SD- Interesting points, particularly on the distinction between purpose and meaning. My question is also why it’s so difficult to know the difference. I enjoyed this thought journey.
Thank you for the kind words; I'm glad you enjoyed it! I love the phrase "thought journey."
To answer your question, there are probably a number of reasons that will differ depending on the person. But, I think one likely reason is that we often use the words "purpose" and "meaning" interchangeably colloquially. For example, it sounds very similar to say "My life has meaning," and "My life has purpose," in regular conversation.
There are many such words that are related, but have different meanings when used in their technical disciplines. Another example would be the words "hypothesis" and "theory." These are two very different concepts in science, but in everyday speech we tend to use them both to mean an educated guess.
Parsing language like this is a fundamental aspect of philosophy that I've always enjoyed. I remember one class nearly twenty-five years ago, in my undergrad, where we debated the difference between "ought to" and "should" for over an hour. It was a great time! :D
SD- Interesting points, particularly on the distinction between purpose and meaning. My question is also why it’s so difficult to know the difference. I enjoyed this thought journey.
Thank you for the kind words; I'm glad you enjoyed it! I love the phrase "thought journey."
To answer your question, there are probably a number of reasons that will differ depending on the person. But, I think one likely reason is that we often use the words "purpose" and "meaning" interchangeably colloquially. For example, it sounds very similar to say "My life has meaning," and "My life has purpose," in regular conversation.
There are many such words that are related, but have different meanings when used in their technical disciplines. Another example would be the words "hypothesis" and "theory." These are two very different concepts in science, but in everyday speech we tend to use them both to mean an educated guess.
Parsing language like this is a fundamental aspect of philosophy that I've always enjoyed. I remember one class nearly twenty-five years ago, in my undergrad, where we debated the difference between "ought to" and "should" for over an hour. It was a great time! :D