Philosophy Series: Questions About Life

From the moment of consciousness, there is a duty that we must bestow upon ourselves. A question must be asked, the most important question, a question that matters. It is the question our ancestors have asked, our descendants shall ask, and one to which its tortuous nature we must submit to. 

Why live? How do we answer such an abstract?

Before we can ask the question of life, we must understand why this question needs to be asked. It is the norm to repress questioning life, for once life is questioned, everything within life is thrown to question. To question life, we must question why we wake, why we work, why we play, why we rest, why we wake and start again. It causes major discomfort to question all that we have chosen to accept for the purpose of daily function. 

Before we find the meaning of our life, we are controlled by promises of reward and punishment. We wake fearing the consequences of continued sleep. We endure work for compensation. We play for the mental reward. We sleep for the reward of rest. We are dictated by consequences, everything can be split between a matrix of punishment and reward. The only method to escape the binary is finding meaning beyond the binary. This means to see life not as a series of events, decisions, or consequences, but as something greater, something that connects everything into meaning. 

Seeking answers, we often turn to philosophers, believing their logic or understanding to be superior to our own. We adopt their answers and live by their words. Thousands of philosophers have presented their theories, but their interpretation is only a drop compared to the billions of unique answers. We live in a world of individuals, each life unique, each with our individual experiences and perceptions of living. So why do we accept general answers to our unique circumstances? Thus, we must use the words of the philosopher as a guide rather than a path.

So how do we find the answer to life? I do not know. Unfortunately, any individual can only provide a vague direction, a dim spark in the midst of a limited eternity. Therefore, it is vital to understand more than the theories and arguments of the philosopher. To truly understand life, you must understand how to think. How to set aside ego, regret, doubt, bias, and view life for what it is. What it is to you. What is there to life. What is beyond the fear of punishment and the warmth of reward. What is the purpose of it all? What is the meaning of your life?

While the words of the philosophers cannot be directly applied, their experiences and understanding are still vital. In any subject, understanding begets discovery, in this case, self-discovery. To view the records of someone passing through the confusion of living, it may enlighten a path for ourselves. Thus, one must read, listen, discuss, feel, understand life, but most important, is to live.

— William Ouyang