According to theism, this is the intrinsic meaning of life: We exist because God wants us to. It pleases the almighty God that you exist. On theism, you are inherently and eternally important to the almighty creator of heaven and earth. That’s something, isn’t it?

What is the meaning of life? The French call this our raison d’ȇtre, our “reason for existing.” What is our reason for existing?

Naturalism is likely to respond that there is no teleological reason for our existence. That seems like a logical implication of naturalism, which sees humanity as a result of non-sentient natural processes. However, many naturalists have found this answer unsatisfying. That is understandable, since the thought that life is purposeless—meaningless—is rather depressing. Therefore, some naturalists have argued that, even without a divine design, life can have purpose. In particular, existentialist thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre have argued that we can make our lives meaningful by devoting ourselves to a worthy cause, such as eradicating poverty, finding a cure for cancer, or promoting world peace.

This brings us to [a] distinction: extrinsic purpose vs. intrinsic purpose. Extrinsic purpose is conferred on your life by something else, something other than life itself. The sort of purpose that naturalistic existentialists advocate is extrinsic. You can make your life meaningful by devoting it to a worthy cause, or to your family, your job, or whatever you are passionate about. And most of us do: Most people enrich their lives in this way. It’s a good thing to do!

However, there is a problem—an inherent danger, even—in extrinsic purpose: It can be lost. If your sense of meaningfulness and significance comes from your job and you lose your job, or from your family and through some tragedy you lose your family, or from serving the poor at a soup kitchen and the kitchen closes down, you could find yourself feeling empty, your life could seem pointless, and you could spiral into depression. This is a serious problem that many people face. It can even lead to suicidal ideation. Hence, although external sources of purpose and meaning are good, they also involve a degree of risk.

If life were intrinsically meaningful rather than merely extrinsically so, then we wouldn’t run this risk. Intrinsic purpose is purpose that is inherent in life itself. Is life intrinsically meaningful? Does it have intrinsic purpose?

Theism (and deism) holds that God created humanity for a purpose. Therefore, according to theism, life is inherently meaningful. Accordingly, if theism is true, then life is intrinsically meaningful[.]

The Meaning of Life

Now it’s time to attempt to answer the question: “What is the meaning of life?” Here we’ll assume that life has meaning and attempt to identify what that meaning is.

Naturalistic existentialists view life’s meaning from an extrinsic perspective. For them, life has whatever meaning you instill in it. You may choose to view life as meaningless, or as yours to enjoy to the fullest extent possible, or as an opportunity to serve humanity. So from a naturalistic perspective, there are at least three possible purposes for your life:

1. Nihilism: There is no meaning to life.
2. Hedonism: Maximal pleasure or happiness is the meaning of life.

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