Meaning Of Life: The Ideas Of Ancient Philosophers

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We as a whole need to feel that our lives merit something. We need to realize this wasn’t only an inestimable mishap. You can have a feeling of direction at any age. The best-case scenario, concentrating on ourselves offers us an opportunity to respond to the inquiry. We need to understand and cope with our desires, needs, physical limitations and mortality in the course of his life. We also need to ask ourselves two questions: to what extent can our minds know and control or improve our bodies? In the field of reasoning, there can be various responses to a general inquiry, contingent upon a specific logician’s perspectives regarding the matter. As a rule, an answer is left unsure. In the wide sense of the word and furthermore expressed in the lexicon theory can be portrayed as the quest for human information and human qualities. The purpose of this essay is to compare the thoughts of four philosophers: Descartes, Plato, Epicurus, and Epictetus and understand the meaning of life. The soul (mind, thought, spirit) and the body have completely different natures. Also, the meaning of life is self-improvement as a person.

In the seventeenth century in the time of Descartes, it was believed that the soul and body are only one-dimensional characters. This means that spirit and mind can exert a significant influence in the trunk, but the opposite influence is very insignificant. This relationship reminded me of a puppet theater, where the puppeteer is the soul of a person, and the doll is the body. “Dualism – a view of human beings as constituted of two irreducible elements (such as matter and spirit).” (Dictionary) Body and soul are like alpha and omega, two separate bases. If we are talking about the soul and the mind then these two substances have no extension and do not have any material basis. The learning process begins with amnesia in the truth and veracity of knowledge. This uncertainty, on the contrary, helps and clears the ground for the definition of new knowledge. Moreover, the philosopher believes that it is not only possible but also necessary to doubt everything. For example, whether there is a person in fact, whether there is a galaxy and how to live this life correctly. We cannot answer this question as it is unambiguous, but we can say for sure that the doubt itself really exists. People who really think and think about something, then they doubt. In General, the concept of doubt exists because there is thinking. ‘I think, therefore I am’. (René Descartes)

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On the other hand, Socrates believed that truth is something that can only be one thing. Truth is one for all, it exists independently and independent of our desires. People did not invent it and people cannot cancel it.The truth was before us, is now and will be after us always. Wherever a man comes from, whoever he is, he will obey the truth, and he has no choice. All people no matter how different or different they were, we are all united by the fact that we are born and die, upset or happy about something, we are all similar. Socrates explained that you cannot abandon the truth, because it is one for all. For example, it is impossible to abandon the laws of nature or that you are a man. But also Socrates notes that it is impossible to consider if you are wise, you should know the answers to all the questions of life. So Socrates does not know what this truth is and how to understand it. At least we can say for sure that there is truth. But at the same time, it is impossible to say that the truth is something definite. It can be argued that the only thing people know is that they do not know anything, meaning their own ignorance and difficulties in knowing themselves. ‘I know that I know nothing’ (Socrates). At the same time, our ignorance of the truth does not mean that it does not exist. Each person should be engaged in searches of truth independently. And the search for conducted on their own consists of uncertainty in its righteousness, contradictions, and reflections about how that you speak and think. The purpose of Sophistry is to confuse and confuse the human mind, to show the other side of the world familiar to it. Socrates did the same, pushing people through doubt and uncertainty to seek the eternal truth. But only in such a complex way can a person, if not find the truth, then at least approach it. The philosopher should help people in their endeavors: not by offering ready answers, but by helping them to Orient themselves in their thoughts and ideas. For Socrates, self-improvement is the meaning of life.

But then there is the question of whether people need it. Will people engage in an unknown truth if the daily routine suits them perfectly and they are happy with it. For example, a person has a good salary in order to live well, has respect in society and he has favorite activities and confidence in the future. The routine and ordinary course of life leads a person to thoughts about the truth and meaning of life. Socrates considered it necessary to constantly enlighten people and remind them that in addition to the usual earthly Affairs, we also need to think about the highest, otherwise we will finally get bogged down in these human occupations and will never discover the truth. No man can be quite satisfied with his life and with himself.

Referring to Epicurus, the purpose of human life is to obtain pleasure both from sensual pleasure and deliverance from spiritual, physical pain, deliverance from the fear of death and suffering. The ideal for Epicurus is life in a secluded place, in a close circle of friends, non-participation in public life and distant contemplation of life. I believe this is what we should strive for, not material wealth. Another important thing is the knowledge of nature, but it should not be your goal. This knowledge and therefore liberation is necessary for your spiritual happiness and human bliss, which is not the same as sensual pleasure.

Epicurus rejected the teachings of Socrates, he believed that the primary reality is the material world, which is separated from man. All phenomena of nature take place according to the laws of nature. The universe is a world of things and emptiness. The atoms of elements are the source of everything. They are always in motion and in the void. The search for the natural basis and causes for everything determines the greatness of Epicurus. For example, our dreams are the images that we previously saw in reality. It is considered, that in dream man sees the, that in real life it turned out him inaccessible, therefore dreaming this our unrealized desires. For Epicurus, speech and language are of natural origin. In different places, people expressed their feelings in different sounds, and this is the reason for the emergence of different languages.

Epictetus recognized faith as the principal means of knowledge and the principal virtues. He also believed that man should follow the will of the gods and his destiny. This is what philosophy teaches. I want to quote Epictetus that the way to happiness is not to worry about trifles. “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will.” (Epictetus)

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