Does Human Life Have Real Meaning?

In which John discusses whether human life has real meaning (and if constructed meaning is less real than derived meaning), thinks about thinking, offers to attend pretty much any wedding with an open bar, reveals his favorite two-digit number, and answers real questions from real nerdfighters.

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[Katytastic]

"if nothing that we do matters, then all that matters is what we do"

[NathanJAllan]

This is deeper than my future university debt.

[danieltsmoke]

1:45 *my fiance someday is really going to wonder why I'm so insistent on Indianapolis for our wedding..*

[Iiuoypline]

Life is a meme. No one asks for it, children love it, old people dont understand it, and its lack of purpose is its purpose.

[juliasmith]

That's interesting. I found that I say "I don't know" far too often, when I do in fact know. So while I attempt to avoid unecessarily denying knowledge, you strive to intentionally acknowledge your ignorance.

There's probably a fine balance to find.

[LisaMichele]

There is actually something beautiful about the phrase "I don't know". It calls to mind wonder, and wonder is a step away from magic.

[acapellascience]

If meaning is defined by the things you find meaningful, there's really no need to construct your own meaning. The perception of meaning is deeply embedded into human nature: even if it's ultimately an illusion, it's almost impossible to EXPERIENCE it as illusory. It's like colour: a quality imposed on the objective things in the world that you can't help but experience, even if in some sense it "doesn't exist."

Human beings across cultures mostly agree about the things that are deeply meaningful. Family is meaningful. Relationships are meaningful. The articulation of great truths is meaningful. Bettering the human condition is meaningful. It takes a particular conscious twisting of these things to see them as meaningless; far from needing construction, meaning is the default state. Jordan Peterson argues that this is because meaning is the evolved intuition by which human beings recognize modes of being that are life-giving and rejuvenating for the individual, the community and society; especially those that remain effective across time and circumstance (because those have formed a consistent evolutionary pressure). We see meaning for the same reason we see colour: In the end, it helps us survive and thrive.

[DaaaahWhoosh]

Absolute oblivion isn't that bad. Just think about near-absolute oblivion, where everything except your mind is destroyed and you're stuck perceiving a void for eternity.

Oh, crap. Why did I think about that?

[drewdeschainofgilead]

That fire analogy is actually a pretty thought provoking one!

[lolpauve]

John, if you are struggling with the end of your book always remember "the butler did it":

[Crazyvale]

Absolute oblivion would be one of my greatest fears as well. The only thing you can do is not think to much about it, just realize it's meaningless to do so. Well, John has probably already come to that conclusion too.

John, you deserve a lot of credit for daring to speak about these topics to the public. I find it very hard to talk about with others as it often makes either them or me uncomfortable. Thank you for your awsome videos!

[celimendez]

Hey, Nerdfighters! Guess who got her Uni Degree today?? No more homework and exams for me!! (for now, at least) Now I can watch all the YouTube videos I want without that nagging feeling (a.k.a. guilt).

[CharlieSnowball]

This is me at 2am when I should be doing homework.

[jackiehouse]

The meaning of life is simply to live it. Do what makes you happy. Do what you want. Do what you can.

[mrburns]

You and your brother are such a joy. I'm grateful for your existence.

[Thecats]

I'd love to see a Crash Course: Literature that explores less "literary" modern books but modern books that have had a huge impact on our culture, a la Harry Potter.

[schloergrape]

'Meaning of life' is very subjective. You make the meaning of your *own life*

[JustinClouse]

I was sitting here wondering "Why doesn't this have *WAY more comments*?"... then I saw it was just released 1 minute ago! 😀💯

[lukezacharias]

Kids, don't try the I don't know method on your math tests...trust me.

[jamestown]

0:20
I like John Green's explanation. He doesn't dismiss the possibility of an intrinsic meaning in life, but instead states that those who don't find one can still make their own meaning/purpose for life.