All my life I struggled to stretch my mind to the breaking point, until it began to creak,
in order to create a great thought which might be able to give a new meaning to life,
a new meaning to death, and to console mankind. ~ Nikos Kazantzakis
Answers to the question of the meaning of life fall into one of three categories:
Negative (nihilistic) answers—life is meaningless;
Affirmation—it is good that life is meaningless;
Acceptance—it is bad that life is meaningless, but we accept this;
Rejection—it is bad that life is meaningless, and we reject this;
Agnostic (skeptical) answers—we don’t know if life is meaningful;
The question is unintelligible;
The question is intelligible, but we don’t know if we can answer it;
Positive answers—life is meaningful;
Supernatural (theistic) answers—meaning from transcendent gods;
Natural (non-theistic) answers—meaning created/discovered in natural world
i. meaning is objective—discovered or found by individual
ii. meaning is subjective—created or invented by individuals.