The Meaning of Life
Don't worry, I'm not going to spout off what I think is the meaning of life (not that I even know). This is more about the actual process of finding the meaning of life, or just thinking about the meaning of life in general. First I should clarify. By the meaning of life, I do not necessarily mean the actual meaning of life, at least not in this post. What I really mean is the questions people ask themselves about life and things in general, such as the meaning of life, or why are we here, or why do we do what we do. I really hope that makes sense, and I realize I'm not clarifying it very well and that there isn't a big difference. I guess I'm trying to say that in this case "what is the meaning of life" refers to any philosophical question.
My fill-in philosophy professor was talking to our class the other day (I know, how unusual) about how she thinks about deep philosophical questions at the weirdest times, such as when she is cleaning her windows and thinks "what is the point of all of this anyway?", not referring to the windows but to life. Most people in my class were a little weirded out that anybody thinks about deep things during their day to day activities and not just in school or because they have to. What I think is that most people begin to question their existence or the point of life, or the meaning in anything, or ask deep philosophical questions when they are bored with their life or have to do mundane things. Most people do not stop in the middle of something exciting, enjoyable, or new and ask what is the point? They just do what they are doing and enjoy it. However, when people have to do things such as homework, or cleaning windows, or they are just sitting in their dorm room on a Tuesday afternoon with nothing to do because they already wrote part of their philosophy paper that isn't due until the following Monday and played at least an hour of computer games, they begin to wonder what is the point of everything that they are doing. I find that a very interesting correlation. Boredom/Mundaneness=Deep Philosophical Questions while Excitement/Things to Do=Action and No Deep Philosophical Questions. Perhaps that itself could be the answer? Find something to do and you have the meaning of life? Hmmm. I doubt it. I think all it means is if you have something to do you just don't have time to ask serious questions. But I could always be wrong....
My fill-in philosophy professor was talking to our class the other day (I know, how unusual) about how she thinks about deep philosophical questions at the weirdest times, such as when she is cleaning her windows and thinks "what is the point of all of this anyway?", not referring to the windows but to life. Most people in my class were a little weirded out that anybody thinks about deep things during their day to day activities and not just in school or because they have to. What I think is that most people begin to question their existence or the point of life, or the meaning in anything, or ask deep philosophical questions when they are bored with their life or have to do mundane things. Most people do not stop in the middle of something exciting, enjoyable, or new and ask what is the point? They just do what they are doing and enjoy it. However, when people have to do things such as homework, or cleaning windows, or they are just sitting in their dorm room on a Tuesday afternoon with nothing to do because they already wrote part of their philosophy paper that isn't due until the following Monday and played at least an hour of computer games, they begin to wonder what is the point of everything that they are doing. I find that a very interesting correlation. Boredom/Mundaneness=Deep Philosophical Questions while Excitement/Things to Do=Action and No Deep Philosophical Questions. Perhaps that itself could be the answer? Find something to do and you have the meaning of life? Hmmm. I doubt it. I think all it means is if you have something to do you just don't have time to ask serious questions. But I could always be wrong....
posted by empeterson @ 3:40 PM
2 Comments:
At 4:26 PM ,
Matthew B. Novak said...
I think there are certainly those who ask deep questions at happy moments as well. I think you're right about a correlation, but I'd suggest that it stems more from facing pointlessness than it does from boredom. When we're happy/excited we can easily grasp a point to life (our happiness), even if it is not the point to life. When we're doing activities which seemingly have no point (i.e. mindless computer games) we don't have that point immediately in our grasp. So basically, when happy we fail to do philsophy because we're distracted into seeing a point but when we're bored we aren't distracted into that same false point.
And if we're good philosophers, as we approach understandeing the "meaning of it all" (probably an impossible task), we see that meaning in both happy and sad, bored and excited, pain and pleasure. It should all tie together under the same point.
At 5:22 PM ,
Emily Powell said...
I find more that deep questions hit me when I'm so busy or distracted or whatever that I don't even have time to think about them. But your thing makes sense too. And I think Matt might be on to something about seeing a false meaning sometimes.
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