Session #23 - What is the meaning of life?

From the earliest moments of human reflection, people have asked a question as simple as it is profound: Why are we here?

"The unexamined life is not worth living,"
Socrates

The search for the meaning of life is not merely an abstract puzzle; it is woven into our choices, our values, and the way we understand happiness, suffering, and purpose. In ancient Athens, Socrates suggested that a meaningful life begins with examination, placing self-knowledge at the center of human existence.

For Socrates, meaning was not something handed to us but something discovered through dialogue, questioning, and moral awareness. Aristotle later offered a different but complementary vision.

He proposed that the purpose of human life is eudaimonia, often translated as flourishing. According to Aristotle, meaning is found not in fleeting pleasure but in living virtuously, developing our capacities, and contributing to the life of the community. A meaningful life, in his view, is one lived in accordance with reason, balance, and excellence of character.

Modern philosophy introduced a more unsettling perspective. Jean-Paul Sartre argued that human beings are “condemned to be free.” There is no predetermined purpose, no universal script that defines our existence. Instead, meaning emerges from our choices. We create who we are through action, and with that freedom comes responsibility. Meaning, then, is not discovered but constructed.

Simone de Beauvoir extended this existential insight by emphasizing that meaning is not created in isolation. Human freedom exists in relation to others. To live meaningfully is to recognize both one’s own freedom and the freedom of others, and to engage in projects that affirm shared humanity. For de Beauvoir, meaning involves responsibility, connection, and the ethical use of freedom in a world that offers no fixed answers.

Across these perspectives, a fascinating tension emerges. Is meaning something we discover, cultivate, or create?
Is it rooted in virtue, happiness, responsibility, relationships, or purpose?

Perhaps the enduring power of this question lies precisely in the fact that no single answer has ever satisfied everyone. Today, the question remains open, inviting each generation to respond in its own way. Philosophy offers frameworks, science offers explanations, culture offers narratives—but ultimately the question turns toward each of us personally.

So as we begin this seminar, we return to the question that has echoed across centuries of thought and experience: What is the meaning of life to you?

BIO: Georgiana Turculet is a multidisciplinary philosopher and two-time Marie Curie fellow. She holds a PhD from Central European University and has held academic positions at several European institutions, including the Department of Philosophy at Pompeu Fabra University and the Department of Philosophy at University of Copenhagen

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