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You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.

~ Albert Camus

Is the ‘Meaning of Life’ to be ‘Happy?’

For centuries, philosophers have contested the value of the question, ‘What is the meaning of life?'

For many philosophers, the question is pointless, since it either: 

• has no discernable answer; or
• is entirely subjective; thus one person's view does not provide the answer to another person's experience.

They may have a point. If you were to take an informal poll of the people around you right now, you might get a myriad of responses.

Of course, on the one hand, what makes one person happy may be entirely different from what makes you happy - or the person three desks down from you, or your teacher. On the other hand, ‘happiness,’ however it might be defined, has been claimed by some philosophers as life's ultimate goal. It is, after all, a worthy and acceptable pursuit (unlike the goal of ‘money,’ which is viewed as greedy and ultimately empty) and is quite common.

But is being ‘happy’ the secret to living a meaningful life?

Watch the following TEDTalk by Emily Esfanani Smith, There’s more to life than being happy.

In Smith’s TEDTalk, she discusses why the pursuit of happiness is misguided. It only makes people unhappy.

Smith isn’t alone in this assessment.

In 2011, Robert Holden, a British psychologist who holds happiness workshops and seminars, cautions people about ‘destination addiction’ - a “preoccupation with the idea that happiness is in the next place, the next job, and with the next partner.” 

Both Smith and Holden come to the same conclusion - chasing happiness makes us unhappy, leads to anxiety, and robs us of living in the now. 

Case in point - in a society that often equates happiness with material wealth and goods, we even have terms to describe the dissatisfaction we feel when we give in to ‘retail therapy’ and buy that ‘one thing’ that fails to deliver on its promises of happiness. This is the so-called ‘buyer’s remorse.’ Yet think of how many marketing campaigns you have seen that use the ‘treat yourself’ appeal to get you to buy just one more item to appease the dopamine rush(definition:When a person is about to experience pleasure, dopamine is released in the brain, and in the parts of the brain that experience and process pleasure.) we equate with happiness.

So where does our sense of meaning lie if not in the direction of happiness?

Instead, Smith proposes that there are four pillars to a meaningful life:

• Belonging - being in relationships where you are valued and loved;
• Purpose - this is less about what you want, and more about what you can do to serve others;
• Transcendence - this happens when your sense of self fades away and you feel connected to a higher sense of reality instead; and 
• Storytelling - the story you tell yourself, about yourself, that gives your life perspective.

How You See the World is How You Define Meaning

As you can tell from the Minds On discussion, the search for meaning in one’s life is complicated by the subjectivity of ‘meaning.’

Is ‘meaning’ found in material things? Is it about serving others? Is it equal to ‘purpose?’ Or, what if there is no ‘meaning’ to anything; what implications would that have?

If we are to consider how our worldview (definition:A worldview is a set of assumptions that we hold in our mind (consciously or unconsciously) that helps us understand how the world works. It is these assumptions that determine our expectations from the reality that we interact with daily.)affects our perception of meaning, it is easy to see why philosophers have come to the conclusion that an objective and universal definition is futile. Each of us has has our own way to help us interpret and interact with the world. We hold certain assumptions and expectations based on a combination of experiences, culture, beliefs, and socialization.

Basically, our worldview defines the parameters in our search for meaning.

How Does Metaphysics Play a Role in this Search for Meaning?

How did you answer these six questions in your head? If you were asked to delve deeper into your reasoning, do you know why you automatically answered (even if only to yourself) in a particular way?

If pushed to explain, many would just mutter something about ‘beliefs’ and hope that they wouldn’t have to justify their responses further. But our basic beliefs - our axioms(definition:An axiom or postulate as defined in classic philosophy, is a statement that is so evident or well-established, that it is accepted without controversy or question.) - are the foundation on which we argue in defence of our worldviews. In turn, our worldview determines what pathway we are willing to pursue in our search for meaning.

Recall from the Minds On section, when Smith admitted that her Sufi background informs her worldview. If you look at the ‘pillars’ that she proposed, it is evident that there is a connection to her faith - inherently, her worldview assumes that there is ‘something’ rather than nothing beyond death. For Smith, there is a reason to find meaning.

But what if there isn’t? What if beyond this life there is nothing?

How would that inform one’s worldview?

What if beyond the pillars of a meaningful life is a gaping, empty void?

Is There Even a Point?

Is this all there is? Is all of humanity just a paltry few years of events on an insignificant planet, about which the universe cares nothing? Does anything we accomplish in this lifetime even matter?

Take about ten minutes and play the game, Every day the same dream from Experimental Gameplay Project. As you play, mentally take note of your feelings. After about ten minutes, ask yourself what this game is saying to you about the meaning of life. Is this worldview valid?

The most common understanding of Nihilism is the view that nothing we do, nothing we create, nothing we love, has any meaning or value, whatsoever. Human existence is ultimately meaningless. There is no grand purpose in being, and placing our hope and faith in seeking answers to validate our lives will inevitably leave us frustrated and unhappy.

As depressing as that may sound, some philosophers have argued that the absence of meaning or purpose to life permits people to live freely and unfettered. If there is no meaning, then we should just learn to accept life for what it is and live mindfully in the moment without fear of defining the miniscule moment of time we take up in the universe.

The Search For Meaning

Seeking an answer to the meaning of life has been the pursuit of both philosophers and non-philosophers alike. While not everyone is obsessed with questions about life’s meaning, it nevertheless remains one of the most common questions to plague human existence.

The problem with such a question is that it is ambiguous and vague - to what, exactly, are we seeking an answer? Is it about life’s purpose, the reason for being, whether any of this existence matters, or if it has lasting value?

Yet, we persist in seeking an answer to a question that we might possibly not accept, or worse, not fully understand the repercussions of, if it were ever answered.