(2-minute read)
Truth #2 – The Meaning Of Life …
The second truth I’ve learned is that each discipline formally tries to answer the eternal basic question, what is the meaning of life?
If one studies philosophy one is simply considering the ideas created by men and women with the hope of trying to explain the existence, meaning, or purpose of life. Some of these ideas are helpful and some of them are, in the modern vernacular, meh.
That there are so many philosophical ideas out there means that no one has been able to come up with the definitive answer to the questions of life, that no one will ever be able to answer all of those questions, and that each of those philosophies and philosophers have their flaws. If there were one true philosophy, one true theology, proven beyond any reasonable doubt would we not all be following it by now?
But the attempts by the philosophers at finding those answers should not be summarily dismissed as it stands to reason that, despite being flawed, in the end each can and usually does possess some kernels of truth and, therefore, some benefit.
At one time I thought I wanted to be a theologian or philosopher, but my graduate studies quickly disabused me of that notion. The fact that many of the great thinkers went certifiably mad was definitely a red flag. That there were so many different “schools of thought” was another. But I never stopped trying to find the “right” answer to mankind’s common age-old malady, the nagging question of what is the meaning of life?
In 2022, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers, an American far-right anti-government militia, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy for the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capital building in Washington, D.C. In an interview with the BBC, Rhodes ex-wife said this when asked about Rhodes creating the organization;
“He kept saying the reason why he loses his temper, the reason why he’s violent is because he hadn’t found his path in life. So part of me thought, well, maybe this will help fix whatever it is that’s wrong with him.” (emphasis mine)
We all suffer from finding our path in life to one extent or the other. Some suffer greater than others. That “he hadn’t found his path in life” is a common human malady. The purpose of bringing Rhodes’ story up here isn’t to question the merits of a political, penal, or patriarchal system. Rather, what makes this case so different is that while many of us are trying to figure out our own purpose we do so within the confines of the law. Yet, each of us struggle to understand our own meaning of life.
What is the meaning of life and how do “I” fit in to it is at the very heart of the human experience. What I’ve learned is that each of us are not unique in our desire to find out who we are and how we fit into this world. People before us have searched for those answers and people will do so long after we are gone.
Read Understanding Philosophy and Theology: Three Key Insights Pt. 3.
