Today we’ll be tackling a simple topic; one that no one has ever agonised over. I am talking, of course, about the meaning of life. The miracle of human sentience poses some serious questions – Why are we here? Can we ever know true happiness? What’s the point?
Many philosophers and online life gurus (“buy my course!”) have pondered these questions, and most have come back with satisfactory answers. Naturally, there is no objective answer. For me, the truth lies somewhere between the existentialism of Nietzsche (life is inherently purposeless) and the absurdism of Camus (we should cope with the cruel and random nature of life by living passionately), sprinkled with some community spirit.
A lot of people cope with the decline of religion by adopting a sort of hedonistic approach to life. We’re going to die anyway, so everything we have should be poured into maximising our own happiness and/or pleasure from now until death. Sounds great in theory, right? But I’m not fully on board. It’s too convenient — It gives people a pass to go through life forever seeking easy thrills, avoiding actions that are truly rewarding/meaningful and abdicating them of any social responsibility.
I can’t help but associate this approach with the TikTok-addled, avoidant attitudes that are becoming more prevalent. But that’s letting some of my bias colour my view; there’s nothing inherently wrong with maximising pleasure as long as one understands the difference between fulfilment and distraction.
Still, you need a few more elements for that to be a satisfying path through life. Pleasure is pointless if it isn’t hard-earned. I imagine most people wouldn’t plug into Nozick’s Experience Machine—a simulated reality where people can experience a never-ending loop of their desires—because most inherently understand that one will never be content if everything is perfect. After all, one can’t appreciate pleasure without experiencing pain; one can’t truly be happy if they’ve never felt sadness.
In short, a life of endless pleasure isn’t necessarily a life well-lived. I’m oversimplifying here. A person prioritising happiness is likely pursuing ‘experiences’ and forging fulfilling relationships. This feels like the archetypal path through life for the middle-class in a post-religious world. At the end, will they look back satisfied? Does anyone? It seems like a no-brainer to adopt this attitude, and perhaps I did think this way a few years ago, but now I’m not sure if it’s enough.
For good or for ill, one of the necessary components of a ‘good’ life is undoubtedly people. Even the most introverted and misanthropic among us crave connection. There’s many a person who has found their purpose in serving others, or perhaps in working towards a communal goal. The feedback loop of deriving happiness from making someone else happy is undoubtedly powerful. Connection and collaboration are essential for fulfilment.
Something I always try to discourage is nihilism, a stance that’s burrowed its way into the psyche of today’s youth. I fully understand why people choose not to care about anything, especially events they can’t influence. If we took personal responsibility for all of the world’s horrors, we’d never get out of bed.
However, burying all of your passion is tantamount to surrendering to the sociopaths who run the world, the people who accumulate massive wealth and abuse children. Every person who falls to apathy represents a minor victory for the worst people imaginable. They want you placid, too tired to do anything but generate capital for your betters. Everything else you do is resistance, don’t forget that.
As wealth inequality continues to accelerate, spurred on by climate catastrophe, the reality is that many of us won’t ever know financial independence. Someone is always getting paid, and, barring societal collapse, we’ll just have to make peace with that. Sure, things could change, but I’m dubious if the status quo will ever waver in a world that tolerates genocide and open fascism.
But hey, humanity has come through hard times before. I don’t want to discard all of my optimism, but the tools of oppression: social media, consumerism, wealth inequality, even people’s diets, have become so entrenched, even celebrated, that resistance is becoming progressively harder as the decades roll by. You have to care, but you can’t care too much; always a tricky balancing act, but one we must make peace with nonetheless.
Alas, the poor state of the world doesn’t absolve us from living life. The core question still needs answering. So, enjoying your life with good people. That’s important. Maintaining a sense of social responsibility and being politically aware, that matters. The last step? For me, that’s creation.
The fact that we are intelligent enough to interpret the intentions and feelings of others is undoubtedly the most fascinating aspect of the human condition. A person writes a book, creates a game, directs a movie, paints a picture, and then another person experiences their work through the lens of their own experiences? That’s nothing short of a miracle.
There’s something healing about creating something. To pull from the void and give existence to something that wasn’t there before. Economics and wealth generation are social constructs, but creation? That’s something far more primal.
My point being, some things are just good for the soul. The soul may very well be a collection of synapses firing and implacable emotions, but that doesn’t really matter. Some things just please us to our core — actions that are good for our heart, not just our head.
I’m pretty sure I’m happy. I have my health, people who love me, and things I enjoy doing. I don’t struggle with negative feelings; I’ve never been depressed. I’m grateful, a lot of people are fully absorbed in just surviving and don’t have time for pretentious thoughts. Still, something is causing me discontent, and I’d like to find its root.
Going forward, I’d like to make creation a more intentional part of my life. I’ve long felt that was the missing ingredient, and perhaps I’m just looking for meaning where there is none, but I hope that channelling more energy into creating rather than consuming will erode some of that malaise that’s gradually settled over parts of my life.
I’ll likely get distracted, become frustrated and fight against feelings of putting my energy into something else. Words are easier than discipline. But maybe, just maybe, one day I’ll be able to sit there and feel truly content with what I’m putting into the world, and more importantly, with myself.
And if not… there’s always the World Cup.
Jack Coleman 