Philosophy: Meaning of Life and Worthwhile Life Essay

Submitted By El_fallis
Words: 840
Pages: 4
Open Document
In this paper I will be discussing Tolstoy and Sartre views on the meaning of life by comparing and contrasting Tolstoy’s objectivism and transcendentalism and Sartre’s subjectivism and existentialism. I will later conclude why it is that Sartre’s view resonates more within myself.

Tolstoy’s view on transcendentalism states that the only way for you to live a worthwhile life is if you follow God’s plan, for following God’s plan is the only way to maintain the “two ingredients”: immortality and an external significance for individual lives, which Tolstoy believes are essential for obtaining a worthwhile life. According to Tolstoy, God’s plan gives things purpose and the value they have and that they are good in virtue of playing a role in the plan. However, Sartre contradicts Tolstoy’s view of transcendentalism with his position on existentialism, the complete opposite of transcendentalism.

Existentialism says that human beings were not designed with a purpose in mind; the only way for humans to have purpose in their life is if they assign one to themselves. Sartre goes on to say that each individual is in charge of inventing his or her own self, there is no plan nor a larger picture. Sartre also argues that there is no such thing as human nature, and since God does not exist, human beings must be in charge of themselves when deciding what is right and wrong and how they should live their life.

From existentialism, Sartre concluded through subjectivism that there is no correct way to live life. It is up to the individual to invent their own life and the standards they will use to assess it. We are free in the sense that we must create our own personal values. Sartre goes on to state that we are born nobody and that it is our actions that start to create the meaning in our lives. Sartre believes that there is no external meaning outside of life. There is no god. There is no path for us to follow. Again, this is the opposing opinion of Tolstoy, which he argues through objectivism.

Objectivism is the view that for a life to be considered “worthwhile” there must be a given set of features present in our life. Although, we play no role in deciding what exactly it is that constitutes as a worthwhile life and that we have no control over the matter. Essentially, there is a correct way to live life, and it is possible that you can be living your life wrong.

With myself being an atheist, Sartre’s views on the meaning of life resonates more within myself. Perhaps I am too young and too naive to believe that God does not exist, but in the eighteen years I have lived, I can honestly say that I have no reason to believe in God or any other higher power. This became very clear for me at a young age when I lost a very close friend in car accident. I could never understand that if God has a plan for everyone and everything that he would create so much pain and suffering. How is it possible that such horrible things happen to such good people? Why would God
Show More

Related Documents: Philosophy: Meaning of Life and Worthwhile Life Essay

Meaning of Life by John Cottingham Essay

Every person has questioned the meaning of life; It is an idea that can be traced through out the history of mankind. John Cottingham, author of “The Meaning of Life” is just one of the many who have tried to explain and simplify this complicated question. “The Meaning of Life” is a short but informative book that attempts to breakdown the meaning of life with as little religious intervention as possible, while at the same time, be able to “reveal how [religion] connects with values and commitments…

Words 1027 - Pages 5

Essay about The idiocy of optimism and the vanity of philosophical conjecture

faith or tradition, and exchanges faith and religion for individualism and scientific reasoning. The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the Seven years’ War had a profound effect on Voltaire’s writing, his assessment of societal norms and western philosophy. Strongly disillusioned by these horrible events he came to question in particular the theory of a well-known philosopher by the name of Gottfried Willhelm Leibniz. Voltaire uses Candide as an exposure of the sheer lunacy in the classic dogmas of…

Words 1015 - Pages 5

Ethics: Thought and Good Life Essay examples

topic of this paper will be on the beliefs that have been defined by the philosopher Epictetus. There were fifty three points on how the good life can be achieved by adjusting a person’s yearnings to fit the world liking. The happiness that consequences from the good life are also thought to be not just any desire but some kind of happiness that is worthwhile. From reading Epictetus beliefs I think he would agree with that statement. The topics that were presented I mostly agree with because he came…

Words 1040 - Pages 5

Mending W Essay

reflect on life.” Mending Wall Robert Frost provides an existential outlook on the human condition, through seemingly simple occurrences in everyday life. His ability to manifest an underlying meaning through seemingly insignificant observations, establishes on a deeper level a more meaningful and thought-provoking context. Specifically, the poem, “Mending Wall” examines human behavior in a contemplative and reflective tone, which invites the reader to ponder the basic philosophy of life. As Frost…

Words 750 - Pages 3

Philosophy Essay 3

Adrien Tang 30829139 PHIL 102 – 004 What is philosophy? Philosophical views and their criticism A philosophy is a comprehensive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. The definition of philosophy varies with different idealists. Socrates identifies philosophy as the will to not just live life, but to constantly question and evaluate it. He believes people should stop living instinctively, like birds that fly south for the winter. Rather, everyone should stop…

Words 2417 - Pages 10

Metaphysics Passage Analysis Essay

In relation to philosophy, his four causes explains how changes of movement for something is classified is indicates how as an empiricist, he is able to profess that through our senses, we can identify the meanings behind the causes and to question it. In terms of our society, as people, we are constantly trying to categorize, label and organize things in our lives…

Words 1095 - Pages 5

Ii Implications Essay

to help to explain why there was a shift from the traditional theological philosophy to the philosophy of religion. The ideas that Westphal expresses within his paper about the emergence of the modern philosophy of religion have to agree with, such as his idea of the Kernel and the Husk. On the other hand some of the key thinkers that Westphal uses, within his paper to show their contribution to the emergence of philosophy of religion, I do not agree with all their ideas. I shall examine the thoughts…

Words 2159 - Pages 9

Family Developmental Theory Essay

Family Developmental Theory Historical Development • Family developmental theory is an approach to studying families, which is useful in explaining patterned change, the dynamic nature of the family, and how change occurs in the family life cycle. • The roots of family developmental theory date back to the 1930s from works of sociologists, economists, and demographers who established family categories (which were the precursors to the stages of development • From the mid 1940s…

Words 2730 - Pages 11

The Role Of Optimism In Voltaire's Candide

worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true” (James Branch Cabell, The Silver Stallion). This quote embodies the idealism of optimism displayed within the story Candide. In today’s society, we are taught to look forward to more fortunate outcomes in life, and to discover the advantages even in the most detrimental situations. By definition, optimism is a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome, or can be interpreted…

Words 1352 - Pages 6

Lord Henry

distressing . . . one should sympathize with the beauty, the joy of life” (29). For Lord Henry, altruism is not a positive quality – it is actually extremely detrimental. Wotton believes that all humans should be narcissists because the true realization of one’s humanity lies in reflection on the self. Therefore, he explains that helping the self is preferable over helping others because altruism prevents one from living the beautiful life because it is associated with goodness. Furthermore, Lord Henry’s…

Words 1563 - Pages 7