The document discusses the concept of meaning in life and purposes. It argues that while an overarching life purpose may not be necessary, people need to feel that their small daily purposes are significant. Purposes should be evaluated on a scale of values to determine if they are suitable to dedicate one's life to. Meaning is created individually as there is no universal meaning, through important goals or a coherent narrative. Education and life are also connected, as education helps realize one's life purpose and imbue life with meaning.

1. (Students can send their articles to editortal@dcmediacorP'cam)
in life, theorists uniformiy regard
meaning as crucial.
Meaningful living has been
directlY equated with authentic
living (Kenyon, 2000), and in
eudemonic theories of well-being'
This seems to be a truth about
meaning of anY kind.
To have meaning of anY kind,
a thing must be brought under
the governance of some kind of
purposive intention, whether an
intention to refer, to express'
to convey, or to operate in the
production of some acknowledged
value. thls is true of all meaning'
But, whY should there be an
overarching purpose for one's life?
Why shouldn't one iust have a lot
of small Purposes' for examPle,
to wdte this articie, to Pass an
examination, to get one's girlfriend
a nice
birthday Present? It seems
if we all do have small PurPoses
in life, for this is no more than the
as
claim that we act intentionall).'
frurp*s*
If we never did anY action on
purpose, we should not surwive
very long, for, it is not only the
(at
case that most PeoPIe work
Ieast PartlY) in order to get money
in order to get food and drink but
also that we do such mundane
actions as going to the refrigerator
and cupboard to get food and
drink. I don't think there needs
to be an overarching Purpose to
one's life, but I think we need an
assurance that the small PurPoses
are significant. If mY PurPose in
my actions was just to continue to
exist for as long as possible, I think
most People would want to class
such a life as meaningless, for,
unless I held the view that simPle
existence was a good thing, there
wouldn't seem to be any Point in
prolonging an existence that I was
not using for anY other PurPose'
There seem, then, to be
some purposes that are right or
approPriate for humans and others
that are not. The PurPoses have
to be worthwhile or important to
some degree, and theY also have
to be morallY good. It seems that
a life devoted to advancing human
suffering and causing Pain would
ontl-be meaningful in a Perverse
sense. But, it seems to me that
there ma1' also be more than
moralitl' at stalie here; it seems
plausible to sa)'that painting The
tona Lisa or $riting Hamlet is a
rtortlrrrhile end even though it may
not be moralll- good.
-.
.-,-
--
:.
.lll'
It seems then that Prrlposes
or ends shouldbe weighed on a
general r.a-lue scaLe to see whether
they are suitabLe for dedicating
one's existence to. This general
value scale wiII be a function from
particular values such as moral
value, aesthetic value, etc'' to an
overall medt or value. I think that
these value facts are brute facts,
that is, ones with no exPlanation;
there are some Purposes that are
good or valuable, and one cannot
say why they are so, nor can one
or-need one give anY additional
reason for the Pursuit of one of
these PurPoses.
In this context, Life and
Education are integrally connected
in a meaningful waY' Therefore,
Dewey d.efines as "life itself'" Man
comes to the Earth, grows and lives
for an aim, which we call 'PurPose''
Education is a process of realisilg
this purPose so that there will be
meaning to life. Likewise, there is
diversity in perspectives regarding
how to achieve meaning in life,
because there is no universal
meaning that can fit everYone's
life (Frankl, 1965). Each Person
must create meaning in his or
her own life whether through the
pursuit of imPortant goals or the
-develoPment
of a coherent Iife
narrative.
I
(I B Viswanatha Sarma is a Ph D
'student
at Department of Education in
A ch atY an
agari un a lJniv er s itY)

2. $tudents can send their articles to editorial@dcmediacorp'com)
in life, theorists uniformiy regard
meaning as crucial.
Meaningful living has been
directlY equated with authentic
living (Kenyon, 2000), and in
eudemonic theories of well-being'
This seems to be a truth about
meaning of anY kind.
To have meaning of anY kind,
a thing must be brought under
the governance of some kind of
purposive intention, whether an
intention to refer, to express'
to convey, or to operate in the
production of some acknowledged
value. thls is true of all meaning'
But, whY should there be an
overarching purpose for one's life?
Why shouldn't one iust have a lot
of small Purposes' for examPle,
to wdte this article, to Pass an
examination, to get one's gulfriend
a nice
birthday Present? It seems
if we all do have small PurPoses
in life, for this is no more than the
as
claim that we act intentionall)-'
ff*rp*s*
If we never did anY action on
purpose, we should not survive
very long, for, it is not onIY the
(at
case that most PeoPIe work
Ieast PartlY) in order to get money
in order to get food and drink but
also that we do such mundane
actions as going to the refrigerator
and cupboard to get food and
drink. I don't think there needs
to be an overarching Purpose to
one's life, but I think we need an
assurance that the small PurPoses
are significant. If mY PurPose in
my actions was just to continue to
exist for as long as possible, I think
most PeoPIe would want to class
such a life as meaningless, for,
unless I held the view that simPle
existence was a good thing, there
wouldn't seem to be any Point in
prolonging an existence that I was
not using for anY other PurPose'
There seem, then, to be
some purposes that are right or
approPriate for humans and others
tfrit are not. The PurPoses have
to be worthwhile or important to
some degree, and theY also have
to be morallY good. It seems that
a life devoted to advancing human
suffering and causing Pain would
ontl-be meaningful in a Perverse
sense. But, it seems to me that
there ma1' also be more than
moralitl'at
sta]<e here;
it
seems
plausible to sa)-that painting The
lona Lisa or lriting Hamlet is a
rtortlrrthile end even though it may
not be moralll-good'
.:j.
.L
: .'
'lt1'
It seems then that Purposes
or ends shouidbe weighed on a
general r'a-lue scale to see whether
they are suitable for dedicating
one's existence to. This general
value scale wiII be a function from
particular values such as moral
value, aesthetic value, etc'' to an
overall medt or value' I think that
these value facts are brute facts,
that is, ones with no exPlanation;
there are some Purposes that are
good or valuable, and one cannot
say why they are so, nor can one
or-need one give anY additional
reason for the Pursuit of one of
these PurPoses.
In this context, Life and
Education are integrally connected
in a meaningful waY' Therefore,
Dewey defines as "life itself'" Man
comes to the Earth, grows and lives
for an aim, which we call 'PurPose''
Education is a process of realisilg
this purPose so that there will be
meaning to life. Likewise, there is
diversity in perspectives regarding
how to achieve meaning in life,
because there is no universal
meaning that can fit everYone's
life (Frankl, 1965). Each Person
must create meaning in his or
her own life whether through the
pursuit of important goals or the
-develoPment
of a coherent life
narrative.
I
(I B Viswanatha Sarma is a Ph D
'student
at Department of Education in
A ch ary an agarj un a Univ er s itY)