Since the very beginning of civilized life, human beings have endeavored to comprehend the universe and various universal phenomena existing in it. They have been successful in it to a certain extent and now we can see a reservoir of knowledge and education and different other achievements that prove the fact. Nonetheless, there are many aspects of the universe that are vague to them. They have only comprehended that they are living on a small planet revolving around the sun in a cosmos that has billion of stars much larger than our sun. Their knowledge has not been capable of imprisoning the universe and they may continue to understand it for an indefinite period.
Apart from the universe, human beings have also struggled to recognize their own existence and so far they stay mystery to themselves. There have been scientific knowledge, religions, prayers and meditations, yet the mystery of human existence has not been discovered completely. Yes, they have developed notable knowledge regarding the physiological characteristics yet they are not able to understand fully the wonders of human sentiments and feelings. Scientifically they are able to cut apart human beings, illustrate each part, understand the performance of different organs, heal most of the diseases, transplant different organs and execute many other astonishing things but they are not able to understand the human existence wholly.
The studies show that the questions concerning the meaning, nature and functions of human existence have been, on most of the occasions, answered by philosophy. There are many philosophers who have attempted to answer such questions; still it would be better to segregate them in different school of thoughts (as philosophy itself does) and understand their ideas regarding the issue.
For Solipsism (a school of thought in philosophy) considers human existence as a mystery and says that the only meaning known of it is the one derived by an individual himself. And an individual cannot identify anything about the external world that exists around him; even if he comes to know, he will not be able to convey it to others.
An important school of thought in philosophy – Epicureanism – proposes that humans exist so as to gain utmost pleasure for ‘self’, which is only likely when there is lack of pain and fear. The main foundations of pleasure, according to Epicureanism, are knowledge, virtue and friendship.
The Determinists in philosophy consider in what Einstein had said, “Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as the star. Human beings, vegetables or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.”
In Absurdism, there is no sense in the universe and, resultantly, in human existence. And if there is any such connotation there is no meaning in pursuing it; as said by Albert Camus, “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life”.
Nihilism, in the parallel manner, disproves any objective rationale of live. It even considers life worthless. Life for Nihilists is nothingness.
Secular Humanism in philosophy maintains that the factual meaning of life has to be exposed in human terms and the absolute truth and morality do not exist; therefore, they are entirely subjective.
And Objectivism considers human beings just another vital part of the world that fits in its system which acts in a sane way. Reality is what is there, not what human beings recognize it to be. And each human being strives to attain self-interest as it is its objective as per the theory of evolution.
One of the most important schools of thought in philosophy is Existentialism. It says that human beings connect a meaning and purpose to their lives themselves on individual level. It can be best described in the words of Soren Kierkegaard – “Be that self which one truly is.”
Religions, at the same time, have also strived to build up certain explanations of what the human existence is. However, they have majorly focused on the purpose of the human existence and the ethical aspects of human life. Sufis and Saints, nevertheless, have made some serious contributions. They have mostly initiated their expedition towards God by understanding themselves. There have been some Sufis who have the faith that internal journey within human’s own existence can direct to the understanding of God. Resultantly, they have contributed quite a few valuable experiences regarding mysteries of human existence. Though some of them are purely metaphysical, others are very lucid and are worth serious deliberation.
After the above discussion, it is significant to know why understanding his being should be important to a human or why it is imperative at all. Knowing self is important for a human because it would assist him in understanding the purpose of life and eventually of the world. If he is not able to find any purpose, he can find some meaning to life depending on his own understanding of the life. As a result, he can be a better being in the world. Human beings have been mostly extroverts regarding the world. They have explored the depths of oceans, observed the smallest of the organisms, unearthed the large mountains, exposed the mysteries of different worldly phenomena, viewed the far flung stars and planets yet they stand distant from themselves. Today’s so-called modern world is highly materialistic and it requires the human beings to understand themselves and their fellow beings. They require admiring the worth of their existence, which is a true miracle. They need to unveil real human within themselves who has the aptitude to feel others and strives to bind with them in a solitary string of existence.
Self-awareness or self-consciousness essentially supports a person to be more responsible towards his surroundings. He comes to know about the worth of life and of the existence and would never try to accomplish actions that cancel out that worth. He realizes the worth of other fellow beings, and he can do it by keeping his individualism and truly regarding it; thus, he preserves the benefit of being the finest of all the creatures.