1. What is intended to be, or actually is, expressed or indicated.
1. The end, purpose, or significance of something.
life –noun
the general or universal condition of human existence.
What is the meaning of life?
We've had a few thousand years to ask ourselves that question. It's about time we find the answer.
The one quality we share with every other human being is "aliveness". Why, then, do we regard the question of "meaning" in life as an introspective one? Is it so hard to believe that the answer doesn't exist somewhere in our collective consciousness? Why are lost when the power goes out, but so many of us are perfectly content with not knowing the reason we are here? Somewhere out there, maybe somebody's got it all figured out.
We're looking for that person.
One year, one planet, one question.
We're going to travel the world and ask the same question as many times over as we can; "what is the meaning of life". We will keep you up to date using blogs and videos of interviews. At the end of our quest we'll ask you to vote for the best answer of all those we have collected. The answer which receieves the most votes will be featured in our documentary.
The greatest thing about travel, in our minds, is meeting new people and exposing ourselves to their opinions and ideas. That's where the inspiration for this project came from. On our trek across the world, we're going to find and meet as many different people as we can. Along the way we'll be video logging the entire thing. After we've gone all around the world, we're putting together a shortlist of all the best answers we've receieved. From the shortlist, we'll ask you to vote for a winner!
It's a big question, but is it really too big for us to answer? Vincent and I find it hard to believe that a species which can clone a sheep and walk on the moon is unable to agree on the reason we are here.
We know that our life, and the lives of others, are important to us. But why? It's natural for us to fear death, but is that the only reason we value life? We certainly hope not!
Think about this; is there anything you value that does not hold meaning to you? Even something as simple as a pen. You don't discard of it until it stops being useful. When the ink runs out, it becomes garbage. Or maybe it's great grandma's pen. Even when the ink is out, you might save it because it means something to you. Now think about your life. Why is it important to you? Most people's immediate thoughts steer towards friends and family, or a love of a hobby or a great job or something like that. But these are all attachments you acqure as journey through life. What about the moment you were born? You had no possessions, no responsibilities, you had never met your family or even interacted with another human being. No one would argue that a day old infant's life is less valuable that than that of the doctor who delivered it. So what is it that both infant and doctor share that is more fundamental than any of the things we have already discribed? That's what we want to know.
Do you think you have the answer? Is it religious or philosophical? Is it one simple answer or is it long and complicated?
- Send us your own answer! We want as many responses as we can get.
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Here are some things to think about while you consider your answer;
1) Does my answer apply to everyone, and not just myself?
2) What are the things that all human beings have in common, regardless of age, race, gender, physical location, lifestyle etc.
3) What are the things that I value in life? What do other people value? What do those things have in common?
4) How will our lives change if we discover the meaning of life?
5) What kind of arguments will someone who desagrees with me make? How can I modify my answer to take those arguments into account