The meanings of life

Cymcism: The belief that the meaning of your life is found in living In accord with nature, in rejecting the conventional values of pone, wealth, and fame, and in using your reason to its fullest extent lo exampl, Diogenes"the dog" of Sinope, Turkey, ca. 412-323 BC. orenaichedorism.: The belief that the meaning of your lifeis loud nine limediate satisfaction of your sensual desires and in finds presire/nallofyour circumstances despite the obstacles they mo roser/forecample. Aristippus of Cyrene, North Africa , ca. 435-356 BC

Stoicism: The belief that the meaning of your life is found in identifying with the logos that governs the universe, in wanting only that which must be, and in eliminating all of your complaints and feelings of dissatisfaction (for example, Epictetus, 55-135 BCE; Seneca

3 BCE-5 CE; Marcus Aurelius, 121-180 CE).

• Epicureanism: the belief that the meaning

of your life is found in moderate pleasure (including the pleasures of friendship, thought, and reflection), in freedom from pain, anxiety, and fear, and in the cultivation of inner tranquility (for example, Epicurus).

• Nihilism: The belief that life has no subjective or objective meaning; nothing matters; all human values are empty (for example, Nietzsche, 1844-1900)
• Atheistic existentialism: The belief that because there is no objective or absolute meaning in life, the meaning of your life must be invented or chosen by you and only you, in full awareness of the groundlessness of existence (for example, Sartre, 1905-1980).
• Theistic existentialism: The belief that even if there is a God, it is ultimately up to you to give meaning to your life by living authentically and intensely as an individual in the face of the inherent paradoxes and uncertainties of existence and the inevitable alienating pressures of the crowd (for example, Kierkegaard, 1813-1855).