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I'm writing some literature, and I'd like to grab the reader's attention in the first sentence by asking what is the meaning of life. Except, I'd like to know the best word (or short phrase) to use to ask such a question.

For example, I'm asking the question "What do you think of your destiny?"

But is "Destiny" the best word to use here?

Jerry Dodge
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    The "meaning of life" is such a common phrase (over 300,000 occurences in books in the past 25 years, according to this Google Books search) that I'm not sure why you'd have an aversion to using that phrase, unless you find it trite. – J.R. Oct 12 '12 at 00:54
  • Why not just ask "What do you think of your life?" Destiny is a word more used when talking about the future, either personal or not. Depending on what you mean, it (destiny) might be the right word. – Souta Oct 12 '12 at 01:40
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    We all know the meaning of life in a single word: survival. But that doesn't make for an interesting question since the survival of every life became a social entitlement & human right, regardless of whether one wants to survive or expire. Asking a trite question remotely similar to "What do you think of your destiny?" will arrest no reader's attention, I'm afraid. Not these days. Only ejaculations will, e.g., "{Your death! / Death!} {Thought about it lately / Considered it lately / Foreseen it recently / Dreamed about it recently}?" or "Why shouldn't you shoot yourself? Think about it." –  Oct 12 '12 at 01:57
  • @BillFranke So wish I could mark that as 'best answer'. – Souta Oct 12 '12 at 02:02
  • I think this is Not Constructive. There are any number of words/phrases that could be offered here, and any votes would be largely subjective. Besides - I bet even 42 would get plenty of votes unless a mod deleted it. – FumbleFingers Oct 12 '12 at 02:56
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    @FumbleFingers: While I agree with your sentiments, I'd argue that survival isn't merely a subjective response: it's the response prompted by Darwin's theory of evolution. The ability to adapt to one's environment by a species-wide development of traits that have survival value should be sufficient to justify that answer. Anything else, I'd argue, is purely subjective and perhaps, as with "42", frivolous. This Q is about good writing, not grammar or usage. Asking boring old Qs is not good writing. Good question, good answers, wrong forum. Let's move everything to Writers? –  Oct 12 '12 at 04:06
  • @Bill Franke: Even "survival" is subjective in the final analysis. What about the maiden aunt who works herself into an early grave bringing up her dead sister's children? (maybe so some of her genes "survive"). Or the crew of Space Shuttle Columbia, say, whose names "survive" even though their bodies perished in an endeavour that was effectively for the future benefit of all mankind. Subjectivity applies everywhere. – FumbleFingers Oct 12 '12 at 18:14
  • @FumbleFingers: Survival of the species is quite a bit different from survival of the memory of the crew of Columbia. The former has nothing to do with specific individuals or the sentimentality of the latter. Nature and evolution are impartial, unfeeling, and objective. –  Oct 12 '12 at 23:35
  • @Bill Franke: Well there you go. If we can't quickly agree even a common definition of "objective survival" - necessary for life to even exist, let alone think, or have a "meaning" - what chance has OP got of receiving an unequivocally-correct answer here? – FumbleFingers Oct 13 '12 at 01:56
  • @FumbleFingers: Almost none, which has been a contention of mine since I arrived. Language is culture (about values), not physics or math (about facts). So there are few unequivocally correct answers here –  Oct 13 '12 at 02:42
  • @Bill Franke: Quite so. At least when there is an unequivocally correct answer, it's usually pretty obvious to competent speakers, so it will be recognised as such with little to be said. On the other hand, this answer is by no means the final word on its (to me, interesting) subject, long as it may be. – FumbleFingers Oct 13 '12 at 02:53
  • Now that I look back at my question, it was so clear... 42. – Jerry Dodge May 23 '15 at 18:55

2 Answers2

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  • Purpose?

What is your purpose?

What is your purpose in life?

What purpose do you/does your life serve?

Community
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itsbruce
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2

Sometimes understatement can be effective:

What is your reason for being?
Why are you here?

Or maybe just the apocryphal philosophy course final exam:

Why?

bib
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