He wrote a whole book about it. But here is a start:

@Lucignolo
I don't disagree with the points JBP makes here, but to get a broader view of this question I think we have to back up a notch, to the question behind it: Why is Homo sapiens the only animal that spends time worrying about the meaning of life? Is there any evidence that pandas or crocodiles or mockingbirds cogitate about this issue? The first part of this answer is pretty immediately obvious; our big brains are capable of abstract thought. Without that capacity the concern is not even conceivable. Without the capacity for abstract thought all we could do is try to meet the demands of our instinctual urges, like the deer or opossum. We would be satisfied to seek food, safety, procreation, etc.

The other, perhaps more important, half of the answer may not be as readily apparent. Humans have created a more reliable, artificial, supply chain to meet our natural needs. Our complex, technology-infused societies automatically pipe hot and cold running satisfaction right to our climate controlled, police protected, indemnified, feeding and reproduction stations. We have the luxury of worrying about meaning.

Wherever these supply systems have broken down or have not been built, humans, oversized crania notwithstanding, are more like our animal cousins regarding this question. Ask a starving family in South Sudan, or a terrified teenager in war-torn Syria how many hours per day they spend wrestling with the meaning conundrum. They have all the meaning they can handle. It is our outrageous success that provides the incubator for this imaginary problem. I think it really has less to do with our religious convictions than how full our stomachs are.

Now, given that most of us reading this website ate today, and have the luxury of suffering over meaning and purpose, Jordan is probably right. In times of peace and plenty, the next emergent opportunity for meaning is our potential for contributing value to our community, and nothing about that depends on whether we envision it in religious or evolutionary terms.

@skado are you suggesting it's all white priveleged folk's problems ? ?

@SimonCyrene
I’m betting it leans that way.

@skado As humans I believe we have a duty to investigate the world, find more truth, find meaning, make new discoveries.

Philosophy is still relevant because what we think of ourselves and our role in the universe affects how we act towards our planet, other animals, towards each other.

I’m not saying JP is right or wrong. I just think it’s good to incorporate new ideas in our minds. Meaning is just as imaginary as education, morality, omnivorousism, marriage. It’s all just ideas and humans have been wondering about this particular topic for millennia, even when their stomachs weren’t as full as ours.

I posted this question under philosophy, where it belongs. You may find it to be trivial or pointless, I was asking people that are actually interested in contributing to the conversation. Pointing out these are first world problems not worth considering adds nothing. If you think it’s a waste of time, no one is forcing you to think about this or any other issues that aren’t filling your belly with food.

I think many people desperately need to feel their life has a meaning beyond materialistic or mundane things. That keeps them clinging to religion, charlatans, and other sellers of lies. I wish for a world free of religion and magical thinking. The only way it will be achieved is through an evolution of ideas. Atheism today is just nihilism, it offers no hope to people that can’t live without it or that are told to find their own. Since I want atheism to be a viable option, that can be successful, I am seeking new answers and engaging in all sorts of new ideas. That gives me meaning and purpose. ? Ultimately I’d like to leave the world a better place than I found it and I believe finding ways to allow people to digest and accept the truth is a great one.

@skado the physical and the metaphysical touch? The rest of the talk is an exercise in showing how smart he is, leaving small crumbs that would benefit a good car salesman for his next pitch.
It would be so much simpler to expose an elementary philosophy of existentialism, without so many convolutions.

@Lucignolo

Please accept my apologies. It was not my intention to trivialize your question, but looking back over what I wrote I can easily see how you might have gotten that impression. I very definitely thought your post was a worthy topic of discussion. That's why I immediately hit the "like" button under it, watched the video you sent me (thank you) and spent a couple hours of my time composing what I thought (and apparently a couple other people thought) was a useful philosophical contribution to the conversation.

I did not at all mean to suggest that the quest for meaning is only a product of your imagination, but rather a product of the overactive imagination of Homo sapiens, exactly as you suggest, just like "education, morality, omnivorousism, marriage" etc. My point being that if we can imagine ourselves into these challenges, maybe we can imagine ourselves back out of them by seeing them for what they are: problems that don't plague species who don't possess 'Formal Operational Stage' thinking skills, and haven't oversupplied their natural appetites, leaving a "meaning-vacuum".

This state of affairs is not a result of modern first world opulence, but more likely a consequence of the Agricultural Revolution of ten to twelve thousand years ago. It was certainly in full swing in the fertile crescent some two thousand years before Jesus joined the fray. Artifacts suggest Homo sapiens may have been toying with symbolic thought as far back as forty to a hundred thousand years ago, but whatever the date, it seems safe to assume our forebears of two or three hundred thousand years ago weren't suffering for lack of meaning in their lives. All this to say that it probably isn't a problem inherent in material reality but one more related to mental management.

Far from thinking this is a trivial issue, I too recognize that "many people desperately need to feel their life has a meaning beyond materialistic or mundane things" and, there is literally nothing more ~meaningful~ to me than contributing in some constructive way toward a solution to this problem. If I didn't respect your contribution to the discussion, rest assured I would not have bothered to comment on your post. I have nothing but disdain for hit-and-run smear tactics.

Where our thinking might diverge a tad is that I don't categorically assign "religion" to the garbage heap of "lies". I tend to define religion more broadly than just superstitious thinking, to include any mental practice that helps us counterbalance our evolved animal nature toward our higher aspirations, encompassing not only the numerous extant obsolete schemes, but also any rare, possible healthy ones.
I agree with your assessment that a nihilistic atheism won't fill the real need, but that the solution must be founded on a willingness to relinquish our dependence on literal deity concepts.

Since you are "seeking new answers and engaging in all sorts of new ideas" I assumed you might be open to an earnest discussion that examined possible amalgamations of evidence-based worldviews with reformed religious practice. I'm reasonably confident that this is a "new" enough idea that it hasn't yet been adequately explored. People usually tend to aggregate around one extreme or the other, but creative answers are often forged by "reaching across the aisle".

JBP appreciator that I admittedly am, I do tend to feel sometimes that his solutions seem to emanate from a privileged perspective, and one could argue that the enlarged H.sapiens brain of 200K years ago might comprise a "privilege" of sorts, but I was in no way suggesting that a good-faith discussion of our very real (in my opinion) "crisis of meaning" was not worth discussing. Getting complex ideas across the technological ethers without inadvertently stepping on the occasional toe is a high bar to meet, and I fail often, but never for lack of trying.

I find your post here to be among the most engaging I've encountered on this site, and hope to see many more from you in the future.

@Eldovis
I can't argue with you there. Peterson's explanations are often absurdly convoluted. But to the extent I can follow them, I think he often makes some legitimate, maybe groundbreaking, points. To see them though, I have to step over a lot of his annoying paranoid affectations and unnecessary defensiveness. He's a mixed bag for sure.

@skado You don’t need to apologize, sir. Thanks for taking the time to clarify your thoughts. I appreciate it. They are very eloquently expressed and clear. I didn’t understand your first post, but now I see what you mean. I like your perspective on religion and your broader interpretation of the concept. it may be a good way to move towards a better future and find common ground between sexularism and religion. Thank you

It’s not a good argument against atheism in the sense that it proves there’s a God or anything like that. I’m referring to the fact that many theists recognize the contradictions of heir religions, but given the alternative is Nihilism -which is ultimately what atheism offers today- they will buy any lie to keep a sense of meaning.

What i’m saying is that not all people are able to live a life where they must be responsible to find THEIR OWN meaning. Most people don’t have the strength, intellect, inclination to face such huge dilemmas. People deal with depression, death, poverty, injustice, inequality. Atheism leaves them naked and unarmed.

My question is not for you to explain me things I already know. Your arguments wouldn’t help converting a religious person. I’m trying to see if the problem of meaning can be approached from a new perspective, see if we have more to offer to those people than simply: “There’s no God, find your own meaning!”. That only works for a tiny minority that’s strong enough to deal with that answer. I am seeking something better than nihilism. I’m seeking new perspectives and ideas. The ones you offer are the same as always.

@Lucignolo the only argument against atheism WOULD be the existence of a god. any other argument would be for making yourself believe in something you know you don't believe in.

nihilism is NOT ultimately what atheism offers today. atheism isn't a thing that offers something. it's just the recognition that there are no gods. it's not a system or a religion or anything. not believing in a supreme being is not the same as believing in nothing. one can believe in human kindness. that's not nihilism.

as for telling you what you already know, sorry, have we met before and i've just forgotten? i don't KNOW what you know. i just know what you've SAID and ASKED. i responded to that. i don't know what perspectives are new to you. have i repeated something you've heard before? how rude of me. maybe you've heard it before because it's right! and i wasn't trying to offer anything to religionists. i was trying to answer your question. you asked what i thought. (me, and others. plural you.) you didn't ask me what i thought would be a good thing to say to a religionist.

g

I like that logic. It’s a great argument against religions that assign to this life the meaning of “quiz to get to heaven”. In that view I guess Heaven’s purpose is: being complete and being content to be with God and part of God or something like that I guess.

I, like you, don’t believe in Heaven or afterlife. Which means any meaning must be contained within this life and this life alone. I’m not opposed to the idea of “no meaning at all”. Although what I’m seeking is a secular idea of meaning. Something beautiful and thoughtful that can be used to offer some hope to religious people that can’t leave religion because they find the idea of “nothing matters” inconceivable. It’s a very hard task given most likely the universe just is, and life simply happened in a tiny tiny pocket. Even is that’s true, as I and most of you rationally expect, there may be broader philosophical justifications for meaning that are better then simply saying “find your own meaning” or “there is no meaning”.

@Lucignolo
Looking to heaven to make one "content" is really an admission that one has failed to find contentment in this life. I personally have no such problem and my life has been difficult in many ways. Even so, what magic would make one content or happy 24x7? It is not in human nature, or in nature period, to be ecstatic 24x7. That means that our very nature would have to be changed in some fundamental way that is incomprehensible. I think many people view heaven as similar to being in a drugged state 24x7 without falling prey to physical addiction. But this would essentially be similar to being in a zombie-like drugged state with no purpose other than to be "content". But isn't that just a more pleasant state of meaninglessness? If not, then what would the meaning of heaven life then be other than the pleasant eternal zombification? In a way, though pleasant, this actually sounds a little scary.
To me, life is full of meaning, and I pity those who find life meaningless and empty. Life is a neverending discovery and I live for that even though it is not always pleasant. But why should discovery always be pleasant, anyway? And if I were to look for some theoretical meaning beyond life, whatever that might be, it certainly wouldn't be some zombified drugged state. That is escaping life, not embracing it. And if you don't want to embrace life now, why would you want to embrace it forever? To me, looking for meaning "beyond" life is like an eye looking for itself or a hand attempting to grasp itself. It is simply an absurd exercise in escapist and meaningless futility while the true purpose and joys of life slip through your fingers.

I think many people desperately need to feel their life has a meaning beyond materialistic or mundane things. That keeps them clinging to religion, charlatans, and other sellers of lies. I wish for a world free of religion and magical thinking. The only way it will be achieved is through an evolution of ideas. Atheism today is just nihilism, it offers no hope to people that can’t live without it or that are told to find their own. Since I want atheism to be a viable option, that can be successful, I am seeking new answers and engaging in all sorts of new ideas. That gives me meaning and purpose. ? Ultimately I’d like to leave the world a better place than I found it and I believe finding ways to allow people to digest and accept the truth is a great one.

@Lucignolo I agree totally with regard to the nihilistic aspect of atheism. The way it is presented in some schools of thought is no different to a proselytised religion with the same mentality in play as some of the fundamental aspects of Christianity and Islam. Just different content

@Lucignolo I would suggest that the first course of action is to encourage existential ideas. Heidegger brings in some good fundamentals but, for me, only really kicks things off. Overlay him with some Taoist and Negative Theology might take it further. I’m quite happy to be a sounding board or kick some ideas around if you would like

He has interesting ideas worth considering. He is an author and wrote a whole book on meaning.

He doesn’t have the arrogance to dictate what’s meaningful to others. He approaches it from a philosophical/etiologic perspective.

As smart as one can be, by reading and listening to other’s ideas one can gain new perspective or straight learn things he had no clue about. That’s the idea behind education.

Most and foremost, I don’t care about meaning for myself. As I explained int he post, I’m trying to find better answers for religious people that can’t let go of religion because they can’t conceive the idea that life is meaningless. Some people find the idea of a meaningless universe absurd, not from a rational standpoint, but from an emotional one. They know religion is equally absurd deep down, but to many, the idea of a creator is less absurd than the idea of a universe with no purpose. I want a secular theory of meaning, but here nobody is up to the task. I have to say it’s disappointing to see most atheists here have given little thought to these issues.

@uuberdude yes, he’s wrong on many things, although articulate.

Some of the things he says are valuable though.

good in the sense it stops religious people from letting go of religion. It’s not good in the sense it actually is logically sound. People need purpose and meaning in their life. A lot of suicidal or depressed individual will mention exactly lack of purpose or meaning to express their feelings of depression.

Religion has the advantage over atheism of offering meaning despite the fact it’s false. If there was a good, broad secular argument for purpose and meaning of life, religions would be in serious trouble.

@Lucignolo oh, good as in "effective for the purpose", got you, thank you for clarifying that for me.

yeah, for those scared of the void, it works to keep them from taking the final step to letting go of their superstitions. in that sense, I think it is important to show them ways to create meaning for their own lives.

Thank you for sharing

But then wouldn't whether we "adapt and enjoy the ride" be beyond our ability to choose? That is, wouldn't it be predetermined as well?

@Wallace in the idea of excluding the free will, it is not what is "predetermined". But rather how we find ourselves preconditioned
There is a big difference on that.

I think many people desperately need to feel their life has a meaning beyond materialistic or mundane things. That keeps them clinging to religion, charlatans, and other sellers of lies. I wish for a world free of religion and magical thinking. The only way it will be achieved is through an evolution of ideas. Atheism today is just nihilism, it offers no hope to people that can’t live without it or that are told to find their own. Since I want atheism to be a viable option, that can be successful, I am seeking new answers and engaging in all sorts of new ideas. That gives me meaning and purpose. ? Ultimately I’d like to leave the world a better place than I found it and I believe finding ways to allow people to digest and accept the truth is a great one.

@Lucignolo meaning comes from friends, family, hobbies/volunteering, even pets

I wasn’t talking specifically about humans only. My question doesn’t just apply to humans as it asked about life and the universe itself. “Do you think life and the universe have a purpose?”. That is not anthropocentric.

I agree though. The universe isn’t there for us and wasn’t built for us or some sort of ridiculous similar idea.

@Lucignolo Yes I do feel it has a purpose - to evolve.

It doesn’t, but then let’s resign to the fact atheists will remain a minority because you can bet 90% of the religious people I’ve spoken to understand atheism, understand the objections to the existence of God, but repudiate the idea that anything they do doesn’t matter, and that life is meaningless.

I wish we had a good alternative answer to their need for meaning.

@Lucignolo The answer is education, however, it is very evident in our society that one can refuse said education and one's parents can even refuse to offer it as well. I never thought we'd come this far though and I'm glad to see that in some European countries we make up the majority. Unfortunately, the US is always several decades behind.

Wow... Truth without dressing or condiments. That’s how I like it.

I wasn’t expecting so much direct and straight forward honesty, but I love it. You have valid, strong points that are difficult to deny. I’m also in my 40s, but am still trying to find some viable alternative to nihilism. It’s hard though, because it seems to make so much sense...

Thanks for your thoughts

@Lucignolo thank you. I think atheists make a tough call. There is nothing except your conscience and hard cold reality. No comfort, no forgiveness, no cleansing of sin, no hope in an afterlife, and for many of us, no belief in soul. That’s a hard reality to choose when things are tough in life.
I choose the harshness of atheism because my brain will not permit illogical belief or delusional thinking. But I am aware such delusions offer a lot of people a cushion in life, a comfort blanket, and I cannot deny that would be nice to have. I can’t criticize people for wanting hope and comfort. It’s natural for most people to want and need something to believe in.

This

This is exactly what I mean, my friend! We need better answers if we want to be effective. Telling people “figure it out yourself” is very mature, and it puts the responsibility where it belongs, but:
a. Nobody wants to take responsibility!! They want answers fed to them! Otherwise they wouldn’t be believers to start with!
b. Not everyone has the courage to accept their existence is meaningless.

There might be a better way of finding an answer to the existential question of purpose.

well said...

Very interesting! Thanks!

Good one