Angie asked:

I am new to the study of philosophy and am not sure where to begin. The question that rings most
predominantly in my mind is whether or not we are all here for a purpose, essentially, what is the
meaning of life? I am currently reading Heidegger's Introduction to Metaphysicsand do not know
where to go next. Hell, I'm not sure why I'm even so concerned with this question.

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If you were new to athletics, say triple jump, you might be well advised to learn something about the
technique first before you attempt to set a world record. This might sound discouraging, but I'm trying
to express with this comparison the thought that Heidegger is not the best way to gain an initial
foothold in philosophy. Even experts are at loggerheads about where and how to 'place' his thinking.
And this problem is possibly exacerbated by your uncertainty about the thing that drives you. Why do
you want to know something about the meaning of life?

In such a predicament, it seems to me that the best advice I can give is to steer you in another
direction. You need to have this last question attended to before you start reading in earnest,
because if you're not sure of what it is you're looking for, you can waste a lot of intellectual energy on
red herrings. I have in mind the following:

Decide what the phrase 'the meaning of life' actually means to you. There is no simple answer and
that's why philosophers write books which attack this problem each time from a new angle. By this,
they're really enrichingrather than solving the enigma. This is fundamental. Beware of simple
solutions.

Now you might like to read Bryan Magee's Confessions of a Philosopher.This is a book written by a
thinker who has gone through such travails all his life, always asking questions of this kind whether
he was engaged in politics, in theatre, or teaching at universities. He starts by recounting his
childhood impressions of the 'strange' facts of life and death and so on. Magee's book gives you, as it
were, a 'sample journey' from which you can learn whereto look for at least tentative conclusions. In
his case, it was Kant and then Schopenhauer who filled the bill, but you may find another
philosopher's thinking more in line with your inclinations, and he gives you plenty to choose from. All
you need to do is keep an open mind and discount his evident personal prejudices. That's not hard.

Another route you might follow is to read Camus little book The Myth of Sisyphus.This addresses the
issue of 'the meaning of life' directly, though from the angle of 'justifying' it. He does this by asking, is
there a rationale for suicide? Is life not an utter absurdity with its pitiful beginning and end and all the
nonsense that goes on in between? As you read it, you will become aware of the influences he has
admitted into his thinking, and if you find what he writes attractive, you can then follow up these
sources for more depth.

You might, at the same time, read Descartes' Discourse on Method.This, too, is just 70 pages of text
and written in very easy prose. The idea are pretty hard nuts to crack, but for a first impression of a
metaphysic that has shaped and influenced European philosophy from the ground up, you can do no
better. Don't be discouraged (I guess this is silly advice to someone reading Heidegger!), if you fail
the first time around to plumb the depths of Descartes' arguments; the essential thing is to get a
handle on the problems which disturb you and the stimulus to think about them with such a guide at
your side.

Finally, a couple of smallish books written by Ortega y Gasset, What is Philosophy?and The Origins
of Philosophyare highly commendable because they give you not merely an introduction to what their
title promises, but a quite original and deeply considered message of the meaningof these issues.
These books, in a word, do not offer you a predigested run-down, but a challenge to your thinking by
opening up the whole theme from the angle of meaning what philosophy meant in the past and what it
might mean to a modern citizen of the technological world we live in.

If you happen to find after reading these books that you're back in the same court where you began,
i.e. metaphysics, no damage done. Because ultimately philosophy ismetaphysics (as Heidegger
says); but before you jump in at the deep end, ensure that you know you can swim and which
direction you might wish to follow. These books will help you without throwing hurdles into your path.

Jürgen Lawrenz

Sydney