The pursuit of meaning in life
The question of meaning of life is probably the most important question in human existence. It may not be entirely unanswerable, and an attempt can be made to answer this engima by delving deeper into the origins of this question.
The first is the superficial, day-to-day duality of living. We often look back at our activities, such as commuting, studying, working, and running errands, and recognize that most of these actions do not add much to our neuroendocrine system. These activities do not necessarily stimulate us, and often do not feel "worth it," yet we still do them. Sometimes we simply get bored of our routines and then question the point of the entire structure. This is meaninglessness as an emotional fatigue.
The second form is much deeper and far more destabilizing. It asks about the purpose and eventual utility of our actions in the large-scale architecture of existence. On a cosmic scale, anything a single human does appears microscopic. Earth is one planet in a solar system; the sun is one among billions of stars; our galaxy one among billions of galaxies. So when people ask about meaning, they are often asking whether anything they do matters against a backdrop so enormous that their entire life seems statistically irrelevant.
Lastly, one of the most important questions in life is that of the metaphysical paradoxes that shape the interpretation of reality around us. These include, but are not limited to, questions relating to the concept of God, whether universe is intentional or accidental, or even the possibility that we may be living in a simulation, which could in essence mean multiple gods. These paradoxes form the intellectual frame through which our interpreation of reality arises, meaning is evaluated, and therefore, any serious attempt at answering the question must recognize the psychological weight they carry.
When we examine all these scenarios, meaning appears to be the instinct that signals coherence 'across' different dimensions of this game. The most common dimension is that of the scale: to feel meaningful, an action should, on some level, push the boundary of our species or contribute in a way that exceeds our small personal sphere. Something that adds value to the human project, however small, may feel meaningful because it aligns us with a bigger architecture of existence.
Another dimension is psychological stimulation. For anything to be meaningful, it must engage us internally. It must stimulate our neuroendocrine system, and produce the internal utility that allows us to feel mentally alive. We usually acknowldge that there is an external utilitarian significance to most of our pursuits, but there is also an internal biological utility, and both are essential. To JP’s credit, actions feel meaningful when they sit at the edge of our mental boundary between chaos and order, when the brain receives enough uncertainty to grow and enough structure to not collapse.
Philosophical coherence is also an important dimension to our pursuit of meaning. Most intellectually priviledge individuals cannot consider something meaningful unless it also holds up against the major metaphysical paradoxes of our time. If God exists, meaning must align with virtue and divine expectation. However, if there is no God, meaning must be coherent with a godless universe. Similarly, if we are in a simulation, meaning must make sense within a layered or artificial reality. Most of these paradoxes shapes the architecture of meaning differently, and therefore the concept of meaning is bound to become multidimensional.
A common mistake people make is trying to create a definition of meaning that validates everyone. This is impossible and unnecessary. We have to acknowledge that not all humans live meaningful lives. A theory of meaning does not need to flatter anyone or pretend everyone is living such a life. People also often latch onto advice like 'make your bed' as if that itself is meaningful. It isn’t. It’s just a starting point. Order is the one of the first pre-requisites required to build the being that can eventually do something that actually qualifies as meaningful to that being.
Some contemporary lines of thought also asset that small, daily activities such as making coffee or watching Netflix can be meaningful if one simply pays attention to the being. I think it is safe to say that this is a superficial view of things. These activities are meaningful only in the minimal sense that they regulate our neuroendocrine state. When it is suggested that the doubt about one’s existence can evaporate through mere attention to the present moment, I disagree. In my humble opinion, we should calibrate our actions to the possibility that meaning has to be something structurally more coherent with the larger dimensions of existence.
