Philosophy of life: meaning, purpose, and values

¶ … philosophy of life can be thought of as an attitude or theory that helps to define our actions. A number of factors influence individual philosophies, with gender being one of the most important. In particular, common stereotypes of gender result in many men begin unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the personal insights needed to develop a philosophy of life, while most women are encouraged to develop such insights. Personally, the need to seek and find joy in life is an important component of a philosophy of life. Taken together with an understanding to "first, do no harm," such a philosophy can be a great aid to a fulfilling life.

A number of factors can influence an individual's philosophy of life, including our gender, nationality, race, ethnic background, religion, politics, profession, and education. In my life, some of these factors have played an especially important role in molding personal philosophy.

Based on personal experience, perhaps the most important of these in American life is gender. Gender molds not only how the world sees us, but how we see the world. Almost every American is aware that boys and girls are treated differently - the reaction of a typical parent to a boy child wearing makeup or playing with a feminine toy serves as an example. For many people, the idea of masculinity means that the individual is less likely to feel comfortable expressing or even acknowledging emotions. In addition, Western society's perceived ideas of masculinity make it difficult for many men to feel comfortable discussing "feminine" topics that deal with emotions, such as the idea of a philosophy of life. Ask many men their philosophy of life, and they might quip something like "He who dies with the most toys, wins." This type of answer can be seen as a typically masculine aversion to insight and emotion that are seen as female traits in our society.

In contrast, females in our society are expected, and even encouraged, to express and acknowledge their inner feelings. As such, many women are closely in touch with their inner desires, and have translated this understanding into a complex philosophy of life. While the differences between men and women discussed here may represent the extremes of the male-female dichotomy, they do serve to illustrate some real differences. Nonetheless, there are a number of men with well-developed philosophies of life that represent personal insights, and many women who are uncomfortable with their inner world and thoughts, and who have poorly developed philosophies of life as a result.

Personally, the philosophy of life revolves around an understanding of the need to seek and find joy in life. The definition of joy, therefore, is important in understanding this personal philosophy of life. Commonly, joy is understood to mean an emotion of extreme happiness or well-being. Indeed, joy can represent such an emotion, but personally it means much more than such a simple explanation would suggest. Joy is much more than simple, transitory happiness. Instead, it is a deep, soulful delight that fills an individual with a surge of contentment and a feeling that all is right in the world. Joy is the moment when all the forces in the world seem to come together as one; that perfect moment where it seems that the tragedies of life cannot touch us. In that small moment, joy makes the individual complete and in tune with the rest of the universe.

However, a personal philosophy that is solely based upon the need to seek and find joy could be problematic. An individual that existed only for such personal fulfillment would be highly likely to hurt others during their quest. For example, a wife whose personal philosophy was only to find joy would find it perhaps necessary to seek joy outside of the marriage during times of difficulty. This could take the form of a physical or emotional relationship with someone other than the husband. As such, the personal philosophy that is solely based upon the need to seek and find joy needs to be balanced in order to take the needs and feelings of others into consideration.