The Ultimate Goal in Life is to live as pleasurably as Possible (Philosopher's Corner #2)
As one of the most perplexing questions known to mankind, and as a widely common and frustrating answered uncertainty, the wonder and pursuit of life purpose have been explored by philosophers since the beginning of time. After all, it is very difficult to fully accept the thought of being forgotten after death- to have everything one has ever worked for to simply have no meaning any longer. The concept of disappearing into oblivion can be analyzed as one of our biggest fears, dreads, and burdens as an overall human race. The redundancy of overcoming life travails and tribulations, just to have it all result in meaninglessness can be very frightening, daunting, and threatening to the average individual, thus is it evident that many have concocted their own personal conspiracies and ideas of what exactly the ultimate goal and main objective to life is.
The great Greek philosopher, Socrates, stated famously, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Though this quote has many different interpretations, it could not hold any more true. Most people understand this quote as an argument of the importance of creating significance to life- that life without purpose has no meaning. Thus, as proposed by Socrates himself, many of his believers and supporters believe that these mental constructs are necessary and mandatory, demonstrating that the meaning of life is merely to seek individual desire and ambition. To Socrates, achieving a state of eudemonia was the ultimate goal in life. Particularly, the term denotes a state of full happiness as the result of an active life governed by reason.
In this discussion, we will be exploring a few different perspectives of what certain people see and value as their “eudemonia”/what they determine is the ultimate goal in life:
A Buddhist’s Perspective- In Buddhism, there are Three Characteristics of Existence: 1) Anicca (The doctrine of impermanence. Essentially, this characteristic means that all known to mankind of conditioned existence is transient and not a constant. Anything and everything, no matter the material, is subject to change and destruction. There is a limited duration, whereas after this time period, everything disappears.) 2) Dukkha (This important concept refers to the natural and fundamental unsatisfactoriness in life. The term is commonly associated with pain and suffering- though not in a bad way that most people would think. Though the thought of suffering may seem dark, Buddhists argue that it allows them to be free and live a life of happiness. We are all the same, and we end up at the end in the same place. There is no such thing as individuality- any other idea otherwise is an illusion.) 3) Anatta (The term Anatta is regularly described as the state of “non-self”. It is dictated by the idea that there is no such thing as a permanent self, soul, or essence. Furthermore, it implies that there is nothing that goes unchanged, similarly to Anicca. Everything in this world is deprived of a unique self- we do not have a true identity. We merely express ourselves in different ways). With these beliefs in mind, the overall goal of every practicing Buddhist is to achieve the Truth of the Path of Liberation from Dukkha. The Truth of the Path of Liberation from Dukkha is the basic rule that in order to liberate yourself, you must follow the Eightfold Path. Notably, following this path and living style will offer one rejoice and freedom. Generally, one must live decently, end desires, practice peacefulness and mindfulness, and cultivate discipline. Without desire, there will be no suffering.
A Science and Evolution’s Perspective- Certain people view life, a biological construct, as an opportunity to procreate and leave a legacy. As our bodies are biologically formed, we are scientifically designed to reproduce and conceive. Notably, this natural tendency entices many to desire and aspire to have children, to find a sustainable significant other, to have a family. This is what many people believe to be the description of an ideal picture, a “perfect” living circumstance.
A Monotheistic Perspective- Some dedicated religious individuals would argue that pleasing God Himself, is the main purpose to life. In return, these satisfactory people would earn their right to certain heavens or be entitled to His happiness in the after and spiritual world. For some, this idea of “making it to heaven” is an aspiration so important, that lives become engulfed with the worry about sinning, and the urge to do well.
Although these thoughts are less prevalent in current day, back in the Medieval Times, all the way until the era of enlightenment, people’s main concern was to make it to heaven. These people were so enraptured by the idea, and so frightening about the concept of hell. This lead to many people, even mere peasants, to pay large sums to the church- with the belief that they would have a larger chance to get into heaven.
All in all, these three perspectives of the purpose of life are very different and unique from each other- though, they do have one major aspect in common. All of these points of views concern each individual's personal definition of happiness, and after achieving each of these goals, these people are left happy. Thus, as Socrates himself did believe, though all personal goals are very subjective, at the end of the day, the universal ultimate goal in life is indeed to achieve eudemonia and live as pleasurably as possible. We shouldn’t be fearful of existential crisis or death, as life is short, and there is no way to uncover what happens afterwards.