• November 12, 2013

65. Creating Meaning in Life (discussed 30 Nov. 2013 — proposed by Annette)

Humans have a short phys­i­cal exis­tence on a plan­et that will even­tu­al­ly cease to sup­port life at all. In this con­text, what strate­gies should humans use to impart mean­ing to their own lives? Some pos­si­bil­i­ties are list­ed. Which of the­se have you used, and how effec­tive have they been? Are dif­fer­ent approach­es appro­pri­ate to dif­fer­ent stages of life? 

A. Com­pete with oth­er humans (e.g. for sta­tus)
B. Care for oth­er humans (e.g. as a human­i­tar­i­an)
C. Max­i­mize close con­nec­tions with oth­er humans (e.g. with a love part­ner)
D. Max­i­mize pos­i­tive sub­jec­tive expe­ri­ences (e.g. “be hap­py”)
E. Align your­self with what you believe to be a high­er pur­pose (e.g. pol­i­tics)
F. Adhere to a set of rules/standards (e.g. moral pre­cepts)
G. Attempt to cre­ate some­thing that will out­live you (e.g. art) 
H. Invest in the next gen­er­a­tion of humans (e.g. your bio­log­i­cal off­spring)
I. Oth­er approach­es?

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