What is the meaning of purpose?
Throughout history, the focus for many of humanity’s religious and philosophical institutions has been answering questions seemingly simple, but infinitely complex in nature: what is our purpose? What is the meaning of life?
Many prominent figures in history have sought to answer these questions–each with their own unique take on these life-governing concepts.
According to Thaddeus Metz, a professor of philosophy at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, there are three questions that arise with the topic of the meaning.
The first has to do with analyzing the question itself– “what does ‘meaning’ mean, in context?” The second question’s focus, as mentioned previously, relates to what the actual purpose or meaning of life is.The third and final question is “how is life meaningful at all?” The schools of thought seeking to answer these questions include Supernaturalism, Naturalism and Nihilism.
Supernaturalism means to derive purpose through the existence of and link to God or the soul. So, to find meaning as a supernaturalist, one might commit acts that would bring themselves closer to their god and soul. On the other hand, naturalism is the opposite. Its followers attempt to find meaning in life itself, and literal physical being. They see physical life as inherently meaningful and beautiful, and thus do things to enhance that. Within Naturalism lies the sub-groups of Subjectivism and Objectivism. Basically, Objectivism states that there are certain conditions that create meaning, and those are the same for all living things. Subjectivism, though, affirms that meaning is purely, subjective, or it differs from person to person. Nihilism is the flip side of the coin. Rather than buying into all this complexity, nihilists believe that life has no inherent meaning. To them, we are nothing more than purposeless specks on a rock, pointlessly floating in space.
While all this information is important for someone seeking purpose, it may seem hard to wrap one’s head around such a complex concept. To make it easier to understand, I interviewed a teacher who feels their purpose is clear.
“I have 100% found my purpose,” Mrs. Nita Nicholie said.
Lovingly referred to as Ms. Nic by her students, she teaches Honors Physics and runs SJHS’s National Honors Society. Ms. Nic also leads a program to help students without a support system.
“My purpose is to help kids, teenagers specifically, onto whatever the [their] next great big adventure is. This is my 37th year teaching. The physics doesn’t change much, but the kids are always different.” Devoted to her students, Ms. Nic had this to say to those seeking their purpose: “just be open to the universe, it will put things in your path. You’ll be given opportunities, take the risk and say yes. You never know what could happen after that.”