WTHDTQEM [draft]

What the hell does this question even mean?
What is the meaning of life? This is a question that is just screaming out for complete controversy. Every single human being lives different lives every single day and will all have different answers for that question. Yet does one ever stop to think about the question itself? Does this question alone even make sense? How can one have an answer to a question that they do not understand? Maybe that’s our problem! We have come to understand that we must identify the question before we can identify the answer to it. Many people interpret the meaning of the question very differently from each other, and for that reason, as a class, we now understand why it has become so difficult for determining an answer to our question. We have taken three articles from three philosophers and depicted each apart to get deep into the message they are all trying to convey. From this, we have come to some comprehension of the varied interpretations of the question , “What is the meaning of life?” With this, we hope to absorb each of the several aspects of the question that Philosopher Irving Singer, John Wisdom, and Joseph Ellin have introduced us to. This will possibly leave us closer to our own definition of the question of life, then perhaps life itself.
John Singer’s composition was the first of the three we read. Singer’s unique way of coming to terms with the question “What is the meaning of life” was to split the actual question into two concrete ways of viewing it. He recognized that a reason for such controversy and contradiction on answering the question, is that there are two completely different levels of looking at it. Either in a more general aspect or specifically to one’s personal life. One may identify the meaning of life with their private life, while others may see it on a more universal aspect. Throughout the article, Singer builds the wall between the two distinct fractions of the question. Singer states, “We long to know the secrets of the universe and what it means, in itself, apart from human interests. At the same time, however, we seek a meaningful way to live our lives, whether or not we can find a separate meaning in the cosmos…” where he then announces that answering the question would be much simpler if we’d just emphasized such difference and took each under some consideration.
Irving Singer makes it clear that people seem to be striving to find the meaning of life for them. However, is it finding the meaning of life in its entirety, or for one as an individual? He also questions whether or not one can even find or suddenly discover the meaning to life, or if it’s something one creates and generates as they go along and make their journey through life. Irving distinguishes what makes the question so difficult for someone to answer, and shows that by the struggle to just simply answer the question, it is in fact not simply done at all. It actually just brings about other challenging and mind blowing questions alongside with the initial one, What is the meaning of life?
Philosopher John Wisdom wrote on the meaning of life as well, and provides the reader with the idea that some people believe the question may all in all just be completely senseless. He goes deep into clarifying why people believe so, and demonstrates the difference between interpreting the question by what life actually is, compared to what life gives, leads to, or is caused by. Wisdom broadens our minds with a number of examples to compare the rational question, “What is the meaning of life?” with other nonsensical questions such as, “What supports all things?” and “What is bigger than the largest thing in the world?” Many people categorize all three of those questions to be very much illogical and ridiculous, however, it is made clear that the question of life is not at all absurd even if it sometimes seems so.
In trying to answer such a question, many say it does not make any sense, for the simple fact that one cannot actually come up with any type of legitimate answer for it, especially without going through a series of staggering and self-contradictory thoughts. When it comes to the real groundless questions, much like, “what supports all things?“ they are in fact all meaningless. Those questions are what show us that within every question, there is just another question, and that there is questioning behind everything. However, not to mistaken those with “what is the meaning of life”. In struggling to answer that question, it is not that it has no meaning behind it, it is just that one cannot completely comprehend enough to create a totally satisfying and conclusive answer. Being that no one has yet been able to say, “the meaning of life is…”, many immediately reject it as ever having a meaning and sense to it in the first place, although it has complete potential, but the problems is, words just cannot describe.