What Makes a Life Significant?
William James often
pondered the questions of whether or not life was worth living as well as what
makes a life significant. Due to these questions that James proposed, he ended
up publishing an article called “What Makes a Life Significant.”
William James was born in
1842 and eventually grew into a leading spokesperson for pragmatism. James was
one of the most influential philosophers in the United States during the late
nineteenth century. He would eventually become known as the “Father of American
Psychology.” William James also spoke out for and promoted individualism.
As far as what makes a
life significant, there is no one true answer. Most people have a different
perception of the meaning or purpose of life than that of their peers. Some
perceive the purpose of life as doing well and finding purpose. Some people
also perceive the purpose of life as contributing to their community or seeking
knowledge. While there is no specific answer to the purpose of life, many take
it at face value and view the purpose of life solely as procreation. Clearly,
procreation is not all that there is to human life as I’m sure many would
agree.
In William James’
writing, “What Makes a Life Significant,” he lays out criteria for the
components of a “significant life.” Among these components are consciously
chosen ideals, bold energetic activity, and using our minds and bodies in the
ways they were intended to be used. When James mentions consciously chosen
ideals, he means carefully chosen ideas that can be pursued. A large part of James’
thought on significant life is that one must pursue significant ideals with
determination. James uses two criteria to determine whether an ideal is
considered significant or not. William James focuses on the intellectual
conception and novelty of ideals. When he speaks about intellectual conception
James is mainly referring to someone consciously pursuing something rather than
remaining “unconscious.” James says “if we have it; and it must carry with it
that sort of outlook, uplift, and brightness that go with all intellectual
facts.” He is basically saying that an ideal is significant if it is something
that you can carry with you as a part of you and be proud of it.
When James speaks about
the novelty of ideals he dives fairly deep. He makes a key point that the ideal
itself does not need to possess novelty, but rather, the ideal needs to be
novel “at least for him whom the ideal grasps.” However, he goes on to mention
that “ideas are relative to the lives that entertain them.” Personally, I agree
with James’ statement here. James is explaining that while not all ideals are
significant, all lives require significant ideals in order to achieve
significance. In the section of What
Makes a Life Significant I have been referring to James also states that
education is simply a matter of multiplying our ideals or introducing new ones.
This made me think about teachers or professors a bit differently because I had
never thought of them as people meant to multiply my ideals. Their ideals are
to spread knowledge and inform the following generations. This makes my ideals feel
minuscule and selfish and makes me question if I am living a significant life
in contrast to them.
While reading much of
William James’ work, I find myself questioning ideas such as the meaning of life,
if life’s worth living, and many other recurring themes in his writing. In
recent years, I have begun to perceive the true meaning of life as simply to
live it to the fullest or make the absolute most out of it. You are only here
for as long as you’re alive, so why waste any of your time? It is going to be
quite some time before we witness the development of consciousness transfer
technology so time for everyone on Earth is limited. There is no time to waste
in creating a significant life for yourself and potentially those around you.
I feel like William James
looked at life similarly. As far as how he describes a life’s significance, I
feel like, in layman’s terms, he is saying to not waste the moment, find
something you care about, stick with it, and contribute to your community. Some
of William James’ philosophy is rooted in cosmopolitanism due to the education
he received between America and Europe. Cosmopolitanism, in political theory,
is the belief that all people are entitled to equal respect and consideration
no matter what. Therefore, James was a large advocate for being well-rooted
within your community. I do enjoy the idea of cosmopolitanism. All of us humans
are in this life thing together. Everyone should be entitled to respect and
consideration, today, we see so much disrespect, hate, and intolerance.
Inequality is the largest issue in this modern age. I along with James
believe that it is important to contribute to the strength of your community.
Towards the end of James’
essay, he speaks about how people are often blind to the significance of their
peers and remain envious and greedy rather than taking action. I feel like this
is an issue that is still present today. Today so many people are full of greed
only looking to make a benefit or a profit for themselves. This is extremely common among record labels and
managers trying to steal money from artists or producers. I believe that some
people are mistaken about what makes life significant. The significance of a
life is not related to how much money you make. Your life is defined by your
actions.
In conclusion, a
significant life is defined by one's ideals and how one pursues them. While
everyone has ideals they are not always significant or pursued with diligence.
It is extremely common nowadays for people to not chase their dreams and settle
for less. In order to live a significant life you must chase your ambitions, be
active in your community, and be proud of that.
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