Appendix
50 Philosophers on the Meaning of Life
2,500 years of answers. Filter by name. Click a philosopher to read their full essay.
Thomas AquinasUnion with God through knowledge and love.Hannah ArendtAct in the public realm; begin something new.AristotleFlourishing through virtuous activity over a complete life.Augustine of HippoThe restless heart finds rest only in God.Simone de BeauvoirExercise freedom in authentic project, in solidarity.Jeremy BenthamGreatest happiness of the greatest number.Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama)End suffering through the Noble Eightfold Path.Judith ButlerStruggle for recognizability; every life grievable.Albert CamusRevolt against the absurd; live lucidly.Noam ChomskyPursue freedom and fullest human creative capacity.ConfuciusCultivate humane goodness; bring harmony through right relationship.Daniel DennettBecome a designer of purposes.René DescartesRight use of reason through methodical doubt.John DeweyGrowth of meaning through intelligent problem-solving.Ralph Waldo EmersonRealize unity with the Over-Soul.EpicurusSimple pleasures, friendship, freedom from fear.Viktor FranklMeaning through attitude toward unavoidable suffering.Yuval Noah HarariReduce suffering; craft stories that minimize pain.Sam HarrisPursue well-being through mindfulness and honesty.Martin HeideggerLive authentically; face death; own your thrownness.David HumeMeaning through passion, social bonds, shared happiness.William JamesForge meaning through the strenuous moral life.Carl JungIndividuation: become whole by integrating the unconscious.Immanuel KantHighest good through a good will acting from duty.Søren KierkegaardBecome a self before God through passionate faith.Jiddu KrishnamurtiLive without a center; choiceless awareness.Lao Tzu (Laozi)Harmony with the Tao through effortless action.Marcus AureliusLive according to Nature; accept what comes.Karl MarxAbolish alienation through collective liberation.John Stuart MillMaximize happiness through higher pleasures.Thomas NagelLive with seriousness and irony.Friedrich NietzscheCreate your own values; love your fate.Martha NussbaumCultivate central capabilities for a life of dignity.Jordan PetersonTake up the cross of your own becoming.PlatoAscent of the soul toward the Form of the Good.Ayn RandLive as a rational being; pursue your own happiness.Bertrand RussellPursue knowledge, love, compassionate action.Jean-Paul SartreInvent meaning through committed choice.Arthur SchopenhauerDeny the will through art, compassion, renunciation.Seneca the YoungerPerfect reason; achieve calm through virtue.Peter SingerReduce suffering across all sentient beings.SocratesThe unexamined life is not worth living.Baruch SpinozaUnderstand your place in Nature; intellectual love of God.Thich Nhat HanhTouch the miracle through mindfulness and compassion.Henry David ThoreauLive deliberately; simplify; follow conscience.Alan WattsStop seeking; the meaning is to be alive.Cornel WestLive with existential integrity; bear witness to justice.Ludwig WittgensteinMeaning is shown in how we live.Zeno of CitiumLive in agreement with nature; virtue is the only good.Slavoj ŽižekConfront the Real of your desire; enact the impossible.