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81-570: The China Youth Daily was established in 1951, six years before the Chinese Socialist Youth League decided to change its name to the Communist Youth League of China (CYL). The Pan Xiao debate (1980) refers to a published letter sent by a young female reader titled Why is the life path getting narrower and narrower which generated 60 thousand response letters in 7 months. It provoked discussion about

162-461: A Hero archy (Government of Heroes)". This fundamental assertion about the nature of society itself informed his political doctrine. Noting that the etymological root meaning of the word "King" is "Can" or "Able", Carlyle put forth his ideal government in "The Hero as King": Find in any country the Ablest Man that exists there; raise him to the supreme place, and loyally reverence him: you have

243-489: A white hole on the inside of a black hole in another parent universe. Many-worlds theories claim that every possibility of quantum mechanics is played out in parallel universes. The nature and origin of consciousness and the mind are also widely debated in science. The explanatory gap is generally equated with the hard problem of consciousness , and the question of free will is also considered to be of fundamental importance. These subjects are mostly addressed in

324-490: A "new Mythus", Natural Supernaturalism. Following Kant 's distinction between Reason ( Vernunft ) and Understanding ( Verstand ) in Critique of Pure Reason (1781), Carlyle held the former to be the superior faculty, allowing for insight into the transcendent. Hence, Carlyle saw all things symbols, or clothes, representing the eternal and infinite. In Sartor Resartus , he defines the "Symbol proper" as that in which there

405-481: A "space of conscious elements", often encompassing a number of extra dimensions. Electromagnetic theories of consciousness solve the binding problem of consciousness in saying that the electromagnetic field generated by the brain is the actual carrier of conscious experience; there is however disagreement about the implementations of such a theory relating to other workings of the mind. Quantum mind theories use quantum theory in explaining certain properties of

486-416: A concomitant vicious character. The Cynical life rejects conventional desires for wealth , power , health , and fame , by being free of the possessions acquired in pursuing the conventional. As reasoning creatures, people could achieve happiness via rigorous training, by living in a way natural to human beings. The world equally belongs to everyone, so suffering is caused by false judgments of what

567-421: A foundational influence on American Transcendentalism . Virtually every member followed him with enthusiasm, including Amos Bronson Alcott , Louisa May Alcott , Orestes Brownson , William Henry Channing , Emerson, Margaret Fuller , Frederic Henry Hedge , Henry James Sr. , Thoreau, and George Ripley . James Freeman Clarke wrote that "He did not seem to be giving us a new creed, so much as inspiring us with

648-555: A four-component solution to the question of meaning in life, with the four components purpose, understanding, responsibility, and enjoyment (PURE): Thus, a sense of significance permeates every dimension of meaning, rather than standing as a separate factor. Although most psychology researchers consider meaning in life as a subjective feeling or judgment, most philosophers (e.g., Thaddeus Metz , Daniel Haybron) propose that there are also objective, concrete criteria for what constitutes meaning in life. Wong has proposed that whether life

729-410: A hard-fought battle. Carlyle may have been inspired by earlier usage of the equivalent German expression der Sinn des Lebens by German Romantic writers Novalis and Friedrich Schlegel . Schlegel was the first to use it in print by way of his novel Lucinde (1799), though Novalis had done so in a 1797–1798 manuscript, in which he wrote: "Only an artist can divine the meaning of life." Additionally,

810-497: A justification of self-interest, and faith a matter of social convenience." James Anthony Froude attributed his decision to become an historian to Carlyle's influence. John Mitchel 's Life of Aodh O'Neill , Prince of Ulster (1845) has been called "an early incursion of Carlylean thought into the romantic construction of the Irish nation". Standish James O'Grady 's presentation of a heroic past in his History of Ireland (1878–80)

891-453: A moral leader, a moral desperado, a radical, a conservative, a Christian." Carlyle continues to perplex scholars in the 21st century, as Kenneth J. Fielding quipped in 2005: "A problem in writing about Carlyle and his beliefs is that people think that they know what they are." Carlyle identified two philosophical precepts. The first, "annihilation of self ( Selbsttödtung )", is derived from Novalis . The second, "Renunciation ( Entsagen )",

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972-556: A natural extension of simpler non- or pre-biological physical processes should logically be included in the concept "meaning of life". Though the Big Bang theory was met with much skepticism when first introduced, it has become well-supported by several independent observations. However, current physics can only describe the early universe from around 10 seconds after the Big Bang (where zero time corresponds to infinite temperature);

1053-853: A new kind of hero for the age of industrialisation : the Captain of Industry , who would re-imbue workhouses with dignity and honour. These Captains would make up a new " Aristocracy of Talent", or "Government of the Wisest". Instead of competition and " Cash Payment ", which had become "the universal sole nexus of man to man", the Captain of Industry would oversee the Chivalry of Labour, in which loyal labourers and enlightened employers are joined "in veritable brotherhood, sonhood, by quite other and deeper ties than those of temporary day's wages!" The 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia contains entries on

1134-517: A new life." Chandler writes that "Carlyle's contribution to English medievalism was first to make the contrast between modern and medieval England sharper and more horrifying than it had ever been." Secondly, he "gave new direction to the practical application of medievalism, transferring its field of action from agriculture, which was no longer the center of English life, to manufacturing, in which its lessons could be extremely valuable." G. K. Chesterton posited that "Out of [Carlyle] flows most of

1215-488: A perfect government for that country; no ballot-box, parliamentary eloquence, voting, constitution-building, or other machinery whatsoever can improve it a whit. It is in the perfect state; an ideal country. Carlyle did not believe in hereditary monarchy but in a kingship based on merit . He continues: The Ablest Man; he means also the truest-hearted, justest, the Noblest Man: what he tells us to do must be precisely

1296-429: A person had to study and practice in order to become "good"; thus if the person were to become virtuous , he could not simply study what virtue is , he had to be virtuous, via virtuous activities. To do this, Aristotle established what is virtuous: Every skill and every inquiry, and similarly, every action and choice of action, is thought to have some good as its object. This is why the good has rightly been defined as

1377-641: A reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, reduced risk of heart attack among individuals with coronary heart disease, reduced risk of stroke, and increased longevity in both American and Japanese samples. There is also growing evidence for a small decline in purpose in life in the early stages of cognitive impairment. In 2014, the British National Health Service began recommending a five-step plan for mental well-being based on meaningful lives, whose steps are: The exact mechanisms of abiogenesis are unknown: notable hypotheses include

1458-428: A social level using theoretical constructs such as value theory , norms, anomie , etc. One value system suggested by social psychologists , broadly called Terror Management Theory , states that human meaning is derived from a fundamental fear of death, and values are selected when they allow us to escape the mental reminder of death. Alongside this, there are a number of theories about the way in which humans evaluate

1539-437: A theory of quantum gravity would be required to understand events before that time. Nevertheless, many physicists have speculated about what would have preceded this limit, and how the universe came into being. For example, one interpretation is that the Big Bang occurred coincidentally, and when considering the anthropic principle , it is sometimes interpreted as implying the existence of a multiverse . The ultimate fate of

1620-604: Is linear , Action is solid ." He distinguishes between the "Artist in History" and the "Artisan in History". The "Artisan" works with historical facts in an atomised, mechanical way, while the "Artist" brings to his craft "an Idea of the Whole", through which the essential truth of history is successfully communicated to the reader. As with history, Carlyle believed that "Society is founded on Hero-worship. All dignities of rank, on which human association rests, are what we may call

1701-711: Is "some embodiment and revelation of the Infinite; the Infinite is made to blend itself with the Finite, to stand visible, and as it were, attainable there." Carlyle writes: "All visible things are emblems . . . all Emblematic things are properly Clothes". Therefore, "Language is the Flesh-Garment, the Body, of Thought", and "the Universe is but one vast Symbol of God", as is "man himself". In On Heroes , Carlyle spoke of

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1782-464: Is a controversial field which tries to find neural correlates and mechanisms of religious experience. Some researchers have suggested that the human brain has innate mechanisms for such experiences and that living without using them for their evolved purposes may be a cause of imbalance. Studies have reported conflicting results on correlating happiness with religious belief and it is difficult to find unbiased meta-analyses. Sociology examines value at

1863-484: Is a primary function to life, it is the replication of DNA and the survival of one's genes. Responding to an interview question from Richard Dawkins about "what it is all for", James Watson stated "I don't think we're for anything. We're just the products of evolution." Though scientists have intensively studied life on Earth , defining life in unequivocal terms is still a challenge. Physically, one may say that life "feeds on negative entropy " which refers to

1944-511: Is central to Carlyle's view of history. He saw individual actors as the prime movers of historical events: "The History of the world is but the Biography of great men ." In the area of historiography , Carlyle focused on the complexity involved in faithfully representing both the facts of history and their meaning. He perceived "a fatal discrepancy between our manner of observing [passing things], and their manner of occurring", since "History

2025-502: Is derived from Goethe . Through Selbsttödtung (annihilation of self), liberation from self-imposed material constraints, which arise from the misguided pursuit of unfulfilling happiness and result in atheism and egoism, is achieved. With this liberation and Entsagen (renunciation, or humility) as the guiding principle of conduct, it is seen that "there is in man a H IGHER than Love of Happiness: he can do without Happiness, and instead thereof find Blessedness!" "Blessedness" refers to

2106-469: Is impossible. In an 1835 letter, he answered Faust 's question, " Wer darf ihn NENNEN [Who dares name him]? I dare not, and do not", while rejecting charges of pantheism and expressing the empirical basis of his belief: Finally assure yourself I am neither Pagan nor Turk, nor circumcised Jew, but an unfortunate Christian individual resident at Chelsea in this year of Grace; neither Pantheist nor Pottheist, nor any Theist or ist whatsoever; having

2187-493: Is meaningful depends not only on subjective feelings but, more importantly, on whether a person's goal-striving and life as a whole is meaningful according to some objective normative standard . The philosophical perspectives on the meaning of life are those ideologies that explain life in terms of ideals or abstractions defined by humans. Plato , a pupil of Socrates , was one of the earliest, most influential philosophers. His reputation comes from his idealism of believing in

2268-419: Is not desirable for the sake of achieving some other good, and all other "goods" desirable for its sake. This involves achieving eudaemonia , usually translated as "happiness", "well-being", "flourishing", and "excellence". What is the highest good in all matters of action? To the name, there is an almost complete agreement; for uneducated and educated alike call it happiness, and make happiness identical with

2349-429: Is of two workers on an apparently boring production line in a factory. One treats the work as a tedious chore while the other turns it into a game to see how fast they can make each unit and achieves flow in the process. Neuroscience describes reward , pleasure , and motivation in terms of neurotransmitter activity, especially in the limbic system and the ventral tegmental area in particular. If one believes that

2430-464: Is related to all others before and after it in "an ever-living, ever-working Chaos of Being". Events are multi-dimensional, possessing the physical properties of "breadth", "depth" and "length", and are ultimately based on "Passion and Mystery", characteristics that narrative, which is by its nature one-dimensional, fails to render. Emphasising the disconnect between the typical discipline of history and history as lived experience, Carlyle writes: "Narrative

2511-527: Is that "good lies in the state of the soul", itself, exemplified in wisdom and self-control, thus improving one's spiritual well-being: " Virtue consists in a will which is in agreement with Nature." The principle applies to one's personal relations thus: "to be free from anger, envy, and jealousy". The Enlightenment and the colonial era both changed the nature of European philosophy and exported it worldwide. Devotion and subservience to God were largely replaced by notions of inalienable natural rights and

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2592-412: Is the essence of innumerable Biographies" and every individual's experience varies, as does the "general inward condition of Life" throughout the ages. Furthermore, even the best of historians, by necessity, presents history as a " series " of " successive " instances (a narrative) rather than as a "group" of " simultaneous " things done (an action), which is how they occurred in reality. Every single event

2673-503: Is the highest form of poetry, and "true History" is "the only possible Epic ". He imaged the "burning of a World-Phoenix" to represent the cyclical nature of civilisations as they undergo death and " Palingenesia , or Newbirth ". Periods of creation and destruction do overlap, however, and before a World-Phoenix is completely reduced to ashes, there are "organic filaments, mysteriously spinning themselves", elements of regeneration amidst degeneration, such as hero-worship, literature, and

2754-462: Is the meaning of life at all? To what purpose is it played, this farce in which everything that is essential is irrevocably fixed and determined? Questions about the meaning of life, and similar, have been expressed in a broad variety of other ways, including: These questions have resulted in a wide range of competing answers and explications, from scientific theories, to philosophical , theological , and spiritual explanations. Many members of

2835-724: Is to be in harmony with the universe's divine order, entailed by one's recognition of the universal logos , or reason, an essential value of all people. The meaning of life is "freedom from suffering " through apatheia (Gr: απαθεια), that is, being objective and having "clear judgement", not indifference. Stoicism's prime directives are virtue , reason , and natural law , abided to develop personal self-control and mental fortitude as means of overcoming destructive emotions . The Stoic does not seek to extinguish emotions, only to avoid emotional troubles, by developing clear judgment and inner calm through diligently practiced logic, reflection, and concentration. The Stoic ethical foundation

2916-451: Is valuable and what is worthless per the customs and conventions of society . Aristippus of Cyrene , a pupil of Socrates , founded an early Socratic school that emphasized only one side of Socrates's teachings—that happiness is one of the ends of moral action and that pleasure is the supreme good; thus a hedonistic world view, wherein bodily gratification is more intense than mental pleasure. Cyrenaics prefer immediate gratification to

2997-416: The Big Bang , the origin of life , and evolution , and by studying the objective factors which correlate with the subjective experience of meaning and happiness. Researchers in positive psychology study empirical factors that lead to life satisfaction, full engagement in activities, making a fuller contribution by using one's personal strengths, and meaning based on investing in something larger than

3078-533: The RNA world hypothesis (RNA-based replicators) and the iron-sulfur world hypothesis (metabolism without genetics). The process by which different lifeforms have developed throughout history via genetic mutation and natural selection is explained by evolution . At the end of the 20th century, based upon insight gleaned from the gene-centered view of evolution , biologists George C. Williams , Richard Dawkins , and David Haig , among others, concluded that if there

3159-436: The existence of one or multiple gods , conceptions of God , the soul , and the afterlife . Scientific contributions focus primarily on describing related empirical facts about the universe , exploring the context and parameters concerning the "how" of life. Science also studies and can provide recommendations for the pursuit of well-being and a related conception of morality . An alternative, humanistic approach poses

3240-526: The meaning of life in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution . Freezing Point (冰点 pinyin: Bing diǎn), a four-page weekly supplement of China Youth Daily was temporarily shut down by the Chinese government in early 2006, due to an anti-censorship letter posted by columnist Li Datong . According to The Washington Post , government censors accused the section of "'viciously attacking

3321-461: The scientific community and philosophy of science communities think that science can provide the relevant context, and set of parameters necessary for dealing with topics related to the meaning of life. In their view, science can offer a wide range of insights on topics ranging from the science of happiness to death anxiety . Scientific inquiry facilitates this through nomological investigation into various aspects of life and reality , such as

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3402-461: The ability to acquire resources necessary for reproduction. Sequences with such basic functions probably emerged early in the evolution of life. It has been proposed that both the evolution of macroscopic order in life (including its basic functions) and the evolution of order in particular physical systems obey a common fundamental principle that was termed the Darwinian dynamic. This principal

3483-412: The absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul. It is not by an unbroken succession of drinking bouts and of revelry, not by sexual lust, nor the enjoyment of fish, and other delicacies of a luxurious table, which produce a pleasant life; it is sober reasoning, searching out the grounds of every choice and avoidance, and banishing those beliefs through which the greatest tumults take possession of

3564-399: The belief in an eternal, omnipresent and metaphysical order which lies in the "unknown Deep" of nature, is at the core of Natural Supernaturalism. Carlyle revered what he called the "Bible of Universal History", a "real Prophetic Manuscript" which incorporates the poetic and the factual to show the divine reality of existence. For Carlyle, "the right interpretation of Reality and History"

3645-518: The best newspapers in China. It had a circulation of 800,000 in 2006. Meaning of life The meaning of life pertains to the inherent significance or philosophical meaning of living (or existence in general). There is no consensus on a definitive answer, and thinking or discourse on the topic is sought in the English language through the question , "What is the meaning of life?" (or

3726-405: The chances of survival for the individual organism and its descendants respectively. Non-cellular replicating agents, notably viruses , are generally not considered to be organisms because they are incapable of independent reproduction or metabolism. This classification is problematic, though, since some parasites and endosymbionts are also incapable of independent life. Astrobiology studies

3807-565: The existence of universals . His theory of forms proposes that universals do not physically exist, like objects, but as heavenly forms. In the dialogue of the Republic , the character of Socrates describes the Form of the Good . His theory on justice in the soul relates to the idea of happiness relevant to the question of the meaning of life. In Platonism , the meaning of life is in attaining

3888-542: The existence of these phenomena, parapsychologists have orchestrated various experiments, but successful results might be due to poor experimental controls and might have alternative explanations. Reker and Wong define personal meaning as the "cognizance of order, coherence and purpose in one's existence, the pursuit and attainment of worthwhile goals, and an accompanying sense of fulfillment" (p. 221). In 2016, Martela and Steger defined meaning as coherence, purpose, and significance. In contrast, Wong has proposed

3969-480: The fields of cognitive science , neuroscience (e.g. the neuroscience of free will ) and philosophy of mind , though some evolutionary biologists and theoretical physicists have also made several allusions to the subject. Reductionistic and eliminative materialistic approaches, for example the Multiple Drafts Model , hold that consciousness can be wholly explained by neuroscience through

4050-615: The following Carlylean terms: J. H. Muirhead wrote that Carlyle "exercised an influence in England and America that no other did upon the course of philosophical thought of his time". Ralph Jessop has shown that Carlyle powerfully forwarded the Scottish School of Common Sense and reinforced it by way of further engagement with German idealism . Examining his influence on late 19th- and early 20th-century philosophers, Alexander Jordan concluded that "Carlyle emerges as far-and-away

4131-436: The good life and successful living. They disagree, however, about the meaning of happiness. Antisthenes , a pupil of Socrates , first outlined the themes of Cynicism, stating that the purpose of life is living a life of Virtue which agrees with Nature . Happiness depends upon being self-sufficient and master of one's mental attitude; suffering is the consequence of false judgments of value, which cause negative emotions and

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4212-451: The highest form of knowledge, which is the Idea ( Form ) of the Good, from which all good and just things derive utility and value. Aristotle , an apprentice of Plato , was another early and influential philosopher, who argued that ethical knowledge is not certain knowledge (such as metaphysics and epistemology ), but is general knowledge. Because it is not a theoretical discipline,

4293-465: The limits of one's desires. Combined, freedom from pain and freedom from fear are happiness in its highest form. Epicurus' lauded enjoyment of simple pleasures is quasi-ascetic "abstention" from sex and the appetites: "When we say ... that pleasure is the end and aim, we do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal or the pleasures of sensuality, as we are understood to do, by some, through ignorance, prejudice or willful misrepresentation. By pleasure, we mean

4374-481: The long-term gain of delayed gratification; denial is unpleasant unhappiness. Epicurus , a pupil of the Platonist Pamphilus of Samos, taught that the greatest good is in seeking modest pleasures, to attain tranquility and freedom from fear ( ataraxia ) via knowledge, friendship, and virtuous, temperate living; bodily pain ( aponia ) is absent through one's knowledge of the workings of the world and of

4455-1044: The meaning of life is to maximize pleasure and to ease general life, then this allows normative predictions about how to act to achieve this. Likewise, some ethical naturalists advocate a science of morality —the empirical pursuit of flourishing for all conscious creatures. Experimental philosophy and neuroethics research collects data about human ethical decisions in controlled scenarios such as trolley problems . It has shown that many types of ethical judgment are universal across cultures, suggesting that they may be innate, whilst others are culture-specific. The findings show actual human ethical reasoning to be at odds with most philosophical theories, for example consistently showing distinctions between action by cause and action by omission which would be absent from utility-based theories. Cognitive science has theorized about differences between conservative and liberal ethics and how they may be based on different metaphors from family life such as strong fathers vs nurturing mother models. Neurotheology

4536-517: The mind. Explaining the process of free will through quantum phenomena is an alternative to determinism . Based on the premises of non-materialistic explanations of the mind, some have suggested the existence of a cosmic consciousness , asserting that consciousness is actually the "ground of all being". Proponents of this view cite accounts of paranormal phenomena, primarily extrasensory perceptions and psychic powers, as evidence for an incorporeal higher consciousness . In hopes of proving

4617-439: The most decided contem[pt] for all manner of System-builders and Sectfounders—as far as contempt may be com[patible] with so mild a nature; feeling well beforehand (taught by long experience) that all such are and even must be wrong . By God's blessing, one has got two eyes to look with; also a mind capable of knowing, of believing: that is all the creed I will at this time insist on. With this empirical basis, Carlyle conceived of

4698-575: The most prominent figure in a tradition of Scottish philosophy that stretched across three centuries and which culminated in British Idealism ". His formative influence on British idealism touched its nearly every aspect, including its theology, its moral and ethical philosophy and its social and political thought. Leading British idealist F. H. Bradley cited from the "Everlasting Yea" chapter of Sartor Resartus in his argument against utilitarianism: "Love not Pleasure; love God." Carlyle had

4779-488: The object of all endeavor [...] Everything is done with a goal, and that goal is "good". Yet, if action A is done towards achieving goal B, then goal B also would have a goal, goal C, and goal C also would have a goal, and so would continue this pattern, until something stopped its infinite regression . Aristotle's solution is the Highest Good , which is desirable for its own sake. It is its own goal. The Highest Good

4860-757: The philosophy of Nietzsche ," a view held by many; the connection has been studied since the late-nineteenth century. But Nietzsche rejected this. Carlyle influenced the Young Poland movement, particularly its main thought leaders Stanisław Brzozowski and Antoni Lange . In Romania, Titu Maiorescu of Junimea spread Carlyle's works, influencing Constantin Antoniade and others, including Panait Mușoiu , Constantin Rădulescu-Motru and Ion Th. Simionescu . Percival Chubb delivered an address on Carlyle to The Ethical Society of St. Louis in 1910. It

4941-537: The positive and negative aspects of their existence and thus the value and meaning they place on their lives. For example, depressive realism posits an exaggerated positivity in all except those experiencing depressive disorders who see life as it truly is, and David Benatar theorises that more weight is generally given to positive experiences, providing bias towards an over-optimistic view of life. Emerging research shows that meaning in life predicts better physical health outcomes. Greater meaning has been associated with

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5022-626: The possibility of different forms of life on other worlds, including replicating structures made from materials other than DNA. All forms of life that are in existence today possess a self-replicating informational molecule (genome), and such an informational molecule is presumably intrinsic to life. Thus the earliest forms of life also likely possessed a self-replicating informational molecule, possibly RNA or perhaps an informational molecule more primitive than RNA. The specific genomic sequences in all currently extant organisms contain order generating information that promotes survival, reproduction , and

5103-484: The potentialities of reason, and universal ideals of love and compassion gave way to civic notions of freedom, equality, and citizenship. The Everlasting Yea Thomas Carlyle 's religious, historical and political thought has long been the subject of debate. In the 19th century, he was "an enigma" according to Ian Campbell in the Dictionary of Literary Biography , being "variously regarded as sage and impious,

5184-585: The process by which living entities decrease their internal entropy at the expense of some form of energy taken in from the environment. Biologists generally agree that lifeforms are self-organizing systems which regulate their internal environments as to maintain this organized state , metabolism serves to provide energy, and reproduction causes life to continue over a span of multiple generations. Typically, organisms are responsive to stimuli and genetic information changes from generation to generation, resulting in adaptation through evolution; this optimizes

5265-463: The question, "What is the meaning of my life?" The first English use of the expression "meaning of life" appears in Thomas Carlyle 's Sartor Resartus (1833–1834), book II chapter IX, " The Everlasting Yea ". Our Life is compassed round with Necessity; yet is the meaning of Life itself no other than Freedom, than Voluntary Force: thus have we a warfare; in the beginning, especially,

5346-444: The related "Why are we here ?" or "What is the purpose of existence?"). There have been many proposed answers to these questions from many different cultural and ideological backgrounds. The search for life's meaning has produced much philosophical , scientific , theological , and metaphysical speculation throughout history. Different people and cultures believe different things for the answer to this question. Opinions vary on

5427-512: The sacred mystery of the Universe; what Goethe calls 'the open secret.' . . . open to all, seen by almost none! That divine mystery, which lies everywhere in all Beings, 'the Divine Idea of the World,' that which lies at 'the bottom of Appearance,' as Fichte styles it; of which all Appearance . . . is but the vesture , the embodiment that renders it visible. The "Divine Idea of the World",

5508-457: The self. Large-data studies of flow experiences have consistently suggested that humans experience meaning and fulfillment when mastering challenging tasks and that the experience comes from the way tasks are approached and performed rather than the particular choice of task. For example, flow experiences can be obtained by prisoners in concentration camps with minimal facilities, and occur only slightly more often in billionaires. A classic example

5589-431: The serving of duty and the sense that the universe and everything in it, including humanity, is meaningful and united as one whole. Awareness of the fraternal bond of mankind brings the discovery of the " Divine Depth of Sorrow ", the feeling of "an infinite Love, an infinite Pity" for one's "fellowman". Carlyle rejected doctrines which profess to fully know the true nature of God, believing that to possess such knowledge

5670-441: The socialist system' and condemned a recent article in it that criticized the history textbooks used in Chinese middle schools." Pressure from retired high-level party officials and senior scholars forced the government to allow publication again, but without its former editor and top investigative reporter, according to The New York Times . In 2006, American journalist Philip Pan has considered China Youth Daily to be one of

5751-448: The soul." The Epicurean meaning of life rejects immortality and mysticism; there is a soul, but it is as mortal as the body. There is no afterlife , yet, one need not fear death, because "Death is nothing to us; for that which is dissolved, is without sensation, and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us." Zeno of Citium , a pupil of Crates of Thebes , established the school which teaches that living according to reason and virtue

5832-558: The unbreakable connection between all human beings. Akin to the seasons, societies have autumns of dying faiths, winters of decadent atheism, springs of burgeoning belief and brief summers of true religion and government. Carlyle saw history since the Reformation as a process of decay culminating in the French Revolution, out of which renewal must come, "for lower than that savage Sansculottism men cannot go." Heroism

5913-444: The universe, and implicitly of humanity, is hypothesized as one in which biological life will eventually become unsustainable, such as through a Big Freeze , Big Rip , or Big Crunch . Theoretical cosmology studies many alternative speculative models for the origin and fate of the universe beyond the Big Bang theory. A recent trend has been models of the creation of 'baby universes' inside black holes , with our own Big Bang being

5994-473: The usefulness of using time and resources in the pursuit of an answer. Excessive pondering can be indicative of, or lead to, an existential crisis . The meaning of life can be derived from philosophical and religious contemplation of, and scientific inquiries about, existence , social ties , consciousness , and happiness . Many other issues are also involved, such as symbolic meaning , ontology , value , purpose , ethics , good and evil , free will ,

6075-652: The wisest, fittest, that we could anywhere or anyhow learn;—the thing which it will in all ways behoove us, with right loyal thankfulness, and nothing doubting, to do! Our doing and life were then, so far as government could regulate it, well regulated; that were the ideal of constitutions . It was for this reason that he regarded the Reformation, the English Civil War and the French Revolution as triumphs of truth over falsehood, despite their undermining of necessary societal institutions. Carlyle advocated

6156-525: The word lebenssinn , translated as life's meaning, had been used by Goethe in a 1796 letter to Schiller . These authors grappled with the rationalism and materialism of modernity. Carlyle called this the "Torch of Science", which burned "more fiercely than ever" and made religion "all parched away, under the Droughts of practical and spiritual Unbelief", resulting in the " Wilderness " of "the wide World in an Atheistic Century". Arthur Schopenhauer

6237-422: The workings of the brain and its neurons , thus adhering to biological naturalism . On the other hand, some scientists, like Andrei Linde , have considered that consciousness , like spacetime , might have its own intrinsic degrees of freedom, and that one's perceptions may be as real as (or even more real than) material objects. Hypotheses of consciousness and spacetime explain consciousness in describing

6318-426: Was formulated by considering, first, how macroscopic order is generated in a simple physical, non-biological system far from thermodynamic equilibrium, and then extending consideration to short RNA replicating molecules and then further to more complex forms of life. It was concluded that the fundamental order-generating process was basically similar for both types of process. Thus the idea that life likely emerged as

6399-539: Was strongly influenced by Carlyle. Wilhelm Dilthey deemed Carlyle "the greatest English writer of the century". Carlyle's histories were also praised by Heinrich von Treitschke , Wilhelm Windelband , George Peabody Gooch , Pieter Geyl , Charles Firth , Nicolae Iorga , Vasile Pârvan and Andrei Oțetea . Others were hostile to Carlyle's method, such as Thomas Babington Macaulay , Leopold von Ranke , Lord Acton , Hippolyte Taine and Jules Michelet . Sorensen says that "modern historians and historiographers owe

6480-421: Was the first in a series entitled "Forerunners of Our Faith ". David R. Sorensen affirms that Carlyle "redeemed the study of history at a moment when it was being threatened by a host of convergent forces, including religious dogmatism, relativism , utilitarianism, Saint-Simonianism and Comtism " by defending the "miraculous dimension of the past" from attempts to make "history a science of progress, philosophy

6561-407: Was the first to explicitly ask the question, in an essay entitled "Character". Since a man does not alter , and his moral character remains absolutely the same all through his life; since he must play out the part which he has received, without the least deviation from the character; since neither experience, nor philosophy, nor religion can effect any improvement in him, the question arises, What

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