Comparative study of Islamic and non-Islamic thinkers
Hossein Hajmohamadi; Mohammad Esmailzadeh
Abstract
One of the fundamental issues of human life is the meaning of life. This topic has become a relatively independent area of study in recent decades. The issue can be examined from different perspectives, with the construction of life's meaning or its objectification beyond individual and social constructs ...
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One of the fundamental issues of human life is the meaning of life. This topic has become a relatively independent area of study in recent decades. The issue can be examined from different perspectives, with the construction of life's meaning or its objectification beyond individual and social constructs being one of the important areas that has generated diverse scholarly views. The key questions are: Does a person construct meaning for life, or is the world inherently meaningful, requiring only that an individual align their life with this meaning to achieve a meaningful existence? This article compares the views of Peter Berger and Mohammad-Taqi Jafari on this subject. The research was conducted using a hermeneutic method inspired by John Plamenatz. The research reveals that while Peter Berger and Mohammad-Taqi Jafari share many similarities in their analysis of life's meaning and acknowledge the central role of religion in providing meaning, they differ in their perspectives on how meaning is established—whether through construction or discovery. Berger views the meaning of life as a social construct, whereas Mohammad-Taqi Jafari considers meaning as an objective reality that humans can comprehend by harmonizing with existence.
