Living a Purposeful Life
Searching for Meaning in All the Wrong Places
- Philosophy
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2020
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Publisher's Description
While meaning and purpose are often seen as synonymous, this book argues that they sometimes are in opposition, the search for meaning at times suicidal, and living with purpose life-enhancing and invigorating. No people seemed to search for meaning in their lives more than did the ancient and classical Greeks. They were not content with living simple lives but oftentimes took on gargantuan tasks which resulted in a great deal of upheaval and unpleasantness in their everyday lives, and oftentimes to disaster, indeed suicide. The biblical human being, in contrast, is not driven to search for meaning in this way. One's purpose is inherent in daily life. He does not need to search for it. The God of the Hebrew Bible makes the human being, man and woman, in His own image. He then breathes life into man. Life has an inherent purpose. Man must be a steward of God's creation.
Endorsements (3)
“This book by Kalman Kaplan inspires the reader to live a purposeful life. Kaplan compares ancient Greek myths with biblical parables to demonstrate that survival and happiness are byproducts of fulfilling our obligations and not the result of a usually desperate search for meaning. This book is not just for professional counselors; it’s for everyone who wants to live a happier life in a better society.”
“This fascinating book by Professor Kaplan unfolds several of the most arresting stories of Western literature, classical and recent, in a chronicle of a formidable scholar’s wresting with meaning and purpose in life. I view Kaplan’s book as amplification on a grand scale of the famous dictum by Antoine de Saint Exupery in The Little Prince: ‘It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.’”
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