Questions About Meaning Even Before Religion Class Begins

Sometimes, when you’re solidly in the realm of Practicality, focused on getting things done in the real world and making sure others do the same, Philosophy intervenes and then you’re somewhere else entirely. One minute you’re thinking about sending an email before 10:15 a.m., for instance, and the next minute you’re wondering whether there is in fact a larger purpose– beyond all the tasks– that we’re trying to fulfill, and what might be the nature of that purpose, if it exists at all.

This happened to me a week or so ago when I was sitting in on a class during our Corporate Work Study Training Institute—a two week period during which 9^th graders at our school become prepared to take on a job at a worksite, as yet unidentified, along with their regular college-prep curriculum at school. They’re teenagers about to enter a world populated mostly by unfamiliar adults who will expect a certain level of mature behavior, not to mention productivity.

The class was “Public Speaking” and students had been asked ahead of time to prepare a short – just one minute – presentation on one of three topics: 1) What is a goal you have for the future? 2) What is an important lesson that you have learned so far in life? 3) Do you have an extra-curricular interest that is very important to you? We were not expecting a whole lot in the way of content, frankly; the exercise was mostly to give the 14 and 15 year olds a chance to get up in front of a group of their peers and see how well they could express themselves.

Students came forward one by one, each giving a small slice of him or herself before sitting down again, to flutterings of applause. Most did not use their full one minute.

The teacher, my colleague, kindly offered comments afterwards that helped to connect individuals with classmates they may not yet have met: “Oh if you love to rap, you really should meet Derrick.” It was fine for what it was supposed to be.

And then, one young man I’ll call Jose changed everything in that room – at least for this listener. He told me afterwards that it was fine to share some of what he said, so here goes:

Today, I would like to tell you about the most important lesson I’ve learned in my life. At just five years old, I learned that there can’t be an answer to everything in life. When my uncle died I went up to his coffin and screamed, “Wake up!” Everyone looked at me. I felt uncomfortable. That was my first realistic encounter with death. Then, after, I tried figuring out what is the meaning of life and without success gave up. Then when I was eight years old I found out that life has no meaning. In life you make your own purpose or meaning. Like us here today, on this hot summer day (here) to achieve a bigger purpose than ourselves—the purpose of becoming successful with dreams and hopes, graduating high school and graduating college too.

I’m not sure if the other students had a chance to grab hold of what he was saying, to hear how he had taken the assignment to a whole new level. His delivery was matter-of-fact, not dramatic in the least. But how about that wonderful turn of phrase, “..and without success gave up”? Or the monumental shift in tone he makes between “life has no meaning” and “you make your own purpose and meaning”? Gloom gives way to brightness almost instantaneously, like a cloud moving across the sun. The young man hadn’t yet started his Catholic high school education, probably had no idea who Thomas Aquinas was, but he was already grappling with the Big Questions.

When he was finished, the classroom was still a classroom, with desks in neat rows and a fan whirring to beat off the heat. In my mind’s eye. however, we were transported to ancient Greece.

This is the “School of Athens” fresco, painted in the Vatican between the years 1509-1511 by the Renaissance painter, Raphael. It’s hard to make out individual identities, but all the heavy hitters from Team Philosophy are here, trying to figure things out. It doesn’t look like they’re getting a whole lot done except trying to figure things out. Not that there were a whole lot of companies employing people back in the 4th century B.C., but would anyone have wanted Plato or Aristotle to have a regular kind of job? Somebody had to get us started wondering what it means to live a good life, a life rich with meaning.

Jose and all his new classmates, on the other hand, will need to juggle school and work, not to mention family, responsibilities all year. To attain a certain kind of success down the road, they will have to gain an understanding of what the “real world” expects of them– starting now. They will need to check off many tasks and play by the rules, cheerfully. Let’s just hope that, along the way, the search for meaning won’t be squeezed out. If they acknowledge its importance, they will have a steady companion for many years.