Thoughts about life's purpose are not new. Ancient sages shrugged their hands no less than modern thinkers. It was even more difficult for the ancients: no one had ever asked such a question before them. And they had a hard job to do - to create a base for future generations. Now we, the children of capitalism, are also very interested in whether there is a deep meaning in life. And if not, then where and for how much to buy it or assemble it "with your own hands". And since it so happened that simple "quotes with deep meaning" do not satisfy us, let's sit back and arrange a confrontation with philosophers of different generations.
Ancient Greek philosophy
Philosophers of ancient Greece put happiness as the basis of human life. Everyone had their own understanding, but few argued about the "improvement" of the soul. In itself, ancient Greek philosophy is a striving for idealism. Material thingsare recognized as secondary, and the idea, soul and divine plan are put at the basis of life.
Epicurus and the school of hedonism proclaimed pleasure the highest meaning of life. Moreover, pleasure was understood not as rivers with wine and dissolute women, but as a simple absence of discomfort. Life without tears and torment, existence without fear of death. The deep meaning of life according to Epicurus is the bliss of the spirit, which can be achieved by abstracting from pain, anxiety and suffering.
Aristotle considered the highest meaning of existence not so much pleasure as happiness. He believed that happiness is possible even in conditions of discomfort. And even in a person who is tired, afraid and tormented by anxiety, there is a place in the soul for lofty ideas. Happiness, according to Aristotle, is a person following his essence, which consists in thinking, cognition and virtue.
The Cynics raised the idealism of the ancient Greeks to a new stage of development. Private property was considered the root of all the world's evils. If things were common to all, then people would cease to envy each other, to be at enmity and to fight. To live as if you have nothing for your soul, to be a true citizen of the world and to share blessings - this is the virtue of cynics. As you can see, the ideas of communism came to people's minds even before the appearance of the famous manifesto.
Existentialism
With the advent of existentialism, material things gain more weight, but still look in the back of lofty idealism. The deep meaning of life rests within a person, during life and development aspersonality.
The ultimate goal is to fill the "existential void" in the soul, finding your own happiness. As the existentialists say, we are "thrown into this world", but how life goes depends only on our free will and choice. Man builds the world around himself.
Pragmatism
The philosophy of pragmatism has dramatically changed priorities. Now materialism is considered the most important aspect in human life, and lofty thoughts and ideas acquire an additional character. The meaning of the life of a pragmatist is useful. When choosing one or another alternative, only cold calculation is applied. Which option is preferable, more useful, is considered correct.
Often we are talking about material benefits, but spiritual benefits are also implied. Who will be better and who will be worse, what will I get from this. The answers to such questions determine the next steps.
The ultimate goal is to live life with the greatest gain in value. No deep meaning or divine design - just an effective waste of the resources of your own body.
Nihilism
The philosophy of nihilism erased the hierarchy of matter and ideas. Now it's all just denied. It doesn't matter whether it's material things or beautiful lofty thoughts - there's no point in either.
The whole school of nihilism is based on denial. Moral norms, divine commandments and cultures are nothing more than an illusion. You can choose any life path; as the nihilists say: noneaction is not preferable to another. Indeed, what kind of preferences are we talking about if all known selection criteria are simply denied.
And since there are no specific methods, there is no ultimate goal. All life is nothing and there is no higher meaning.
And in the end?
And in the end, a set of opinions. No one promised exact answers. This is a philosophy, people come here only for new questions. Well, if we generalize a little, then in every teaching we see the desire for self-realization. So, here it is - the depth of the human soul. But even here the bird flies out of hand. The implementation is different everywhere: one school will consider some action a virtue, the other will throw a rotten tomato. The only thing left for us ordinary mortals is to sit and reflect. And if suddenly the truth falls on a restless head, we will start jumping for happiness. Though we'll change our minds the next day.
