Good Essay About The Meaning Of Life

The meaning of life

Every individual has their perception and connotation of life that influences and affects most of the choices they make. What each takes to be the composition of life can range from anything to the quest of bliss. That includes what they take bliss to mean and being famous before their peers. The definition of life can be divided into three goals that include that include being in a position to have long term, short and the ultimate goals. The durable goals include the goals such as that of pursuing bliss or living every day to the fullest or striving to transform the life of others. The long lasting goals that an individual sets for himself or herself comprise of petite term goals that eventually help an individual to achieve the lengthy goals. The petite-term goals could mean anything and entails doing something good or graduating from senior school with good grades in order to join the best university. The ultimate goal is that which occurs after the death of an individual. It entails getting to heaven or being remembered for the good things that you achieved while still alive. The ultimate goal of an individual usually relates to the long lasting goal, for instance if an individual wants to go heaven, their long lasting goal must be to adhere to the rules stated in the Bible (Ambrosio, 2009).
As every individual, I have a couple of goals that includes a set of long term, short and final goals that sums up my definition of life. Since I am a student, my petite-term goals include progressing from school with the best grades in order to join the best university in the country. While these goals do not represent my gist of life, they help me to achieve what I believe to be the gist of life. My lengthy-term goal as a student is to save the lives of other people and bring an impact to our society. I will not do this to gain fame or recognition from my peers but to gain satisfaction. By influencing the society, I would be satisfied that I contributed to changing something in the world. I would not consider an insignificant group of people to give the gift of life but instead I will focus on influencing the majority in the society.
The gist of life according to me also entails the ultimate goal. My ultimate goal is not to be reminisced individually by the people but for what I did so as to brand the world a better place to live. An instance of transformation would be to support in curing the patients who have serious ailments to revolutionize the technological world by coming up with new technology that makes the life’s of people on earth better. While such includes tawdry transformations that lead to an expressive lifespan there are some things I will also do to influence the life of the majority of people on earth. I will also indulge in discreet actions in order to help a large group of people just as Alan Turing did. Alan Turing was a cryptographer and mathematician who during the Second World War created many techniques for unlocking the German codes. In 1952, he was condemned for acts of homosexuality. Alan later committed suicide. Alan was not remembered by the people and did not have a splendid life although he still had an expressive life.

Module 2

The heroic citizenship illustrated in the Plato’s account of the trial of Socrates serves as the basis for Plato’s development of the figure of the philosopher-king in the Republic. The probationary and events surrounding the killing of Socrates in Athens puzzles many people. Many people ask questions as to why a society with more sovereignty and egalitarianism than any other place in the world would put an old philosopher to death only because of his teachings. Socrates born during the era in which in the rise to power of the Pericles brought on the dawning of “Golden Age of Greece” was somewhat different to his peers. When Socrates visualized a vital shift of power as Pericles, termed as the first copious office-bearer acted on the credence that the people deserved liberty. Growing into an adult Socrates saw the importance of laissez-faire and equality and developed a set of tenets and dogmas that later led to disagreements between him and his fellow Athenians. He was not an egalitarian or democrat but believed that the masses were not to be self-governed as they behaved like a flock of sheep that wanted a prudent shepherd to guard. Socrates denied that the citizens had the basic virtue to cherish a virtuous people instead, comparing virtue with acquaintance unachievable by the average people. The nature exhibited by Socrates by discussing moral issues in the public places especially in the market places shows the meaningful life. According to Socrates, he was accused of being an accomplished speaker and saying the truth that the authorities never wanted. The transformation of the ideal of heroic citizenship in the late stoicism, moving from the microcosm of the Greek polis to the macrocosm of the Roman dominion is exhibited through the life of Socrates (Ambrosio, 2009).

Module 3

The second idea of the saint through the person of Abraham gives us the gist of life. Abraham was a servant of the Lord who for a long time never had any child since the wife was barren. Abraham later engages in a sexual relationship with one of the servants known as Hagar and gets a son by the name Ishmael. It is an idea of mystery as presented in the Word of God since the Lord was able to make the barren wife have kids and not allow Abraham to have any relationship with the servant. As portrayed, Abraham is the first saint due to the trust he had in the promises that were set to him by the Lord. The promises made to Abraham offers a hope of fulfillment in life that the saint perceives only comes as a form of a gift. God called Abraham and made a covenant with him. During the covenant, Abraham was promised many things such as he will have a son, his descendants shall be great, and one of his descendants shall be a king and will finally save the earth. Abraham saw the gist of life after the promises were made to him as the wife had a son while she had grown old and had reached the menopause period. God later tempted Abraham to sacrifice his only son that he obeyed since he was a saint. Abraham believed that the Lord had promised him that his descendants will be great and because of that; he offered to sacrifice his only son Isaac despite getting the child after many difficulties in his old age. Because of his meaningful life Abraham became the archetype of followers of the creeds of the book such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The religions emerged from Abraham, and he had great descendants despite having a child at old age. The savior of the Universe, Jesus Christ was a descendant of Abraham, and this only happened because of the meaningful life that he led. Jesus came to save the world and provided a profound transformation in a new covenant, one of love expressed as the forgiveness of sin revealed in the resurrection. Jesus later converted people and individuals such as Saul changed because of the preaching of Jesus Christ. The manner in which Abraham lived his life gives the true definition of the gift of life as he had some of the goals to achieve which he managed to achieve although after a long period. Since Abraham is the paradigm in the origin of today’s religion, they present some gift of life. In Judaism, the gist of life simply involves elevating the physical world and preparing it for the world that would come. Christianity that shares much of its root with Judaism states the gist of life is to search for divine salvation through the grace of the Lord. In Islam, the ultimate objective of a man is to worship Allah (Ambrosio, 2009).

Module 4

The objectives and the goals of an individual give the gift of life to that individual. The lives of St. Francis of Assisi and Dante and the manner in which they showed the power of love showed their gift of life. Love is significant in the society as it influences a large number of people. The less fortunate and the abandoned individuals need to be showed love in the society. Francis showed love to many people and had the objective of turning the lives of people to Christianity. Both the non-Catholics and the Catholics honor Saint Francis because of the manner in which he treated them with lots of love. Francis had the goal of turning the lives of the people, and he preached to the peasants after which he helped them in the fields. The lives of St. Francis of Assisi and Dante combine the ideals of courtly love and Christian humanism and by doing so they blend the ideas of a hero and a saint. As a hero, they were driven towards self-fulfillment in what they believed was right and their saint’s urge to love the other came into tension in the agony and the ecstasy of Michelangelo. Based Soren Kierkegaard argument, life is full of absurdity, and every individual must make their values in an indifferent world just as St. Francis did.

Module 5

One of the crucial elements of Marx’s edifice is the fight for human emancipation. The ideologies of Karl Marx are understood against the background of enlightenment that stated the world is objectively understood by naturally observing mind that acts as the gateway to liberating the spirit. According to Marx, ideas are not independent but rather a product that is dependent on some of the material matters that include economic and social structures. The goals of a life define the gist of life to an individual. According to Karl Marx, what differentiates animals and human beings are that man is the only species that has to engage in a manufacturing process in order to survive. According to Karl Marx, manufacturing in order to survive is the basic function of human beings. Marx states that every society in history is organized according to the available means of production in order to determine the relations of production. The relations of production in a given society form the economic base. At the top of each of the economic base exists a superstructure that is a veil pulled over at the economic base in order to prevent the people from visualizing the inherent injustice. Based on Marx’s perception, ideology is used in the public to sway the people that the existing state of production is natural while they are people who benefit unjustly from that. According to Marx, the word ideology simply means, “fabricated consciousness". Based on the ideologies of Karl Marx meaningful life is that in which human beings engage in a production process.

Module 6

Jean Paul and Simone de Beauvoir were free thinkers in France who contributed in influencing the way in which the world views the notion of the self and its relation to personal freedom. They together contributed in influencing the way in which we perceive relationships and commitments. According to Jean Paul, “existence precedes and commands essence”. The quote as stated by Jean Paul is viewed as the base for the reality of existentialism. I subsist as a human being and therefore in my existence I define myself. The philosophy of existentialism is understood by the liberty of personal choice and individualism especially among the youths. Existentialism is significant as it helps an individual realize the potential in them, but the problem is that it leaves us without outright basics. Existentialism encourages the individual sense of self and, therefore, gives us too much of fancy and how we decide to live. Giving a person the control to pick what they perceive as the best may make them make mistakes without realizing. Satre endured some period of his life as an inmate of war and spent most of this time on developing theories. Simone just as Satre shaped the post-war thoughts of the people in France and the world and by that, they had an impact on some group of people thus leaving a meaningful life.

Module 7

Mother Teresa is a secular saint based on the manner in which she led a life in a meaningful way. The set goals or objectives help an individual to accomplish their gift of life. Many people also argue as to whether religious belief is important especially in the society. Most of such arguments miss important points as people always view religion with some acts of charity or morality. The life of Mother Teresa clearly depicts that such arguments are outdated as she helped many people and had an impact on the life of many individuals without religion. In her last days when helping the less fortunate in the society in Calcutta slums, Mother Teresa questioned where her faith was.
The person of Mother Teresa gives the perfect description of a meaningful life having achieved her short, long, and even the ultimate goals on earth. In the world of today, there is no more compelling example that mother Teresa based on the way and the manner in which she did her things. Mother Teresa was not different from us in any other way, as she possessed no extraordinary resources or traits. The only way, in which she was special, than most of us is the manner in which she had invited her soul in order to help humanity. Mother Teresa died in 1997 and she still exists as an icon of human heart. The love she exhibited by leaving her job as a grade school teacher and joining the less fortunate in the slums of Calcutta shows how selfless she was. The ultimate goal of life requires that people talk about the good things that you did and how they have an impact to the society. The works of mother Teresa had an impact to many in the society ranging from the less fortunate people that she helped to the individuals who wanted to be like her.
I do not see myself in the image of a secular saint such as Mother Teresa, but I know have the capability to be one. From now onwards, I want to engage in activities that can have an impact to the less fortunate in the society just as Mother Teresa did without questioning any religion. Helping people in the society without expecting any form of pay is also important in order for an individual to be a secular saint. Some of the activities I will indulge in at my level include helping my needy friends and visiting the orphanages. By visiting the orphanages, I will be able to have an impact to the society by sharing and encouraging the orphans. Engaging in community service is also significant for an individual to be secular saint. The definition of life is not complete without an individual achieving their ultimate goals and therefore by being a secular saint I would have achieved my final goals on earth.

Reference

Ambrosio, F. J. (2009). Philosophy, Religion, and Meaning of life:The Great Courses Series .Georgetown University