Hey guys, so I've been reading up on and taking quite a few Philosophy classes. Really the main reason I got into Philosophy was so I could perhaps find the answer to what makes a life good or meaningful.

We've recently been getting into this topic (more specifically the topic of value theory) in my Intro to Ethics class. I have to say this topic seems to be a topic where I see many standpoints your everyday person who doesn't study philosophy would engage in as being what makes a good/meaningful life being made.

Since this is the topic I currently am most interested in (in regards to the topic of philosophical thought), as well as being the topic that first got me into philosophy, I'm actively trying to find more arguments for, or against, certain views.

So as a poster I'd like to know what do you think makes a life good/meaningful? Is happiness the only intrinsically valuable thing or is there more to it like love, freedom, and/or religion? If you can, please post why you think whatever thing it is you think makes a life good/meaningful makes a life good/meaningful.

I'm simply curious as to what you guys have to say. Don't be afraid to share your thoughts, you don't have to be an expert on the topic.

Also feel free to debate, inquire, or respond to posts (as I may end up doing myself) for we are all here to learn! 

zero97axl : "meaningful" is relative. Even a villain can say that they're leading a "meaningful" life. If their antics give their life meaning, then their life is meaningful.

living a "good" life may also be relative. So long as you're doing something that you like, making a difference to someone -- anyone, including yourself.. That's a good life.

By the same token, as long as your life matters to you, your life is meaningful to you.


For me, a good or meaningful life is where I simply do whatever I want to do on a whim. So long as I'm seeing new things, trying new things, or strengthening what I already have, my life will always have meaning, and it will always be good. Life is about experiences, so experiencing things makes my life worth living.

Currently, what gives my life meaning is my friends and my ability to help them. As well as the countless things in this world that I am able to understand. I seek knowledge, and so long as I do not know something, I will have meaning.

tl;dr a good or meaningful life is one where you do what you like to do, and you don't let anyone stop you. Including yourself.

zero97axl : From my point of view, I believe what makes one have a meaningful life is doing what they truly enjoy the most. Like giving it their all to accomplish their dreams. And not sitting around everyday dwelling on the things that already came to past. But in end, I think it's ultimately up to you to decide whether or not if your life is meaningful.

I wouldn't usually post in debate threads. I think this  thread would work out better in general chat forum. Anyways For me youshi and final has pointed out some of the things I have. But a meaningful life is do things to the fullest. And live for every moment that you have because you have 1 life and that's it. There are people who use that to go use they go adventures around the world so then they have memories to capture and to remember by that. Or do things with family and friends daily. You can be free to happily do what you do enjoy the most. Out of hobbies or businesses as well. ^^

I agree with all of the previous posts. Living a meaningful life is doing what you love and trying to accomplish your dreams. If you're working towards something, anything, you're doing something meaningful to you. Others may not see what you're working towards as meaningful but everyone's view of meaningful is completely different and I think that's one of the most fascinating thing about humans. We're alike in body makeup and appearance but we're all different on the inside. Whether that's opinion of meaningfulness, ambitions, sexual attractions, we're all different. You also have a massive impact on the ones around such as family and friends. Your life is very meaningful to them and when you're gone they're going to miss you whether you think so or not.

Alright, so a common answer seems to be doing whatever
you desire and obtaining happiness.

But let me pose a few, hopefully not too confusing (forgive me if they are I'm coming up with 2 of these on the spot), scenarios then and I'd like
to see how you all respond to them.

1) Say there is a person who is a slave. They don't have freedom of choices (or
if they do it is very limited), they are very badly treated, but they are
happy. Is their life meaningful?

2) Say there is a person who is a prisoner of sorts. The task he's forced to do
is to roll a boulder up a mountain to the top of the mountain. However, when
the prisoner reaches the top of the mountain there's somebody who shoves the
boulder all the way back down the mountain, and the man is then forced to go
back down the mountain and repeat the process (and let us just assume it stays
intact, if not the man is just given a new boulder at the bottom of the
mountain). For some odd reason the prisoner is quite happy performing this
task. The task in itself is pretty mundane and purposeless besides as a method
of punishment for the prisoner to undergo. They are a prisoner so let's assume
whatever they were trying to accomplish/strive for before becoming a prisoner
was not fulfilled. Is the prisoners life meaningful?

3) Say I want to be a famous singer in life, and that's what gave my life
"meaning". Say I do become a famous singer, I achieved my dream, but
it was not what I had hoped it would be, and I then find the idea of being a
famous singer meaningless. Was my life meaningless?

I asked what makes a life a good/meaningful life, but perhaps that isn't the
same thing as a happy life. Let's consider the following case:

Think of an influential human rights activist who fights oppression but ends up
in prison. This activist is not happy, they're not happy with the fact they're
in prison nor with the current state of human rights. Many would say their life
was meaningful, considering what she was fighting for, but she isn't happy. If
she isn't happy Is her life meaningful?

I don't think you can point to a single thing that would result in a meaningful life. I think it takes multiple things to do this.

1. A "job". Something that you do personally that you take satisfaction in. That could be actually going to work or being a stay at home parent but it is something you do that requires effort that you take pride in doing.
2. Friends/family. I can't imagine enjoying my life without friends and family involved in my life. I won't tell anyone what friends and family have to entail. I know plenty of people who are closer to their friends right now than family but whatever that is for you is what matters. People that you care about and that share in your joys and pains.
3. Service. I believe in order to have a meaningful life that you need to give freely of yourself to others in some way. Again, that is different for everyone but I think providing service to others in some way is a big part of having a meaningful life.


These are 3 I thought of off the top of my head. I don't think possessions or "consumerism" actually makes anyone happy. Possessions are fun but I don't think they create meaning in lives.

Anyway, that's all.

My definition of a good life:
To life a happy and content life, while simultaneously helping others live a good content life as well.
So in short, be happy and make others happy.
The perfect situation would to be happy because you are making others happy

Human excellence is the only possible meaning. Your answer will come from your understanding of "human" and it's perfection.

I don't know if you listen to TED talks or not but there's a discussion that measured the lives of 50 men over 50 years, from 1950s to 2000s.  These guys were from Harvard, I think, and every six months they'd be interviewed.

The most successful men were happiest when they have emotionally-fulfilling relationships with other people.  It had nothing to do with their work, their wealth, their bank accounts, their travels, experiences, and had everything to do with the people they shared their time with either via phone, in person, or via letters, which is Old People Email.

The conclusions were about finding relationships with like-minded people and doing something together.  Shared activity, whether sports or volunteering at an animal shelter or physical fitness, is the number one determiner of a "Good life."

There is no such thing as perfection.

Really, I think that this all just depends on what the person actually wants out of their life. If it is too help others or the future generations, then that's absolutely admirable and, should they accomplish their goals and leave the world a better place than when they came, then they probably had a meaningful life. This could probably include charitable people and such, like Martin Luther King Jr. or someone of the like, who would be given Nobel Peace prizes and such. Could include those who want to hold political office for the benefit of their country, state, city, district, county, et cetera, or even the entire world, but there are not a good deal of people who think that way anymore.

Then there's personal success, which is what a good deal of people want. This could mean in sports, politics, other careers, or really any walk of life in general. It would involve, in the view of most people with this mind set, trying to build a successful career, enter a point in which you are financially stable, have a retirement fund, raise a family, and all of that good stuff. This could generally just involve living a peaceful, happy life, too. 

Or it could go to an entirely different level. Some people may want to become ridiculously rich, so rich that even if they didn't have massive, expansive, and hugely successful companies that their families would be set for generations to come whether or not they chose to work a single day of their lives. This particular piece probably encompasses professional athletes, almost all of whom would love to play at the highest level of said profession and go "Big TIme," and get all the head lines and the potentially ten million dollar, multi year contracts that come with such recognition. Finally, this could encompass politicians who want to become the president or a different head of state for their own, self motivated reasons.

And then, in that same category, you get the kind of person who wants nothing more than to have absolute power over everyone around them, such as with dictators in many under developed countries around the world.

Finally, there are those who want their family to be successful, and nothing more. While this doesn't really fit into the sekf-motivational category completely, or the charitable counter part, it does contain aspects of both, as having successful children and grand children makes you seem like a better parent, and it can also give you the satisfaction of having our family's future secure, at least over the course of your own life time, and you would have the knowledge that you did all that you could to help them get to where they got.

Wow, look at me trying to get really deep into all of this lol. This is my first time with this kind of thing, hope you enjoyed reading it all and maybe it makes some sense, maybe it doesn't. I really don't know, but it works for me.

Obviously everyone's reality is different so everyone's interpretation of a meaningful life is different. This is a good Philosophy 101 type question because it gets you thinking about the perspective of others.

I think the most meaningful things you can do in life revolve around helping others. If you help others and sacrifice your own time or, better yet, share your own experiences and your skills and abilities for the growth and development of others, you're living a meaningful life.

That's how I see it.

So I look at my daughters and I intentionally do things to teach them happiness and love. I let them learn to create their personal spaces, I teach them respect for their bodies and others, I show them the importance to trying new things and testing their limits.

My staff at work get as much attention from me as they need regarding career development. I give each staff member the opportunity to learn from me or from others and see how they can get better and move on. I know my facility isn't a destination job and no one is coming to my place to work for 20 years or more. So I show them the ropes, I let them play in 'the sandbox' and they get better. I give them small projects to build their resumes and I encourage them to educate themselves and find jobs.

I help our members lose weight, I teach them healthy eating, I provide positive feedback and encouragement with their developments and I commiserate with their failures and losses. We're good for emotional, physical, intellectual, and social strength and we live that every day.

Lastly, I do everything I humanly can to keep my wife happy. I want her life as stressfree as possible, as easy as possible, and as grounded as possible. I know those things give her pleasure and I provide them as much as I can.

I figure if I run around and help everyone else, someone is bound to help me. And the circle is complete and we're all feeling good about ourselves and each other.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I should have gone the nihilist way or the hedonist road. Those seem more fun.

I think  we must find meaning in our own lives. Self-acceptance and realization leads to happiness, I believe.