[Fido]

Originally Posted by midas77

What is life? Well what is my life? Well well what is our life? What is the question again?
If we area asking for the definition of life, Aristotle gave a good definition of life is that which grows by, from with-in itself. Growth seems to be what is life. But growing for what? Growth by itself does not mean anything. In Aristotlean view life seems to be a way of perfection, a perfection that is dynamic. What is life? It is a question ask by someone rational, not by veggies or animals. So the meaning of life i'm seeking must be my own. To simply ask the question as if I can be satisfied with the answer is really begging the question. The one asking the question is growing the evolving process of life. To find the meaning of life seems not to end. Death? is it the terminus of life, the meaning, the end, the final act of perfection? No one in the history of philosophy (IMHO) has discussed death more meaningfully than Socrates in his Apologia (Plato's work though) but as we can see all that he say about it are conjectures, happy musing. But as Socrates say, no one must fear death, because we don't know it. We can muse about it but there is no point dwelling with it, what we have is life?
MY life or Our life? People will say that life has no meaning, because in the end, we will all die and everything seems to be pointless. but what about my life as a part of the whole "our" life as humans. We share our humanity with others. Our mere saying that life is meaningless is an unequivocal resolution that my life must have meaning for others, otherwise why utter it. My life touches others life. Contemporary existentialism dwells with this idea as a main point, from Marcel, Buber, Scheller and even the late JPII, that the meaning of the I dwells within the We. And the We does not only comprise the rational beings but the entire flotilla of beings, of everything. Life's meaning, can and must be found only within the ambit of everything.

Everyone must fear death because we don't know it. But don't we? Don't all living beings demonstrate an instinctual aversion to death? The reason we concoct explainations of reality after death is to allow for the risking of life and the pissing of it away on nothing. Those who know the most prize their lives beyond all measure of reason, and very often manipulate those who know the least into capturing a world they will never live to appreciate. If you think the meaning of the I dwells in the we, it is because all meaning is shared. All meaning, forms, concepts, and ideas are also forms of relationship. What would have meaning to the last person on earth? That person, if they knew the facts would realize their life was over. Meaning would lose its meaning. The fact is that while we experience life as individuals, that our existence depends upon both men and women together so, it is that unit, comprised of two which is the true individual.