Page 18 - Introducing The Gratitudes

18 them have traditionally dedicated a big part of their life to,
INTRODUCING
THE GRATITUDES
Field Guides to Learning and Living Everyday Values
whether ethnic identity, national sovereignty, religious faith, community affairs, personal honour, or social justice. There’s a step further, however; neither appealing to gods or subjective meaning but to independent values found in the universe at large. “The cosmos may not have been consciously designed, but it is not chaotic, either.” Giving an answer to the meaning of life means making moral choices. Yet it is tough to discover the right values to live by. It is even harder to try living them. Wise decisions can only be made with a guiding framework.
Eagleton chooses a view of happiness as the free flourishing of our faculties and care for the collective well-being. This is happi-
ness disengaged from selfishness and allied to the love for humanity. Obtaining mean- ing in life means that we should strive for goodness for the sake of it, not because it
“I have wished to
understand the hearts of
men, I have wished to know
why the stars shine, and I may take us to some end-place. Being moral have tried to apprehend the is the basic prize, and no meaning beats it. Pythagorean power by Life is like a musical improvisation with
which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have
each artist spontaneously doing their own thing. Receiving inspiration from the other members, while cooperating with them. Together we form a greater whole. The meaning of life consists of individuals all engaged in finding happiness through love
achieved.”
– Bertrand Russell
and concern for each other.
Most of us take the approach that we find meaning through hap-
piness and that relations are an integral part of achieving happi- ness. English philosopher Alain de Botton, the author of the 2006 book The Architecture of Happiness believes that what prompts people to complain that life lacks meaning are particular varie- ties of unhappiness. In his view this unhappiness often comes from common sources: the breakdown of romantic relationships; dissatisfaction with the shallowness of friendships; the trivial- ness of much contemporary conversation; frustration with the education system or one’s career. He proposes a theory of mean- ing found in communication, understanding and serving: making connections with strangers; revealing our intimate physical and psychological selves with others, most particularly lovers; trying to improve others lives, either by alleviating sources of suffering or else by generating new sources of pleasure.
This echoes the English philosopher Bertrand Russell, who wrote in his 1959 memoir, My Philosophical Development, that love, knowledge and compassion were the meanings of life. “I have wished to understand the hearts of men,” he wrote, “I have wished to know why the stars shine, and I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.”
Writers on self-esteem argue that there is no value-judgement more important to man – no factor more decisive in his psycho- logical development and motivation – than the estimate he passes