Man is a unique being. The remaining mammals throughout their lives tend to satisfy only basic needs for food, water, sleep and reproduction. And only a man got to his feet, built a civilization and took care of how to find the meaning of life and happiness. Just as answers to this question in the society arise religion, philosophy and psychology, because a person does not want to live in ignorance. But, unfortunately, no one came to the final conclusion - the scientists did not find the meaning of life, despite the genius of the minds struggling to solve this mystery. Let us try to penetrate into the foundations of being.
The meaning of life in human culture
For the first time the question of how to find the meaning of life,arises within the framework of religion. Indeed, when a person begins to believe in the creation of the world by some mysterious entity, there is an interest in the goal of such an "experiment". Why are we here? Despite the fact that all religions in one way or another differ from each other, in the largest currents the meaning of human life is reduced to a virtuous existence and getting to heaven after death. Each denomination can have its own image of a sinless and good person, but, as a rule, it includes kindness, mercy, generosity, helping one's neighbor, spiritual development, love for people. But religion is not the only source of reflection on how to find your meaning of life. Long since the greatest representatives of the human species, who called themselves philosophers, have tried to unravel this mystery. As always, it all started in Ancient Greece. The Greeks saw the meaning of human life in the concept of "happiness", but different philosophical schools put different meanings in it. For example, Epicurus believed that happiness is the enjoyment of life (later this flow was called "hedonistic"). It was not only the satisfaction of bodily desires, but also the lack of physical and mental discomfort. Another Greek philosopher, Diogenes, believed that true happiness is possible only when a person is content with the small and does not become attached to things. His way of life is ascetic (like a dog - Diogenes used this comparison), and only in this case does he feel really free and independent, and therefore happy. As time went by, other well-known philosophers, as well as Greeks, were interested in the topic of searching for the meaning of life. In particular, Arthur Schopenhauer, known for his pessimism, believed that a person's life is like hell, in which a stupid person seeks to receive pleasure, and a clever man finds happiness in avoiding unpleasantness through self-restraint, because he realizes their inevitability. In general, the picture is rather bleak, so let's turn to more pragmatic philosophers. For example, William James, who believed that the meaning of a person's life is in the service of society and the bringing of any practical benefit. But most of all the point of view of existentialists is impressive: Sartre, Kierkegaard and Heidegger believed that each person creates his own sense of life, because he is unique and unique. The meaning of life was also discussed by great writers. For example, Erich Maria Remarck believed that a person's life should be filled with love, otherwise it will be sad and aimless. Another no less famous writer Richard Bach believed that the meaning of a person's life consists in freedom, cognition and the discovery of a new. An interesting point of view on this question was expressed by Anton Chekhov: in his opinion, the meaning of life consists in the search for the meaning of life. In general, there are a lot of opinions on this score - almost every talented writer has his answer to this question, and you can get acquainted with it, taking a deeper insight into the work of someone you respect. 
The meaning of life in psychology
Caught from the existential philosophersinterest in the question of the meaning of life, the humanist psychologists began to actively express themselves on this matter. For example, the well-known psychologist Abraham Maslow believed that the main human purpose is self-realization: engaging in creativity and favorite business, successes and achievements. However, this view is very controversial: you will agree, after death, it will not be so important what a person has achieved and how fully he has become self-realized. Another psychologist, Victor Frankl, believed that the need for a vital sense is one of the main human needs, and its deficiency can cause a person to have neurosis. He spoke of three ways to finding meaning:
- creativity, the creation of something new
- experiences of different content: the beauty of the world, significant moments of life
- personal attitudes and attitude to life
The most important group is theThose situations where a person can not change anything. Frankl cites as an example his imprisonment in a concentration camp: those who tried to find some sense in their suffering were more likely to survive in all this hell. There is not a single situation in life that does not touch one of these roads one way or another, so they are a very real opportunity to find happiness and the meaning of life. There are so many points of view that the question arises: what is the meaning of life in general? Analyzing all of the above, we can say that it must be eternal, beautiful, vital and at the same time all accessible, and also bring happiness to man. And what other characteristics can it have?
Since mankind has long been engaged insearching for the meaning of life, it managed to come up with a lot of its options, which, it would seem, can satisfy anyone. For example, the goal of life can be an attempt to live it so that it leaves its mark to be remembered. Sometimes it even does not matter what kind of memory this is - good or not. That is why many people are so attracted to fame and are trying to achieve it in all sorts of ways. Of course, such a meaning has the right to exist, however, unfortunately, no one remains in memory forever, accordingly, this can not be a true life goal. Someone finds their sense in a healthy way of life - they see it as their goal to preserve the beauty and strength of the body. However, in general, the attempt to live your life in this way looks pretty depressing, because a person is doomed to defeat in this battle in advance - death. All his efforts will go down with his body, for which he tried so hard. Many people live in order to get the maximum pleasure from life. They find their meaning in consuming and acquiring as many things as possible. Unfortunately, this way of thinking reigns in modern society: this is facilitated by the media, advertising, TV stars, who in every possible way agitating us to "break away" and receive everything from life. But in fact, we reduce ourselves to a half-animal level, when the main task is to eat, drink, mate and look bright. Agree, this looks very sad, especially since in most cases a person who lives for such a purpose gets tired very quickly and begins to seek a new meaning, which proves the impossibility of being the only meaning of life. An alternative option to answer the question about the meaning of life is to achieve power. Such people prove to themselves and others their superiority, the ability to rise above the others, to achieve more than others. Often, those who are often offended in childhood aspire to power. But it is obvious that power for the sake of power can not be a meaning: after looking back, a person's life is likely to seem empty and worthless, because he did nothing useful and important - he only commanded and directed. The power goes away, and the person remains with nothing. For someone, the meaning of life is the multiplication of treasures and material goods. Do you remember Scrooge McDuck or the national Plyushkin? And many people actually live this way! They are eager to save money without spending it on anything or anyone. This is even more pointless, since there will be nothing to remember and feel at all, because green pieces with the image of American presidents are not worth anything by themselves. Some people try to live life so that there is something to remember about in old age, before dying. But is the memory of past joys capable of bringing happiness on the deathbed? Probably not. A positive assessment of life is very important, but unfortunately, it can not be the only important one. True joy can be obtained only in the case when much was lived, experienced and done for those you love. So we came to the answer to a complex and significant question about the meaning of life. We will not reveal to you the secret of the unique and unrepeatable meaning of life for all people on Earth - it simply does not exist, and everyone has it's own. But it can be confidently asserted that each person finds his sense, which, ideally, is multifaceted and includes particles of all those things that we have described above. To this, as a rule, a number of important tasks are added, such as life for the one you love, and life as work and creativity. To help those whom you love, take care of and even sacrifice something for their sake is natural and correct. However, they can not be the only meaning, as well as an interesting matter. Life will seem to be inadequate without one thing. 
The path to finding meaning
Agree, the question of how to find the meaning of life,became much more clear. Based on all of the above, we can conclude: the meaning of life is to live a full life. What does this mean? As you are able and energized, get involved and experience every situation, every second of your life. Sense will not take from nowhere - you should feel every detail of your life meaningful. And then the fear of death will not scare you anymore. What do I need to do?
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