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Visualizing the Meaning of Life: The Drip Coffee Model
Recently, I found a book by Israeli philosopher Iddo Landau titled How to Find Meaning in an Imperfect World. This is not a self-help book. Instead, it's full of clear ideas on how to think about the meaning of life. Let's take a look. When a judge asks a man, "Why did you beat your wife?"
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Questions about the meaning of life contain assumptions:
- “What’s the meaning of life?” Assumes that there’s a single meaning.
- “Does my life have meaning?” Assumes (or at least hints) at a “yes” or “no” answer.
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Problems of meaning=problems of insufficient value
Those who think life is meaningless feel that there is a gap between their expectations and reality: between the degree of value that life should have and the degree of value that it actually has. - Iddo Landau
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To find meaning in life, we can either:
- Add more value: identify activities that are valuable to us or we can remove activities that reduce value.
- Change our thinking: Perhaps our life already has sources of value, but we just aren’t looking at things in the right way.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
The meaning we're concerned with when we're talking about the meaning of life, is it's 'relevance, significance or value'. Thus, to avoid confusion, a...
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The Meaning Of Meaning
The meaning of life generally means the relevance, significance or value of the same.
The quest for meaning is not a simple one, but a rabbit’s hole of further queries, ma...
Terrestrial Vs Cosmic Meaning
The question of meaning can be applied both to the individual (Terrestrial) and the world (Cosmic).
- Terrestrial meaning tries to offer an answer to the question of the meaning of one’s own life.
- Cosmic meaning delves into life in general, with religious and spiritual dimensions, looking at the macro-view.
"A Meaning" Vs "The Meaning"
- ‘A’ Meaning is the fluid, ever-present and ongoing mechanisms of cognition, behaviour and life-cycles.
- ‘The’ Meaning, on the other hand, is concerned with the integrated reference point inside the individual, helping him or her navigate life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher and writer, and his essay on Self-Reliance talks about the necessity of individualism and avoidance of conformity. While the book seems to be writing for a predominantly male audience, I believe the book speaks to everyone who wants to become a formidable thinker and person.
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In order to not feel alone, we have chosen to conform
We crave solitude but love companionship. It is the cruel paradox of the human experience.
"It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness ...
"It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Philosophers specialize in unpacking hidden complexities, and the concept of the good life is one of those that needs quite a bit of unpacking.
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The Meaning of a Good Life
One of the oldest philosophical questions is the meaning of living well. Philosophers have delved into the hidden complexities of how should one live and what is the concept of the good lif...
Plato And Socrates on Living a Moral Life
- The Greek philosopher Socrates stated that it is better to suffer and die than to be corrupted and use one’s wealth and power in a dishonourable way.
- Plato claimed that being morally good has an inner harmony, while a dishonest, wicked person is always at unease, and in a disharmonious state of being.
Morality and Religions
- Believers Of God, both in east and west, believe that good, pious deeds and intentions are rewarded by God; many people do not receive their reward in this life.
- Hindus believe that Karma will ensure that their good deeds will be rewarded, while evil actions and desires will be punished, either in this life or in future lives.