Editing Meaning of life (section)

==Scientific inquiry and perspectives==
{{Further|Eudaimonia#Eudaimonia and modern psychology|Meaningful Life}}
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Many members of the [[scientific community]] and [[philosophy of science]] communities think that science can provide the relevant context, and set of parameters necessary for dealing with topics related to the meaning of life. In their view, science can offer a wide range of insights on topics ranging from the [[Positive psychology|science of happiness]] to [[death anxiety]]. Scientific inquiry facilitates this through [[nomology|nomological]] investigation into various aspects of [[life]] and [[reality]], such as the [[Big Bang]], [[Abiogenesis|the origin of life]], and [[evolution]], and by studying the objective factors which correlate with the subjective experience of meaning and happiness.

===Psychological significance and value in life===
Researchers in [[positive psychology]] study empirical factors that lead to life satisfaction,<ref name=":6">E. Diener, J.J. Sapyta, E. Suh (1998). "Subjective Well-Being Is Essential to Well-Being." ''Psychological Inquiry'', Lawrence Erlbaum.</ref> full [[flow (psychology)|engagement]] in activities,<ref name="Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály 1990">Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály (1990). ''Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience''. New York: Harper and Row. {{ISBN|0-06-092043-2}}.</ref> making a fuller contribution by using one's personal strengths,<ref name=":4">Peterson, Christopher; Seligman, Martin (2004). ''Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-516701-5}}. {{cite web |title=See brief summary |url=http://www.meaningandhappiness.com/psychology-research/list-of-personal-strengths.html}}</ref> and meaning based on investing in something larger than the self.<ref>Seligman, M.E.P. (2002). ''Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment.'' New York: Free Press. {{ISBN|0-7432-2297-0}}. Paperback edition, 2004, Free Press, {{ISBN|0-7432-2298-9}}.</ref> Large-data studies of [[flow (psychology)|flow]] experiences have consistently suggested that humans experience meaning and fulfillment when mastering challenging tasks and that the experience comes from the way tasks are approached and performed rather than the particular choice of task. For example, flow experiences can be obtained by prisoners in concentration camps with minimal facilities, and occur only slightly more often in billionaires. A classic example<ref name="Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály 1990"/> is of two workers on an apparently boring production line in a factory. One treats the work as a tedious chore while the other turns it into a game to see how fast they can make each unit and achieves flow in the process.

[[Neuroscience]] describes [[reward system|reward]], [[pleasure]], and [[motivation]] in terms of neurotransmitter activity, especially in the [[limbic system]] and the [[ventral tegmental area]] in particular. If one believes that the meaning of life is to maximize pleasure and to ease general life, then this allows normative predictions about how to act to achieve this. Likewise, some ethical naturalists advocate a [[science of morality]]—the empirical pursuit of flourishing for all conscious creatures.

[[Experimental philosophy]] and [[neuroethics]] research collects data about human ethical decisions in controlled scenarios such as [[trolley problems]]. It has shown that many types of ethical judgment are universal across cultures, suggesting that they may be innate, whilst others are culture-specific. The findings show actual human ethical reasoning to be at odds with most philosophical theories, for example consistently showing distinctions between action by cause and action by omission which would be absent from utility-based theories. Cognitive science has theorized about differences between conservative and liberal ethics and how they may be based on different metaphors from family life such as strong fathers vs nurturing mother models.

[[Neurotheology]] is a controversial field which tries to find neural correlates and mechanisms of religious experience. Some researchers have suggested that the human brain has innate mechanisms for such experiences and that living without using them for their evolved purposes may be a cause of imbalance. Studies have reported conflicting results on correlating happiness with religious belief and it is difficult to find unbiased meta-analyses.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Lu|first1=Jun|last2=Gao|first2=Qin|date=2017-05-01|title=Faith and Happiness in China: Roles of Religious Identity, Beliefs, and Practice|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1372-8|journal=Social Indicators Research|language=en|volume=132|issue=1|pages=273–290|doi=10.1007/s11205-016-1372-8|s2cid=148091125|issn=1573-0921}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last1=Rizvi|first1=Mohd Ahsan Kabir|last2=Hossain|first2=Mohammad Zakir|date=2017-10-01|title=Relationship Between Religious Belief and Happiness: A Systematic Literature Review|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0332-6|journal=Journal of Religion and Health|language=en|volume=56|issue=5|pages=1561–1582|doi=10.1007/s10943-016-0332-6|pmid=27909930|s2cid=1389245|issn=1573-6571}}</ref>

[[Sociology]] examines value at a social level using theoretical constructs such as [[Value theory#Sociology|value theory]], norms, [[anomie]], etc. One value system suggested by [[social psychology (psychology)|social psychologists]], broadly called [[Terror Management Theory]], states that human meaning is derived from a fundamental fear of death, and values are selected when they allow us to escape the mental reminder of death.

Alongside this, there are a number of theories about the way in which humans evaluate the positive and negative aspects of their existence and thus the value and meaning they place on their lives. For example, [[depressive realism]] posits an exaggerated positivity in all except those experiencing depressive disorders who see life as it truly is, and [[David Benatar]] theorises that more weight is generally given to positive experiences, providing bias towards an over-optimistic view of life.

Emerging research shows that meaning in life predicts better physical health outcomes. Greater meaning has been associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sutin |first1=DAR |last2=Luchetti |first2=M |last3=Aschwanden |first3=D |last4=Stephan |first4=Y |last5=Sesker |first5=AA |last6=Terracciano |first6=A |title=Sense of meaning and purpose in life and risk of incident dementia: New data and meta-analysis. |journal=Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics |date=February 2023 |volume=105 |pages=104847 |doi=10.1016/j.archger.2022.104847 |pmid=36347158 |pmc=10015423 | issn = 0167-4943 }}</ref><ref name=":0">Boyle PA, Buchman AS, Barnes LL, Bennett DA. Effect of a purpose in life on risk of incident Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older persons. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2010;67:304–310.</ref> reduced risk of heart attack among individuals with coronary heart disease,<ref name=":1">Kim E, Sun J, Park N, [[Laura Kubzansky|Kubzansky L]], Peterson C. Purpose in life and reduced risk of myocardial infarction among older US adults with coronary heart disease: A two-year follow-up. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. (2):124–133.</ref> reduced risk of stroke,<ref name=":2">Kim ES, Sun JK, Park N, Peterson C. Purpose in life and reduced incidence of stroke in older adults: The Health and Retirement Study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2013;74(5):427–432.</ref> and increased longevity in both American and Japanese samples.<ref>Boyle PA, Barnes LL, Buchman AS, Bennett DA. Purpose in life is associated with mortality among community-dwelling older persons. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2009;71:574–579.</ref> There is also growing evidence for a small decline in purpose in life in the early stages of cognitive impairment.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sutin |first1=Angelina R. |last2=Luchetti |first2=Martina |last3=Stephan |first3=Yannick |last4=Terracciano |first4=Antonio |title=Change in Purpose in Life Before and After Onset of Cognitive Impairment |journal=JAMA Network Open |date=13 September 2023 |volume=6 |issue=9 |pages=e2333489 |doi=10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.33489 |pmid=37703016 |pmc=10500383 |issn=2574-3805}}</ref>

In 2014, the British [[National Health Service]] began recommending a five-step plan for mental well-being based on meaningful lives, whose steps are:<ref>{{cite web|date=21 December 2017|title=Five steps to mental wellbeing|url=http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/improve-mental-wellbeing.aspx|work=nhs.uk}}</ref>

# Connect with community and family
# Physical exercise
# Lifelong learning
# Giving to others
# [[Mindfulness]] of the world around you

===Origin and nature of biological life===
[[File:DNA Overview.png|thumb|left|upright=.5|[[DNA]] contains the genetic instructions for the development and functioning of all known [[life|organisms]].]]
The exact mechanisms of [[abiogenesis]] are unknown: notable hypotheses include the [[RNA world hypothesis]] (RNA-based replicators) and the [[iron-sulfur world hypothesis]] (metabolism without genetics). The process by which different lifeforms have developed throughout history via [[gene]]tic [[mutation]] and [[natural selection]] is explained by [[evolution]].<ref>[[Charles Darwin]] (1859). ''[[On the Origin of Species]]''.</ref> At the end of the 20th century, based upon insight gleaned from the [[gene-centered view of evolution]], biologists [[George C. Williams (biologist)|George C. Williams]], [[Richard Dawkins]], and [[David Haig (biologist)|David Haig]], among others, concluded that if there is a primary function to life, it is the replication of DNA and the survival of one's genes.<ref name="Dawkins selfish gene">{{Cite book |author=Richard Dawkins |author-link=Richard Dawkins |title=The Selfish Gene |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1976 |isbn=978-0-19-857519-1|title-link=The Selfish Gene }}</ref><ref name="Dawkins river">{{Cite book |author=Richard Dawkins |author-link=Richard Dawkins |title=River out of Eden |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |date=1995 |isbn=978-0-465-06990-3|title-link=River out of Eden }}</ref> Responding to an interview question from Richard Dawkins about "what it is all for", [[James Watson]] stated "I don't think we're ''for'' anything. We're just the products of evolution."<ref>{{Cite book|title = The God Delusion|url = https://archive.org/details/goddelusion00dawk_897|url-access = limited|last = Dawkins|first = Richard|publisher = Houghton Mifflin|date = 2006|isbn = 978-0-618-68000-9|pages = [https://archive.org/details/goddelusion00dawk_897/page/n109 99]–100}}</ref>

Though scientists have intensively studied [[organism|life on Earth]], defining [[life]] in unequivocal terms is still a challenge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astrobio.net/news/article226 |title=Complete Archive for Astrobiology Press Release, News Exclusive, News Briefs |work=Astrobiology Magazine |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013130816/http://www.astrobio.net/news/article226 |archive-date=13 October 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbi.dk/~emmeche/cePubl/97e.defLife.v3f.html|title=Defining Life, Explaining Emergence|work=nbi.dk|access-date=2 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314095044/http://www.nbi.dk/~emmeche/cePubl/97e.defLife.v3f.html|archive-date=14 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Physically, one may say that life "feeds on [[negentropy|negative entropy]]"<ref name="worldtransformation.com">{{cite book |author=Griffith J. |year=2012 |chapter=What is the Meaning of Life? |title=The Book of Real Answers to Everything! |isbn=978-1-74129-007-3 |chapter-url=http://www.worldtransformation.com/what-is-the-meaning-of-life/ |access-date=19 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Schrödinger |first=Erwin |title=What is Life? |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1944 |isbn=978-0-521-42708-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Margulis |first=Lynn |author-link=Lynn Margulis |author2=Sagan, Dorion |author2-link=Dorion Sagan |title=What is Life? |publisher=University of California Press |date=1995 |isbn=978-0-520-22021-8}}</ref> which refers to the process by which living entities decrease their internal [[entropy]] at the expense of some form of [[energy]] taken in from the environment.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lovelock |first=James |title=Gaia – a New Look at Life on Earth |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-286218-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Avery |first=John |title=Information Theory and Evolution |publisher=World Scientific |date=2003 |isbn=978-981-238-399-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcfLZSL7YGw&t=3s&ab_channel=PBSSpaceTime | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/GcfLZSL7YGw| archive-date=2021-10-30|author=[[Matt O'Dowd (astrophysicist)|O'Dowd, Matt, Ph.D.]]|title=The Physics of Life (ft. It's Okay to be Smart & PBS Eons!) Space Time |date=11 April 2018 |publisher=PBS Space Time}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Biologists generally agree that lifeforms are [[self-organization|self-organizing]] systems [[homeostasis|which regulate their internal environments as to maintain this organized state]], [[metabolism]] serves to provide energy, and [[reproduction]] causes life to continue over a span of multiple generations. Typically, organisms are responsive to stimuli and genetic information changes from generation to generation, resulting in adaptation through evolution; this optimizes the chances of survival for the individual organism and its descendants respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.una.edu/pdavis/BI%20101/Overview%20Fall%202004.htm |title=How to Define Life |access-date=17 October 2008 |last=Davison |first=Paul G. |publisher=The University of North Alabama |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101024755/http://www2.una.edu/pdavis/BI%20101/Overview%20Fall%202004.htm |archive-date=1 November 2008 }}</ref>

Non-cellular replicating agents, notably [[virus]]es, are generally not considered to be organisms because they are incapable of independent reproduction or metabolism. This classification is problematic, though, since some [[parasite]]s and [[endosymbiont]]s are also incapable of independent life. [[Astrobiology]] studies the possibility of different forms of life on other worlds, including replicating structures made from materials other than DNA.

All forms of life that are in existence today possess a self-replicating informational molecule (genome), and such an informational molecule is presumably intrinsic to life.  Thus the earliest forms of life also likely possessed a self-replicating informational molecule, possibly RNA<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neveu |first1=M. |last2=Kim |first2=H.J. |last3=Benner |first3=S.A. |title=The "strong" RNA world hypothesis: fifty years old |journal=Astrobiology |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=391–403 |date=April 2013 |pmid=23551238 |doi=10.1089/ast.2012.0868 |bibcode=2013AsBio..13..391N |url=}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Cech |first=T.R. |title=The RNA worlds in context |journal=Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol |volume=4 |issue=7 |pages=a006742 |date=July 2012 |pmid=21441585 |pmc=3385955 |doi=10.1101/cshperspect.a006742 |url=}}</ref> or perhaps an informational molecule more primitive than RNA. The specific genomic sequences in all currently extant organisms contain order generating information  that promotes survival, [[reproduction]], and the ability to acquire resources necessary for reproduction. Sequences with such basic functions probably emerged early in the evolution of life. 

It has been proposed<ref name = Bernstein1983>Bernstein, Harris; Byerly, Henry C.; Hopf, Frederick A.; Michod, Richard A.; Vemulapalli, G. Krishna (June 1983). "The Darwinian Dynamic". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 58 (2): 185. doi:10.1086/413216. JSTOR 2828805. S2CID 83956410</ref> that both the evolution of macroscopic order in life (including its basic functions) and the evolution of order in particular physical systems obey a common fundamental principle that was termed the Darwinian dynamic.  This principal was formulated by considering, first, how macroscopic order is generated in a simple physical, non-biological system far from thermodynamic equilibrium, and then extending consideration to short RNA replicating molecules and then further to more complex forms of life.  It was concluded that the fundamental order-generating process was basically similar for both types of process.<ref name = Bernstein1983/><ref>Michod, Richard E. (2000). Darwinian Dynamics: Evolutionary Transitions in Fitness and Individuality. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-05011-9</ref>  Thus the idea that life likely emerged as a natural extension of simpler non- or pre-biological physical processes should logically be included in the concept "meaning of life".

===Origins and ultimate fate of the universe===
[[File:CMB Timeline300 no WMAP.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Modern view of the [[expansion of space]]. The [[inflationary epoch]] is a period of rapidly accelerating expansion at left.]]

Though the [[Big Bang]] theory was met with much skepticism when first introduced, it has become well-supported by several independent observations.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Helge Kragh |title=Cosmology and Controversy |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=1996 |isbn=978-0-691-00546-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/cosmologycontrov00helg }}</ref> However, current physics can only describe the early universe from around 10<sup>−43</sup> seconds after the Big Bang (where zero time corresponds to infinite temperature); a theory of [[quantum gravity]] would be required to understand events before that time. Nevertheless, many physicists have speculated about what would have preceded this limit, and how the universe came into being.<ref name="Prantzos & Lyle">{{Cite book |author1=Nikos Prantzos |author2=Stephen Lyle |title= Our Cosmic Future: Humanity's Fate in the Universe |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2000 |isbn=978-0-521-77098-9}}</ref> For example, one interpretation is that the Big Bang occurred coincidentally, and when considering the [[anthropic principle]], it is sometimes interpreted as implying the existence of a [[multiverse]].<ref name="Edwards">{{Cite book |author=Rem B. Edwards |title=What Caused the Big Bang? |publisher=Rodopi |date=2001 |isbn=978-90-420-1407-7}}</ref>

The ultimate fate of the universe, and implicitly of humanity, is hypothesized as one in which biological life will eventually become unsustainable, such as through a [[Big Freeze]], [[Big Rip]], or [[Big Crunch]].

Theoretical [[cosmology]] studies many alternative speculative models for the origin and fate of the universe beyond the Big Bang theory. A recent trend has been models of the creation of 'baby universes' inside [[black holes]], with our own [[Big Bang]] being a [[white hole]] on the inside of a [[black hole]] in another parent universe.<ref name="Poplawski">{{Cite book |title=Radial motion into an Einstein-Rosen bridge, Physics Letters B | first=Nikodem J. |last=Poplawski |volume=687 | date=April 2010 |pages=110–113}}</ref> [[Many-worlds]] theories claim that every possibility of [[quantum mechanics]] is played out in parallel universes.

===Scientific questions about the mind===
The nature and origin of [[consciousness]] and the [[mind]] are also widely debated in science. The [[explanatory gap]] is generally equated with the [[hard problem of consciousness]], and the question of [[free will]] is also considered to be of fundamental importance. These subjects are mostly addressed in the fields of [[cognitive science]], [[neuroscience]] (e.g. the [[neuroscience of free will]]) and [[philosophy of mind]], though some [[evolutionary biologist]]s and [[theoretical physicist]]s have also made several allusions to the subject.<ref name="Whitehouse">{{Cite book |author=Harvey Whitehouse |title=The Debated Mind: Evolutionary Psychology Versus Ethnography |publisher=Berg Publishers |date=2001 |isbn=978-1-85973-427-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/debatedmindevolu0000unse }}</ref><ref name="Gray">{{Cite book |author=Jeffrey Alan Gray |author-link= Jeffrey Alan Gray |title=Consciousness: Creeping Up on the Hard Problem |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-852090-0}}</ref>

[[Reductionistic]] and [[eliminative materialism|eliminative materialistic]] approaches, for example the [[Multiple Drafts Model]], hold that consciousness can be wholly explained by neuroscience through the workings of the [[Human brain|brain]] and its [[neuron]]s, thus adhering to [[biological naturalism]].<ref name="Gray"/><ref name="Churchland">{{Cite book |author=Paul M. Churchland |author-link=Paul Churchland |title=A Neurocomputational Perspective: The Nature of Mind and the Structure of Science |url=https://archive.org/details/neurocomputation0000chur |url-access=registration |publisher=MIT Press |date=1989 |isbn=978-0-262-53106-1}}</ref><ref name="Dennett">{{Cite book |author=Daniel Clement Dennett |author-link=Daniel Dennett |title=Consciousness Explained |publisher=Little, Brown and Co. |date=1991 |isbn=978-0-316-18066-5|title-link=Consciousness Explained }}</ref>

On the other hand, some scientists, like [[Andrei Linde]], have considered that [[consciousness]], like [[spacetime]], might have its own intrinsic degrees of freedom, and that one's perceptions may be as real as (or even more real than) material objects.<ref name="Barrow, Davies, Harper">{{Cite book |author1=John D. Barrow |author-link1=John D. Barrow |author2=Paul C.W. Davies |author-link2=Paul Davies |author3=Charles L. Harper |title=Science and Ultimate Reality: Quantum Theory, Cosmology and Complexity |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-83113-0}}</ref> Hypotheses of consciousness and spacetime explain consciousness in describing a "space of conscious elements",<ref name="Barrow, Davies, Harper"/> often encompassing a number of extra dimensions.<ref name="Millay, Heinze">{{Cite book |author=Jean Millay |author2=Ruth-Inge Heinze |title=Multidimensional Mind: Remote Viewing in Hyperspace |publisher=North Atlantic Books |date=1999 |isbn=978-1-55643-306-1}}</ref> [[Electromagnetic theories of consciousness]] solve the [[binding problem]] of consciousness in saying that the [[electromagnetic field]] generated by the brain is the actual carrier of conscious experience; there is however disagreement about the implementations of such a theory relating to other workings of the mind.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=McFadden |first1=J. |date=2002 |title=Synchronous Firing and Its Influence on the Brain's Electromagnetic Field: Evidence for an Electromagnetic Field Theory of Consciousness |url=http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/news/electromagnetic-field-theory-of-consciousness.htm |journal=Journal of Consciousness Studies |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=23–50 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218171922/http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/news/electromagnetic-field-theory-of-consciousness.htm |archive-date=18 December 2005 }}</ref><ref name="Buccheri & Di Gesù & Saniga">{{Cite book |author=R. Buccheri |author2=V. Di Gesù |author3=Metod Saniga |title=Studies on the Structure of Time: From Physics to Psycho(patho)logy |publisher=Springer |date=2000 |isbn=978-0-306-46439-3}}</ref> [[Quantum mind]] theories use [[quantum mechanics|quantum theory]] in explaining certain properties of the mind. Explaining the process of [[free will]] through [[quantum]] phenomena is an alternative to [[determinism]].

==== Parapsychology ====

Based on the premises of non-materialistic explanations of the mind, some have suggested the existence of a [[cosmic consciousness]], asserting that consciousness is actually the "ground of all being".<ref name="Walker"/><ref name="Bruce">{{Cite book |author=Alexandra Bruce |title=Beyond the Bleep: The Definitive Unauthorized Guide to What the Bleep Do We Know!? |publisher=The Disinformation Company |date=2005 |isbn=978-1-932857-22-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/beyondbleep00alex }}</ref><ref name="Ho">{{Cite book |author=Mae-Wan Ho |author-link=Mae-Wan Ho |title=The Rainbow and the Worm: The Physics of Organisms |url=https://archive.org/details/rainbowwormphysi00homa_253 |url-access=limited |publisher=World Scientific |date=1998 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/rainbowwormphysi00homa_253/page/n239 218]–231 |isbn=978-981-02-3427-0}}</ref> Proponents of this view cite accounts of [[paranormal]] phenomena, primarily [[extrasensory perception]]s and [[psychic]] powers, as evidence for an [[incorporeal]] [[higher consciousness]]. In hopes of proving the existence of these phenomena, [[parapsychologist]]s have orchestrated various experiments, but successful results might be due to poor experimental controls and might have alternative explanations.<ref name="Akers">{{Cite journal |author=Akers, C. |title=Methodological Criticisms of Parapsychology, Advances in Parapsychological Research 4 |publisher=PesquisaPSI |date=1986 |url=http://www.pesquisapsi.com/books/advances4rape/7_Methodological_Criticisms.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924071708/http://www.pesquisapsi.com/books/advances4rape/7_Methodological_Criticisms.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=30 July 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author=Child, I.L. |title=Criticism in Experimental Parapsychology, Advances in Parapsychological Research 5 |publisher=PesquisaPSI |date=1987 |url=http://www.pesquisapsi.com/books/advances5/6_Criticism_in_Experimental.html |access-date=30 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223410/http://www.pesquisapsi.com/books/advances5/6_Criticism_in_Experimental.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wiseman |first=Richard |author2=Smith, Matthew |display-authors=etal |title=Exploring possible sender-to-experimenter acoustic leakage in the PRL autoganzfeld experiments – Psychophysical Research Laboratories |journal=The Journal of Parapsychology |date=1996 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2320/is_n2_v60/ai_18960809 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709230555/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2320/is_n2_v60/ai_18960809/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 July 2012 |access-date=30 July 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Lobach |first=E. |author2=Bierman, D. |title=The Invisible Gaze: Three Attempts to Replicate Sheldrake's Staring Effects |work=Proceedings of the 47th PA Convention |url=http://www.parapsych.org/papers/07.pdf |date=2004 |pages=77–90 |access-date=30 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810173433/https://www.parapsych.org/papers/07.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2007 }}</ref>

=== Nature of meaning in life ===

Reker and [[Paul T. P. Wong|Wong]] define personal meaning as the "cognizance of order, coherence and purpose in one's existence, the pursuit and attainment of worthwhile goals, and an accompanying sense of fulfillment" (p.&nbsp;221).<ref>Reker, G.T., & Wong, P.T.P. (1988). Aging as an individual process: Towards a theory of personal meaning. In J.E. Birren, & V.L. Bengston (Eds.), ''Emergent theories of aging'' (pp. 214–246). New York: Springer.</ref> In 2016, Martela and Steger defined meaning as coherence, purpose, and significance.<ref>Martela, F., & Steger, M.F. (2016). The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance. ''The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11''(5), 531–545.</ref> In contrast, [[Paul T. P. Wong|Wong]] has proposed a four-component solution to the question of meaning in life,<ref>Wong, P.T.P. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. ''Canadian Psychology, 52''(2), 69–81.</ref><ref name=":3">Wong, P.T.P. (2012). From Logotherapy to Meaning-Centered Counseling and Therapy. In P.T.P. Wong (Ed.), ''The Human Quest for Meaning: Theories, Research, and Applications'' (2nd ed., pp. 619–647). New York: Routledge.</ref> with the four components purpose, understanding, responsibility, and enjoyment (PURE):

# You need to choose a worthy ''purpose'' or a significant life goal.
# You need to have sufficient ''understanding'' of who you are, what life demands of you, and how you can play a significant role in life.
# You and you alone are ''responsible'' for deciding what kind of life you want to live, and what constitutes a significant and worthwhile life goal. 
# You will ''enjoy'' a deep sense of significance and satisfaction only when you have exercised your responsibility for [[self-determination]] and actively pursue a worthy life-goal.
Thus, a sense of significance permeates every dimension of meaning, rather than standing as a separate factor.

Although most psychology researchers consider meaning in life as a subjective feeling or judgment, most philosophers (e.g., [[Thaddeus Metz]], Daniel Haybron) propose that there are also objective, concrete criteria for what constitutes meaning in life.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Metz |first=Thaddeus |title=Meaning in Life |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-959931-8 |location=Oxford}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite book
|title= Happiness: A Very Short Introduction
|last= Haybron|first= Daniel M.
|publisher= Oxford University Press
|year= 2013|isbn= 978-0-19-959060-5
|location= Oxford}}
</ref> Wong has proposed that whether life is meaningful depends not only on subjective feelings but, more importantly, on whether a person's goal-striving and life as a whole is meaningful according to some objective [[Normative ethics|normative standard]].<ref name=":3" />