MEANING OF LIFE MIDTERM BANGER

  

     Birth and death, the giving of life and the taking of life, one of the most beautiful things in the world and one of the most feared things in the world. Why is that? What makes people cherish life so dearly?  In life there can be so many bumps in the road and inevitable setbacks that could ultimately break a person's spirit. With that thought so clear in mind, why do people still strive and break through these walls throughout their time on Earth? What motivates each and every one of us to be the best person we can be and give up at absolutely nothing? Well while I have brought up a good handful of questions, I unfortunately cannot provide you with one exact and definite answer. I can however, provide you with multiple philosophical answers! There are many different philosophies regarding life making the topic very interesting for me personally. These rhetorical questions can all be boiled down to the age old question of, what exactly is the meaning of life? This question has been asked for the longest time, but has and unfortunately will probably, remained without one certain answer everyone can agree on. With so much uncertainty and lack of knowledge this question can be very difficult to answer as most thinking basically goes off a gut feeling or some sort of moral code. Were we born for a specific destiny, born for absolutely nothing, born to do whatever the heck we want, or is this question just straight up stupid and we try should going outside for once instead of trying to solve it? There a lot of different philosophical ideas that resonate with these theories and thoughts, some of the most popular ones being that of Existentialism and Essentialism. These two ideas peak my interest the most as they are pretty much polar opposites. Existentialism which originated from the moral philosophy of the Greeks (DeMichele) embracing the thought of free will, and doing whatever you please as all the things you do are in your control and your power. Essentialism on the other hand believes in the idea of destiny, everything that happens or can happen in one's life is all in the hands of fate. In simpler terms, Essentialism states that all of our lives are filled with a certain essence that gives the things we live with a certain meaning, while Existentialism states that this essence does not exist. These two proposals of life can be predominately found through literature. The questioning of life is something that authors seem to be passionate about, leading to multiple stories being written depicting their own thoughts of life all compressed into a single, chapter flipping novel. Two great examples of this can be seen in the story The Stranger by Albert Camus which sheds light on Existentialism, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro which paints the idea of Essentialism. Both of these stories do a terrific job of portraying their philosophies respectively, giving readers detailed insight on the ideas. Through the story development and actions of characters, both Camus and Ishiguro effectively portray the thinking of Existentialism and Essentialism.

Jean Paul Sarte, famous French Existentialist (top)

Albert Camus, The author of The Stranger (bottom)

    At first glance Existentialism can seem as a more happier outlook on life. The idea of perfectly being in control of one's own life can be comforting and reassuring. Free will is something that However one thing that is overlooked in this thought process is the lack of meaning that is actually given to life. Without guidance, a person's mindset in life can become more detached from reality, losing a sense of care. This is evident when looking at Mersault, the main protagonist in The Stranger, his actions can be deemed as very abnormal and unemotional. He seems to be very nonchalant about almost everything. The only pleasures he really sees in life can be described as immediate and physical (Moser). Starting from the literal first line of the book, Mersault sets the tone of  being freakishly calm, despite being told what some can see as the most devastating news a person can ever receive, the passing of his mother. His overall delivery screams weird as he just simply states "Today, mama died. Or maybe yesterday" (Camus). He breaks the news to the readers as if he were just telling someone about his day. To top it off he also has no knowledge of when his mom had even passed. The novel, in other words, depicts the idea that "since death is both arbitrary and inevitable, and since there is nothing beyond death, life only has importance in the here and now, in the day to day activities that make up our existence" (Moser). The emotions (or lack of emotions rather), shows the negative side of the Existentialist view. As an Existentialist, the person initially relies on him or herself to sort of give life their own kind of meaning. Rather that be a certain goal they can set for themselves or a legacy they want to carry on, life as an Existentialist essentially becomes meaningless without these kinds of things. Throughout the story, there are many Existentialist themes being presented. Take the murder of the Arab for example, Mersault describes the series of events that had concurred as sudden or random, denying it being premeditated. This sudden urge showcases the control Mersault has had over his life, it also shows the responsibility one must take from their own actions. By him ultimately accepting his death sentence  for the murder of the Arab, he has shown how harshly a person's action can be punished for, having to take full responsibility for the crime he had committed. His lack of  guilt towards the whole situation also ties back into the meaningless of life aspect of the novel. By being 100% in control of his own life Mersault can only look to himself for a meaning in living life, however this ironically ends up in him seeing no meaning in life and ends up as a cold-hearted emotionless being that just goes with whatever is thrown at him. 

Plato, one of the first Greek Essentialists

    With all that being said, you would probably assume Essentialism would be a bit more positive, after reading about how sad the life of an existentialist is. Reading about Mersault's life and its abrupt end, you would probably try to stray as far away from being like him as you can. When thinking about Essentialism it sounds like a perfect solution to the problem created in Existentialism as a meaning in life is pretty much handed to you. The issue of living with no meaning is pretty much neglected with this philosophical idea. Being born with a certain essence can be looked at as inspiring or motivating. However Essentialism just like Existentialism, also has its darker downsides. With Essentialism, the idea of free will is less apparent as the essence you were born with is what you have to stick with throughout the entirety of your life. In Never Let Me Go this idea is portrayed quite literally. The story tracks the lives of these people who are referred to as "clones", which are pretty much made just to donate organs to the people they were cloned after. For the clones, this means their meaning is strictly to only donate their organs so their original counterparts can have a longer life, or in other words "losing the maximum amount of individuality, which would induce individuals to perform productive activities and fulfill various tasks assigned by the authority in a submissive and efficient way." (Yan).  However if you put yourself in the shoes of a clone, you can easily start to see why this is an issue. Obviously clones don't want to live just to have their organs removed and forcibly donated, they want to do more in life. However in this case they don't really have a choice, as their right to free will is very limited. Much like the life of someone who sees the world in an Essentialist view, they are born into one and only one path in life whether they like it or not. Being born into one certain fate or destiny is one big dice roll, and more often than not a person may not be happy with the fate they are destined to carry out. Lacking this aspect of free will in life can be very frustrating for some, leading to the urge of wanting to break out of this one tunnel in life they were forced into. Coincidentally, this is what precedes later into the story. There are rumors being told around the clones that they have a chance at getting a "deferral" if two of the clones had fallen in love. This rumor as expected gives the clones a sense of hope in life. They see this as a chance to get their sense of free will in life and not have to succumb to the unfortunate fate that they were born into. The two main characters Kathy and Tommy eventually end up together in an attempt to qualify for this deferral and live out their lives as they want to, and not at someone else's command. Unfortunately the deferral rumor turns out to merely be a rumor and nothing more, meaning that they will still have to continue to live out their lives as all the other clones have, and continue fulfilling their one true fate. With the whole deferral thing ending up as a false hope, the story ends in a very heartbreaking way. Tommy ends up donating all of his vital organs and dying as he was supposed to. Kathy at the very end as well informs the reader that she is next in line to start the donations. Even though they clearly didn't want to live their lives that way, they had no choice and did it anyway. This same thing can be possibly said for someone in an Essentialist lens. Being destined for one specific meaning in life is good in the aspect that you at least have a meaning in life in mind. This meaning that is given may not always meet your expectations or desires however, but either way you must follow through with it.

    These depictions of Existentialism and Essentialism may not put them in the best light, but they do a very good job of portraying them nonetheless. The stories are very well thought-out and written, giving detailed inputs on life. Now when it comes to just which one is "better" or "makes more sense" I really don't have an answer for that. Not only because it's as something as huge and unknowledgeable as the meaning of life, but also because these two things are polar opposites. In Existentialism, the issue is that there is a bit too much free will involved, leading to some people becoming misguided and lost. Without some sort of push over the edge finding a meaning in life through existentialism can be difficult for some leading to a person having trouble finding their meaning. But in Essentialism, the issue is that there is too little free will. Being born into one destiny is not always beneficial for someone if their destiny doesn't really suit them or their needs. There, relatively speaking, is not a "better" or "greatest" philosophical idea out there, it just depends on what you believe in and what you think. Even though I have drawn differences from these two main ideas, I am not in any way comparing them to try to find which one is the best to believe in because whatever answer I would come up with would automatically be wrong. I just thought these two ideas and views on life were interesting to learn and analyze. I find the whole concept of life meaning interesting because of the fact that there is no real wrong or right answer. Being guided by what I feel personally is right and being able to think freely without being told that it is 100% wrong feels nice. It was interesting especially when looking at these philosophies in literature. The ways the authors include and provoke this kind of thinking in their writing makes it easier to understand and grasp. Although trying to find meaning can be seen as pointless and meaningless in itself as there's probably never gonna be one actual correct answer, it strikes so many chords in my thinking that at this point it doesn't even bother me.