Meaning of Life - Part 1

What is the meaning of life? When asking a question of such complexity, problems start to arise right at the first instance. The framing of the question in itself is hard to explain. Meaning is a matter of language; we usually search for the meaning of a word or maybe something pertaining to art - the meaning behind the metaphor etc. Life when considered by its noun form alone can be defined by biological terms such as the difference between a living and dead organism manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, response to stimuli, reproduction etc. But life isn't just that is it? it is much more complex. Life is also the physical, mental and spiritual experiences that constitute existence. So in that sense, the question of "What is the meaning of life" is in fact meaningless.

Secondly, the questions seems to assume the fact that life is objective. Is life objective or subjective? The answer to that question is both and neither. It is objective when it is seen as the interval of time between birth and death. Everybody goes through childhood, puberty, adulthood, old age etc. We all grow, metabolize, respond to changes in our environment, reproduce and all that we do showing that we are indeed alive and living. But the similarity ends there. Diversity can be seen everywhere; men and women, young and old, rich and poor. In all aspects of society diversification is existent. This combined with the fact that our minds and the way we think are unique to us. An intricate web emerges for each single individual that inhabits this Earth. 

Nature and nurture construct the psychology of our minds. Considering all this, each experience - physical, mental, spiritual - is unique to an individual. Therefore, we can conclude that life is also subjective. Thus, life is both subjective and objective but neither. So is life meaningful? We will explore this in part 2