Comic Strips

If life doesn't have meaning, then what's the reason for living? I think that's where the search comes from. Some people need to answer the question "Why am I alive?" or "Why should I continue living?" And the search for a reason can easily turn into a search for meaning. If there's no meaning, can there even be a reason? And if there is a reason, then that must be the meaning.

In nature, there is no search for reason or meaning because the focus is on survival, as individuals and as a herd. Is there enough food and water? Are there any predators around? Are the baby elephants safe? That's basically all there is to it. No need to ask why.

Humans have added layers of separation between themselves and nature, so that survival is no longer a main daily concern (people living in poverty are a potential counterargument, but people in survival mode generally don't have the time or energy to devote to questioning the meaning of life; hence the question itself has a reputation for being a bougie pastime).

The search for meaning emerges as a result of the human condition of surplus, convenience, and comfort. "I have all of this: why?" "Why do I have a job? So I can buy food. Why do I need to buy food? So I can live. Why do I need to live? 😳"

If you have people in your life, friends, family, community, or anyone else you care about, then it's easier to find meaning. "I live for them." Especially when someone is dependent on you. "My child needs me."

In post-modern society, hyperindividualism and other phenomena lead to this chronic isolation where many people feel like their existence is separate and insignificant. So it's not as easy to say "Well my friends/siblings/parents/neighbors would be sad if I was gone." Unless you have a child who depends on you, literally no one actually needs you to live. And modern society encourages this sort of pitilessness. "Oh no, so-and-so died." "Who?"

Furthermore, I think many of the pathologies of the modern psyche come from a failure to examine the meaning of life. Some people assume it's whatever they were societally programmed to do: gain money, pursue ambitions, achieve your goals, be successful, or even "have a lot of sex."

That's why you have billionaires who literally can't stop pursuing infinite growth. It's toxic, it's pathological, but they can't stop because they've never questioned the meaning of life and simply assume that it's "become as rich as possible." Replace "rich" with "famous"/"powerful"/"popular" etc., whatever it is, and you find a person's raison d'être.

Not everyone is so shallow of course. Maybe it's something simpler like "see the world" "learn as much as I can" "become an expert in something" "master a hobby/craft/artform" "create beautiful/profound/innovative/meaningful things" or whatever.

But some people try everything, and can't find anything that holds their interest enough to become a genuine raison d'être. They skip around fron fleeting interest to fleeting interest, while the ground seems to fall away from them at every step. These are the people for whom an existential crisis isn't merely a turning point in their lives, but a constant, even relentless state of being that they can't seem to escape. These are the people for whom the "quest for the meaning of life," or even just the simple search for a meaning, itself becomes their raison d'être.

And when that person finally realizes that the search for a meaning of life is itself a vain endeavor? May the Great Abyss have mercy on their soul... 😔

It's a human thing. People need "meaning", which takes on all kinds of forms, from religiously following their sports club to... well, thinking about if there is meaning.

Idk man, stories?

People generally stop worrying about such things at some point, especially when they are in a position to follow their hobbies and passions & make satisfying progress & contributions through whatever they're passionate about. That's the meaning of life right there.

But how do you know if elephants worry or not about it?