The meaning of life , or the answer to the question: "What is the meaning of life?" , pertains to the significance of living or existence in general. Many other related questions include: "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", or "What is the purpose of existence?" There have been many proposed answers to these questions from many different cultural and ideological backgrounds. The search for life's meaning has produced much philosophical , scientific , theological , and metaphysical speculation thr
The meaning of life can be derived from philosophical and religious contemplation of, and scientific inquiries about existence , social ties , consciousness , and happiness . Many other issues are also involved, such as symbolic meaning , ontology , value , purpose , ethics , good and evil , free will , the existence of one or multiple gods , conceptions of God , the soul , and the afterlife . Scientific contributions focus primarily on describing related empirical facts about the universe , exploring the c
The first English use of the expression "meaning of life" appears in Thomas Carlyle 's Sartor Resartus (1833–1834), book II chapter IX, "The Everlasting Yea". [1]