had to have a goal, share common ideals and strive to make them a reality.

Description of the meaning of life in domestic and foreign literature

IN early XIX century in the works of George Byron ( in the photo on the right), Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov, raised the question of premature “old age of the soul” to which the main characters of their famous novels were subject.

A little later, nihilists appeared who denied the heritage of their ancestors and their achievements. Ivan Turgenev perfectly described the nihilist youth in his book “Fathers and Sons,” showing how superficial boredom and lack of interest in life are.

A person is happy, developing throughout his life's journey. A child learns about the world, a young man craves immediate action, and only in maturity comes comprehension of the actions taken and the chances that were taken or missed.

Leo Tolstoy believed that “you have to struggle, get confused, struggle, make mistakes, start and give up, and start again, and give up again, and always struggle and lose. And calmness is spiritual meanness.”

This is exactly the way of life he led French writer Honore de Balzac. According to contemporaries, he was furious in the manifestation of love and hatred and was distinguished by his enormous capacity for work. His goal was to become famous, and he achieved it brilliantly, putting his own thoughts about the meaning of life into the mouths of the heroes of his novels.

The meaning of life in psychology

Psychology is a science that studies the psychological parameters of a person and their changes under external influence. Its main goal is to achieve understanding inner world personality to give a person the right motivation. Psychology raises the basic questions of existence, allowing you to figure out what is most attractive.

Improvement and self-realization.

Having found something you like, you need to develop your skills and, if necessary, change the areas of their application in order to achieve self-realization in your profession. In this age, this is the main goal of most people. No promotion career ladder they see no meaning in life. That is why a huge number of advanced training courses and various trainings have appeared all over the world. Visits to exclusive clubs, first class flights and dinners in chic restaurants are bonuses that careerists value.

Continuation of life.

Unlike workaholics, people focused on creating a large and strong family work only to support it. Having children and caring for them takes up almost all of their time. The joy and meaning of their existence lies in communicating with family, celebrating memorable dates and the success of family members.

Some people love to travel and become so creative in finding means to travel that they manage not to return home for years.

They maintain pages on the Internet, earn extra money during the seasonal harvest, and find the cheapest air tickets to travel to a new country.

Some people prefer risky sports and spend months perfecting the motor of a boat or motorcycle.

Each one is implemented in its own way. The goal of psychologists is to help find a person’s true aspiration and thus give impetus to the development of his personality.

Other views and opinions

Tibetan philosophy, like Buddhism, supports the point of view of the need to free man from earthly suffering. In their opinion, this can be achieved by understanding the world and oneself.

Epicureans, on the contrary, extol the joys of life and offer to receive them in unlimited quantities. Their teaching denies the existence of the soul after the death of the body, so one should enjoy every day. Tasty food, entertainment, friendship are highly valued by Epicureans. But they do not recognize negative emotions, such as guilt or sadness.

Ancient Indian civilizations called on people to remain part of nature and obey the natural course of life: raise new generations, cultivate fields and engage in crafts. At the same time, the desire for neither wealth nor poverty was not welcomed. Children were to inherit the world as their fathers received it in their time.

Everyone from time to time feels the need to make sure that they are not wasting their lives in vain. How do you understand that a person is on the right path and is not realizing other people’s dreams?

First you need to take a break from the hustle and bustle and make your own wish list. If this is difficult to achieve, it means that the person is mired in a routine without a specific goal. This state of affairs is unacceptable; it leads to weakness and indifference. Great undertakings are unlikely to be realized in this state. A person feels neither happiness nor harmony, because he does not do what his soul strives for.

You should not immediately go to a psychologist to decide on your choice of purpose. Sometimes talking with friends or reminiscing about previous successes and hobbies is enough.

It can be helpful to think about what used to bring you joy. Perhaps it's time to return to a forgotten hobby or a job that had to be changed due to low wages? After all, it was she who made me stay in the office late and proudly tell my friends about current projects.

Material wealth pales in comparison to the chance to enjoy every day you live.

Conclusion

Philosophers, writers and psychologists agree on one thing: the meaning of human life is to find happiness, but there is no single formula for this. It is difficult to be happy alone, so one of the ways to find a good mood is to help your family and friends. Attention to their needs and care will allow you to get rid of selfishness and become more friendly and cordial.

You can find harmony by forgiving others and your own mistakes, giving up maximalism. This will bring peace and balance, and will also allow you to establish excellent relationships with others. Many acquaintances with different interests will share their knowledge and suggest a non-standard solution to a boring problem.

The main thing is not to give in to despondency, to believe in your strength and not to allow destructive thoughts to influence your life.

My name is Julia Jenny Norman, and I am an author of articles and books. I cooperate with the publishing houses "OLMA-PRESS" and "AST", as well as with glossy magazines. Currently helping to promote projects virtual reality. I have European roots, but most I spent my life in Moscow. There are many museums and exhibitions here that charge you with positivity and give inspiration. IN free time I study French medieval dances. I am interested in any information about that era. I offer you articles that can captivate you with a new hobby or simply give you pleasant moments. You need to dream about something beautiful, then it will come true!

The problem of the meaning of human life is key and the most important criterion in the science of philosophy. After all, the life activity of each person and his goals ultimately lead to the search for the meaning of life.

The meaning of life shows a person why all his activities are needed. Each of us also needs to distinguish between concepts such as “ life goal" and "the meaning of life." The meaning of life can be divided into two areas: individual and social. The individual component considers the meaning of life for each person separately. It denotes the degree of moral and material personality. IN social aspect“the meaning of life” should be considered as the significance of an individual for the society in which he lives and develops. It also takes into account the extent to which a person manages to interact with the outside world and achieve his goals in accordance with generally accepted standards. All these components must be present in each of us, they must be interconnected and constantly develop harmoniously.

The problem of the meaning of life and death invariably comes down to one thing - the question eternal life. This problem has been of interest and concern to people for many centuries and millennia. In philosophy, it is customary to distinguish several ideas about immortality:

Scientific presentation. The physical immortality of the human body is discussed here.
Philosophical idea. This is spiritual immortality, which is preserved generation after generation, all that accumulated in different time periods, different eras and in different cultures. The main criterion here is the social ones, which are created and achieved by man for the development of society.
Religious performance. Immortality of the soul.

The problem of finding the meaning of life

Every person, in an attempt to find his own meaning in life, tries to set for himself those guidelines for which he will live. Such goals for an individual can be a career, a family idyll, faith in God, duty to the Motherland, creative development and many other things. You can come to your own meaning in life using the following ways.