The Meaning and Purpose of Living a Good Life How might one answer the question “what is the meaning and purpose of living a good life?” For someone such as Edward O. Wilson, author of the book The Meaning of Human Existence, the purpose of life can be explained in Darwinian terms: survival and reproduction should be the goals of humanity. On the other hand, Huston Smith, author of the book Forgotten Truth, would describe the meaning of life in terms of religion, suggesting life is meant for God and the purpose of life is to share God with those around you. Which of these definitions is correct, you may ask? Both were on the right track, but neither is fully correct. The meaning of life is to find your gift, and the purpose of life is to
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When a person is gifted, it means they have a unique talent, ability, or potential. Every person is gifted in some way. Some may argue that some individuals are just ordinary; they don’t have a gift. This view overlooks the fact that a gift does not come naturally to everyone. I like to use the phrase “Rome wasn’t built in a day” when it comes to an individual being gifted. Some may be born with a unique talent; others will have to work and practice at it daily. It may take them years to develop a gift. Additionally, some individuals may discover their gift, but will be unable to share it. This is often the case in fields such as art. Looking back, how often have we learned of the value of one’s gift when it’s too late? Countless paintings from the works of Van Gogh to Gauguin would sell for millions today. Yet, in the era of each of these artists, their works were nearly worthless. In Van Gogh’s case, he cut his own ear off and later shot himself. Having a gift and sharing it with others is so vital to living a good life. For example, my mindset changed a few years ago, and my gift changed as a result. At one point, I was incredibly gifted at being naturally good at sports, academics, the subject did not matter. However, I was good because I was always in my comfort zone. My mindset changed to want to push myself out of my comfort zone and explore new studies and athletics. I …show more content…
We know Wilson is a firm believer in Darwin, and he even states, “[...] all behaviors acquired by prepared learning, having provided adaptive value during the ancestry of the human species, are part of human instinct” (141). From this, we can conclude he would say that a gift is acquired by an individual through the process of natural selection. At one point in human history, some individual was the first to be gifted, and we are all a descendent of this individual because it improved his chances of survival and reproduction. However, if we said that gifts should not be looked at as only an evolutionary trait, he would undoubtedly disagree that being gifted can lead to a good life. Science, whether it be biology, chemistry, or physics, has not yet studied why every individual person is unique beyond looking at genetics. Scientists have not looked into this phenomenon of having a gift, what causes a person to be gifted in one area and not another, other than looking at the genetic makeup of an individual. I do not believe science will be able to determine the genetic coding for the specific unique characteristics of each individual. If science found this, this would suggest a very common ground amongst very different people, and I do not think this exists. For example, we can look at athletics. At one point, Bruce Jenner was a gold-medaling Olympic athlete. Yet, he gave up his name to pursue
When a person is gifted, it means they have a unique talent, ability, or potential. Every person is gifted in some way. Some may argue that some individuals are just ordinary; they don’t have a gift. This view overlooks the fact that a gift does not come naturally to everyone. I like to use the phrase “Rome wasn’t built in a day” when it comes to an individual being gifted. Some may be born with a unique talent; others will have to work and practice at it daily. It may take them years to develop a gift. Additionally, some individuals may discover their gift, but will be unable to share it. This is often the case in fields such as art. Looking back, how often have we learned of the value of one’s gift when it’s too late? Countless paintings from the works of Van Gogh to Gauguin would sell for millions today. Yet, in the era of each of these artists, their works were nearly worthless. In Van Gogh’s case, he cut his own ear off and later shot himself. Having a gift and sharing it with others is so vital to living a good life. For example, my mindset changed a few years ago, and my gift changed as a result. At one point, I was incredibly gifted at being naturally good at sports, academics, the subject did not matter. However, I was good because I was always in my comfort zone. My mindset changed to want to push myself out of my comfort zone and explore new studies and athletics. I …show more content…
We know Wilson is a firm believer in Darwin, and he even states, “[...] all behaviors acquired by prepared learning, having provided adaptive value during the ancestry of the human species, are part of human instinct” (141). From this, we can conclude he would say that a gift is acquired by an individual through the process of natural selection. At one point in human history, some individual was the first to be gifted, and we are all a descendent of this individual because it improved his chances of survival and reproduction. However, if we said that gifts should not be looked at as only an evolutionary trait, he would undoubtedly disagree that being gifted can lead to a good life. Science, whether it be biology, chemistry, or physics, has not yet studied why every individual person is unique beyond looking at genetics. Scientists have not looked into this phenomenon of having a gift, what causes a person to be gifted in one area and not another, other than looking at the genetic makeup of an individual. I do not believe science will be able to determine the genetic coding for the specific unique characteristics of each individual. If science found this, this would suggest a very common ground amongst very different people, and I do not think this exists. For example, we can look at athletics. At one point, Bruce Jenner was a gold-medaling Olympic athlete. Yet, he gave up his name to pursue