The Big Question (Part 3-C)

Philosophy: What does it have to say?

We’ve been discussing the question of the meaning or purpose of life. Is there one universal meaning or is life a big empty joke? Several days ago I ran across a blog by Steve Pavlina: Personal Development for Smart People. In it he has a series of posts centering around the same topic. You can read his series by starting at The Meaning of Life: Intro.

In his second article “The Meaning of Life: How Shall We Live.” He introduces Aristotle’s use of the concept of eudaimonia. He points out that eudaimonia is often translated “happiness”, but that the preferred translation is “human flourishing”. I like the preferred translation as it tends to be more in harmony with what we talked about in last Monday’s post: genetics and evolution.

What’s important to realize is that “happiness” is no longer a valuable word to use when it comes to discussions of meaning. Though it truly is an end in itself, it is too often confused with consumption and independence which often lead to self-absorbtion, lonliness, and anything but happiness.

To flourish, on the other hand, is to develop in a healthy or vigorous way. This definition is much more in touch with what genetics and evolution point to in terms of tendencies, as well as what we learned from the history of the Hebrews. As a result, I believe it to be a better definition and end point for our search.

I highly recommend that you take some time and read through Steve’s articles. I find myself in agreement with much of what he says, although, as usual, not with everything. One point I somewhat disagree with is his leap toward making the attempt toward discovering the best possible life. I personally don’t think that question is answerable, nor even necessary. He even points out how difficult this pursuit can be.

Evolution tells us that changes take place incrementally and many are not good and thus discarded. Pursuit of the best might not be an achievable goal, but pursuit of flourishing is. By following Aristotle’s encouragements to study others who are living healthy, vigorous, growing lives and to reflect on what we’ve observed, we can make progress in our own personal evolution and maybe leave the world a better place for having been here.

Picture by flicker user Image Editor under Creative Commons License. Use of this picture does not constitute an endorsement by Image Editor of the ideas in this post.

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