Philosophical Justifications for the Meaning of Life: St. Paul, MacIntyre, and Kurtz

The meaning of life is a question long pondered in social and philosophical circles. Some seek to justify life in terms of religion, as vassals to a deity. Others seek to find meaning in the self, creating unique scales of success or failure in life. I feel that both of these larger ideas fall short of the mark. I contend that we are merely parts of a larger environmental scheme, and that humanity should accept its futility and be a part of nature and the world around us, like the animals and plants humanity tends to ignore.

The religious (and, to an extent, political) believers seek to return to some simplicity of values. Whether it is the Christian God of St. Paul or the heroic tales extolled as virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre, there is a craving for cut and dry values intended to give meaning for life. St. Paul, like many other Christian writers, sought to spread his word to all that could hear. In his “Letter to the Corinthians,” he chastises those in Corinth who have sought alternate paths to salvation. Paul strikes against idolatry and polygamy, preaching for a return to God. Paul is an example of the religious want of simple, divine plans for humanity.

Similar to Paul’s “Letters,” Alasdair MacIntyre seeks a return to unified virtue. MacIntyre is very dramatic in describing the modern world as besieged by barbarians, representative of the moral confusion of freedom and liberty. MacIntyre praises the virtue of Homer’s heroic tales because social order and morality were united. Distinctions of religion, political affiliation, or nationality did not necessarily exist because Homeric society was isolated. MacIntyre proves to be a worthy advocate for this return to a heroic society of courage, kinship, and valor.