The Meaning of Life

So, what is the meaning of life?

Well yes, I’m so glad you asked that. Let’s get the tricky questions out of the way first shall we…

According to the Wiki’s, the meaning of life constitutes ‘a philosophical question concerning the purpose and significance of life or existence in general’.

So that’s what the question means. But let’s get some answers here, People! Tell it to me straight.

Let’s try asking ‘why are we here’?

Anyone who’s been watching Brian Cox’s ‘Wonders of the Universe’ will know that it’s a pretty straightforward answer. ‘We’re lucky to be here anyway, and it won’t be for much longer as the whole universe is going to shrivel up and die with all of us in it’. When I say for much longer, I do mean trillions and trillions of years. No need to start panic buying just yet!

That’s a bit maudlin! Can’t we brighten this up a bit.

OK, let’s take the logical positivism take on it. They say “What is the meaning of life… what is the meaning in asking?’’

Now that’s more like it, we’ve got an argument. No wait, they actually do want to answer this, hold on…

‘’A person’s life has meaning (for himself, others) as the life events resulting from his achievements, legacy, family, etc., but, to say that life, itself, has meaning, is a misuse of language, since any note of significance, or of consequence, is relevant only in life (to the living), so rendering the statement erroneous.’’

OK, you’ve lost me a bit there.

So what you’re saying is that it depends who’s watching?

Yes… no…? Not sure either.

This is starting to get a bit like quantum physics. Great video here by the way, which kind of sums up the quantum conundrum. If you don’t know about quantum mechanics, it basically says that, at a quantum level, things start to change when they’re ‘observed’. Yes, that’s right, turn your head away and they start to party. Look back and they’re behaving normally again. Hey, that’s a bit like my kids. Mmnn…

Back to the case in point though. Bertrand Russell once wrote that ‘‘although he found that his distaste for torture was not like his distaste for broccoli, he found no satisfactory, empirical method of proving this’’.

Which kind of puts us back to square one.

Or as Talk Talk would say: ‘’Life’s what you make it’’.