The Undeniable Ambiguity of Life

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any other aspect of this earth as a way of living life.

Thoreau’s philosophy is one of many. After all, mankind has pondered what the meaning of life is for hundreds of years. The sheer amount of philosophies, both religious and abstract is incredible, and although some agree with Thoreau, most do not. Thoreau seems to be a cynicist, or someone who believes in a life that agrees with nature, and feels that suffering is caused by false judgements of what is valuable and what is worthless according to the customs and conventions of society. Existentialism is the one theory that directly challenges what Thoreau says. According to existentialism, each man and each woman creates the essence of their life, one must make his and her own values in an indifferent world. Thoreau’s belief that there is a meaningful and a meaningless way of living life is inconsiderate. Those who choose to wake up every half hour in order to ask whether something has happened, or constantly send and receive letters in hopes of finding something important have a philosophy of their own. Who is to say which philosophy is more correct? Where I Lived, and What I Lived For should be renamed A Critique of Modern Society, for most of Thoreau’s writing talks about the faults of the urban population, and it seems that he bases many of his beliefs on the mistakes of others.

We lead different lives, have different experiences, and are different people. How can we have the same view of life, or find the same meaning in it? There is no such thing as a correct and an incorrect philosophy. The question “What is the meaning of life?” is not a math problem. It has no definite answer. Thoreau writes about a simple and deliberate lifestyle, heavily influenced by nature. What makes his opinion any more valuable than someone who writes about the spontaneous and complex urban lifestyle, arguing that it is the constant search for information and communication that gives life meaning?

Nothing.