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My Opinion on Human Existence

What gives your life meaning? As for me, I believed it was God but not anymore. Some people would hold a different opinion on that issue as some will say God, love, games, money, fiction, among other things. I always believed that God created me with a particular essence, and nobody would fault me for wanting my life to be meaningful. Many philosophers argue that all of the above aspects can provide one the meaning of their lives, but at the same time, others say that none of them can. My opinion is none of them can.

Two ancient Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, held everything in life that has an essence (Gordon, 1). By essence, they meant that existence of specific core properties vital for something to be given that particular meaning.

After reading the literary works of Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre, my belief changed on the essentialist ideas of being imbued with any purpose. Friedrich believed in the ultimate meaningless of life that he called Nihilism. Sartre challenged essentialism by asking, what if humans exist first without any imbued essence (Sartre and Philip 1)?  However, it is upon individual responsibility to figure out their identities. In other words, existentialism holds that existence precedes essence. Humans’ existence happens first; then, they later determine what they will become as they grow older through the way they choose to live. I now believe that human beings do not have any predetermined purpose and no set path to follow.

In my previous beliefs, it was difficult to explain how radical the ideals were back then since, for many decades, people did not have to follow absolute paths, but God did it for them. I am now critical of the notion that God made human beings or the world with a fundamental essence in his mind. I believe in God’s existence, but it is somewhat different when it comes to instilling me, my life, and the cosmos with meaning. It is not what God is all about

One may adhere to a religion, government, etc. but they are people just like you. Those authorities cannot give people their respective life meanings since they do not have any answer; instead, they figured out how by themselves how to live. As such, humans should live authentically. Humans should accept the full weight of their absurd and acknowledge that it’s only them who can determine any meaning regarding their lives.

Works Cited

Gordon, Jill. Plato’s erotic world: from cosmic origins to human death. Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Sartre, Jean-Paul, and Philip Mairet. Existentialism and humanism. London: Methuen, 1960.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism is a Humanism. Yale University Press, 2007.