The Meaning of Life

Comparison Essay # 100256

Philosophy
Political Science > Marx / Engels

The Meaning of Life

This paper compares and contrasts Karl Marx's and Epicurus' ideas about the meaning of existence.

1,220 words () | 2 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper explores the meaning of life from the perspective of Karl Marx and Epicurus. The paper discusses how Marx's ideas of alienation of labor effectively reduces the significance of human existence to being synonymous with labor activity, while Epicurus argues for a broader conception of life. The paper is of the opinion that Epicurus' view is stronger and more universally applicable.

From the Paper:

"Karl Marx, in developing his theory of the alienation of labour, implies that the meaning of life - its "point" in other words - lies in man's labour. It is this capacity to labour with conscious purpose that makes us human. In Marx's words: "The animal is immediately one with its life activity. It does not distinguish itself from it. The animal is its life activity. Man makes his life activity itself into an object of his will and of his consciousness. He has conscious life activity. . . .""
"Throughout his text, Marx's choice of words imply that to be human is to be synonymous with work. For example, in explaining one consequence of the alienation of labour where workers are alienated from their work, Marx states: "The result, therefore, is that man (the worker) feels that he is acting freely only in his animal functions" (Marx 51). Similarly, when describing the work or the labour itself, it is interesting to note how Marx suggests that work is at the core of our humanity. Thus, when the worker is alienated from his work: "so the worker's activity is not his spontaneous activity. It belongs to another; it is the loss of his self" (Marx 51)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Epicurus. "Letter to Menoeceus" and "Principal Doctrines."Trans. Robert Drew Hicks. In Course Reader: The Meaningof Life. Ed. Henry Jackman. Toronto: York University, 2006,24-28.
Marx, Karl. "Alienated Labour." In Course Reader: The Meaningof Life. Ed. Henry Jackman. Toronto: York University, 2006,50-54.