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John Lockes theory of Konwledge : A critical assessment
(University of North Bengal, 2022) Basak, Mrinal Kanti; Basak, Jyotish Chandra
The present work entitled ‘JOHN LOCKE’S THEORY OF
KNOWLEDGE: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT’ is done in partial
fulfilment of the work of my Ph. D. programme. It primarily deals with
the British philosopher John Locke’s theory of knowledge. The theory of
knowledge advocated by a philosopher, or a group of philosophers,
usually gets a lot of importance as other theories of him/them are based
on his/their epistemological theories. Locke was not an exception in this
regard. Rather his theory of knowledge has some extra importance, to my
mind. It is so as it posed a challenge to the existing traditions, prevalent
at that time, such as rationalistic and idealistic tendencies and set an
alternative approach to philosophizing. To put it more precisely, the
empiricist fashion that he initiated left a seminal impact in the
philosophical arena. It is this thing that attracted me and hence I decide to
work on this topic.
Initiating the first step to an alternative approach is a bit risky
task. As it is quite difficult to free the thinker completely from the
previously time-tested line of thinking. This is also true in the case of
John Locke. He was a bit controversial figure due to a number of reasons.
Hence, considerable time he had to spend abroad. This also brought an
opportunity to him to engage with thinkers of different unfamiliar lines of
thinking. Influences of these are palpable in his philosophy. In spite of
his strong advocacy of empiricist theory of knowledge, we find
rationalistic elements in his philosophy. On account of this, his theory of
knowledge has been subjected to severe criticism. In spite of these
criticisms, his theory brought a revolution in philosophy. This I intended
to show in my present endeavour.
In discussing his theory of knowledge, I divided my discussion
into six chapters. In the first chapter, I have given a brief life history of
him as I thought that a glimpse of his life and writings will be helpful to
place him in the right context. His main book on the theory of knowledge
was An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. I tried to have a
cursory look of the different essays of this treatise. Then I gave a chapter
plan as I thought that a blueprint will help me to do the work in a proper
way.
Chapter II deals with the negative aspect of Locke's theory of
knowledge. At the introduction of this chapter, two different forms of the
theory have been elucidated. Alongside this, two different types of innate
principles have been discussed. The central theme of this chapter is to
demonstrate Locke's refutation of innate principles. The negative or
destructive side of his theory of knowledge concentrates on the refutation
of the theory of innate knowledge. But his primary goal was to attack not
conceptual but propositional innatism. On the one hand, he put forward
arguments in order to nullify the hypothesis of innate principles; on the
other, he attempted to establish the view that our mind is similar to a
white paper at the time of birth. However, this chapter mainly focuses on
Locke's refutation of innate principles. The intent behind his refutation of
the theory of innate knowledge is to clear the path in order to establish
his empiricism. Before and during Locke it was speculated that there are
certain ideas that God has imprinted in the mind at the time of birth.
Besides, the Scholastic philosophers supposed that all knowledge is
based on certain innate maxims. Locke challenged this standpoint. In
fact, He was seeking to adopt a new critical approach towards the
acquisition of all kinds of knowledge. Moreover, he was inclined to
found religion and morality on reason. During and before Locke, the
doctrine of innate knowledge was considered to be necessary for religion
and morality. He sought to replace the old foundation of innate ideas with
suitable arguments so that religion and morality would stand stronger
than earlier.
Next, we have investigated the reason for his refutation of innate
principles. The fundamental interest of Locke was to challenge the
foundation of the doctrine of innatism. He believed that if it could be
shown empirically unfounded then it would no longer be possible to use
it as an epistemological instrument to support obscurity as well as
intellectual oppression. Most importantly, he wanted to eradicate this
obstacle in order to establish his doctrine of empiricism.
In addition to that, an attempt has been made to enumerate the
contestants of Locke. There is a divergence of opinion among scholars
regarding the opponents of Locke. Usually, it is conceived that Descartes
and the Cartesians were his principal adversaries in this epistemological
debate. But his polemic was not against any particular opinion rather it
was directed against a widespread view.
The subsequent portion of this chapter attempted to illustrate at
length Locke's arguments against innate principles and also the counterarguments
put forward by different scholars from different angles.
Actually, this portion sought to capture as well as present the debate
between Locke and the innatists in a holistic manner.
In Chapter III, my main aim is to outline Locke’s theory of
knowledge, i. e. the positive side of his theory. In the first section, I
mainly dealt with the development of Locke’s idea of knowledge. Here I
have shown how Locke established his theory of knowledge and what are
the main factors for the possibility of knowledge. In this chapter, I have
illustrated some indispensable concepts that helped Locke to set his
epistemological viewpoints, under the umbrella of empiricism, such as
ideas, qualities, modes, substances, relations, etc. In the second section, I
illustrated Locke’s theory of representationalism. Here I have also shown
how Locke tries to establish his representative theory of knowledge by
applying his empiricist style. The final section is my concluding section,
and here I have tried to explain different shortcomings of Locke’s theory
of knowledge that occur from lack of attention and insufficient
explanations (of the concepts of primary and secondary qualities, and the
concept of reflection), given by Locke. In the concluding remark, I have
suggested that if Locke paid attention to the nature of ideas, qualities, and
also to the human understanding, then he could have solved most of the
shortcomings of his theory of knowledge.
In chapter IV, my main aim is to outline Locke’s classification of
knowledge. And in this regard, I have shown that Locke classifies his
theory of knowledge based on what we can know, and how we can know.
In the first section of this chapter, I mainly deal with what we can know
according to Locke. Here I have illustrated the Lockean definition of
knowledge. And different kinds of agreement between ideas of objects,
which help us to understand what we can know. Here I also have
mentioned some objections raised against the classification of the
agreement of ideas. Afterward, in the second section, I have spread light
on the Lockean conception of how we can know. Here I have shown the
Lockean classification of knowledge based on different degrees of
clarity. In this section, I also have shown some shortcomings regarding
Locke’s conception of Demonstrative and Sensitive knowledge. And the
final section is my concluding section, where I have discussed the
deficiencies that arise in Locke’s theory of knowledge. Here I have also
shown that though Locke tries his best to set his theory of knowledge
based on empiricist style but at the end of the inquiry, he was unable to
hold this position properly.
In chapter V my main aim is to spread light on Locke’s
conception of truth. Here I have mainly shown the possibility of truth in
terms of Locke’s theory of knowledge. In the first section of this chapter,
I have stated how Locke established his theory of truth in terms of his
theory of knowledge. Afterward, in the second section, I discussed
Locke’s conception of truth in detail, with classifications. After this, in
the third section, I have spread light on the criteria through which Locke
classifies his theory of truth. And finally, the fourth section is my
concluding section where I have illustrated different shortcomings
regarding the theory of truth, which mainly arises out of the weaknesses
of the theory of knowledge.
I proceeded as per the blueprint stated above. The concluding
chapter gives a critical summary of his (Locke’s) theory of knowledge.
To my mind, Locke with his espousal of empiricist epistemology did a
wonderful task which we must appreciate. But it is also right that his
empiricism was impure empiricism as he admitted some of the things
which are not in consonance with empiricists’ tenets. Later philosophers
Bishop Berkeley and David Hume tried to purge these drawbacks. Locke
perhaps could not foresee the radical implications of empiricism. These
implications became evident in Hume’s philosophy as we find that it
leads to scepticism. There is no gainsaying the fact that Locke’s theory of
knowledge in particular and his philosophy in general left seminal
contributions. As we find that later philosophers drew spirit from him in
some way or other. It would not be an overstatement perhaps to state that
even the critical philosophy that Immanuel Kant espoused, later on, had
its seed latent in Locke’s philosophy. We find a number of similarities
between these two great philosophers’ viewpoints.
Virtual screening, molecular docking studies admet properties dencity functional theory and 2D-QSar modeling to design potential inhibitors
(University of North Bengal, 2023) Sarkar, Subhajit; Das, Rajesh Kumar
Conventional drug design processes use trial and error methods for screening natural and synthetic compounds. It costs millions of dollars and very long time approximately 10-15 years. To meet these severe challenges nowadays pharmaceutical companies rely very much on computer-aided design techniques to discover potential drugs. Throughout the research work, various natural inhibitors that regulate a variety of physiochemical processes in bacteria and human beings have been studied. Derivatives of them have been designed and developed in such a way that they may be used as potent drugs producing no or minimal side effects and overcome the antibiotic resistance property. We hope, in silico drug design processes followed in different studies would save precious time and millions of dollars, leading to novel alternate therapeutics.
CHAPTER I
Microorganism including bacterium communicates among themselves through a unique mechanism called quorum sensing. The different QS pathways of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria have been discussed elaborately in this chapter. Bacteria develop antibiotic resistance through various mechanisms among them biofilm formation is regulated by quorum sensing. Quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) interrupt the expression of virulence factors production and inhibit biofilm formation without killing bacteria or inhibiting bacterial growth. The QSIs are of two types natural and synthetic. It includes a details study of different types of QSIs and inhibition mechanisms. Hamamelitannin (HAM) a phytochemical has the capability to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus agr QS system. Our approach is to modify HAM by incorporating an active functional group for better efficacy. We have followed the same in silico process in another study where the target protein was chosen as heat shock protein 90 rather known as HSP90 and found in all species ranging from bacteria to humans. Over expression of this client protein may lead to several refractory diseases including cancer, inflammation, neurodegeneration, and viral infection. It discussed the various roles and functions of HSP90 in the human body. Besides, we have performed quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) analysis in two different cases. Phophodiesterase-4 (PDE4) and lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) are two key proteins that regulate various physiochemical processes in humans. Over expression of PDE4 may lead to severe diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and cardiovascular disease whereas unregulated LSD1 may result in tumorigenesis, neurodegenerative disorders, viral infection, diabetes, fibrosis, and various types of cancers including prostate, gastric, breast, lung, and leukemia. Separate studies of QSAR on these two proteins help us to identify best-fitted designed molecules as potent inhibitors of the target proteins. Detailed information on both PDE4 and LSD1 is described here.
CHAPTER II
The major in silico techniques that are widely popular among researchers are molecular docking, density functional theory (DFT) calculation, molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD)
simulations, and absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity (ADMET) prediction. Collective use of all of the mentioned computer aided techniques is necessary to predict potential QS inhibitors. It includes methodologies of all of the above mentioned techniques in detail.
CHAPTER III
A set of 26 derivative compounds have been designed by incorporation of different active functional groups at various positions of hamamelitannin (HAM) shown here. All structures were optimized using Gaussian software. Gaussian outputs were used to perform molecular docking with the help of Autodock Vina software. Docking results of HAM with three target proteins of PDB ID 4AE5, 4G4K, and 2FNP exhibited the binding energy value of -6.7, -6.5 and -6.6 kcal/mol respectively. Out of 26 derivatives of HAM, 14 compounds have shown higher binding affinity than that of HAM. The above in silico studies concluded that 14 ligands could be developed as effective inhibitors of S. aureus biofilm formation and considered for in vitro and in vivo analysis.
CHAPTER IV
It includes the natural product oroidin (ODN) considered a potent inhibitor of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) and its derivatives had been designed by substituting various functional groups in the various position of five membered rings. A library of thirty nine derivatives was designed by introducing various functional groups such that amide, amine, phosphate, hydroxyl, fluorine, methoxy, and carboxylic acid in the active pharmacophore of oroidin. All the analyses expressed that seven analogues possessed better chemical activity and docking capabilities than that of the source molecule ODN. These seven computationally designed derivatives may be used as novel beneficial agents in various cancer therapies including breast, ovarian, colon, pancreas, liver carcinoma, and leukemia treatments, and could be considered to develop as effective anticancer drug candidates in the future.
CHAPTER V
Keeping in mind the importance of PDE4 inhibitors it includes a study where a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) modeling method was performed to develop a standard model on a dataset of sixty-six significant PDE4A inhibitors encompassing common scaffolds in pyrazolo-oxazine, and imidazo-pyridazine compounds. According to QSARINS software, the model comprises three descriptors namely MoRSEM11, MoRSEP26and MoRSEC11 were found to be the best ones. The three descriptor model which was employed to predict pIC50 values as the studied response exhibited good R2 (0.8185), and F (73.658) values. Internal validation parameters Q2loo= 0.7845, Q2LMO= 0.7771and external validation parameters Q2F1= 0.8277, Q2F2= 0.8246, Q2F3= 0.8626, confirmed the stability and robustness of the developed model. On the basis of this model equation, pIC50 values of thirty-nine designed compounds were calculated. The potent lead molecules, predicted from the QSAR model, were further investigated by performing in silico approaches such as molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, bioavailability assessments, and toxicity prediction. The study revealed that the eight compounds possessed
potent PDE4A inhibitory activity and might be considered as future drugs subject to the viability of in situ and in vivo proceedings.
CHAPTER VI
In this chapter quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) model was built from a dataset of 44 compounds as LSD1 inhibitors. The best 10 compounds have fully satisfied all the criteria of drug-like properties and these designed lead molecules would have more potency to treat LSD1 target after going through in vivo and in vitro analysis.
CHAPTER VII
3D-QSAR analysis and application of ANN validation in CADD to design potential inhibitors of many critical diseases in future.
Evolution of Legal Principles Through Judicial Process of Suprene Court on India : Balancing the Doctrine of Stare Decisis and Overruling
(University of North Bengal, 2023) Bandyopadhyay, Suparna; Chakraborty, Gangotri
Bhim Dahalka upanyasma paine aparadhbrittiko visleshan भिम दाहालका उपन्यासमा पाइने अपराधवृत्तिको विस्लेषण
(University of North Bengal, 2022) Sharma शर्मा, Durgaprasad दुर्गाप्रसाद; Puskar पुस्कर, Parajuli पराजुली
Meaning of Human Life: Some Reflections
(University of North Bengal, 2023) Bhowmick, Madhurima; Basak, Jyotish Chandra
The present work entitled “Meaning of Human Life: Some
Reflections” is divided into six chapters. The meaning of life is a question
that has troubled the human mind since its emergence and the genesis of
its reflective capacity. Not only that it is the only kind of being in the world
that asks such questions. Other beings do not ask such questions or at least
we are not aware of that. This question has been called by many the final
or ultimate question of life. In order to study this question, I have taken
recourse to literature survey, field study and eliciting opinions of experts.
In the first chapter titled “Introductory Remarks” I have introduced
the problem. The problem under discussion is an age-old one. In India,
considered as the most ancient extant civilization in the world, this
question was given prime importance and attempts were made to address
it directly. Mostly, attempts revolved around showing what is the final goal
of life. The concept of puruṣārtha was used for furnishing an answer to
our question. It has been said that any work that is conducive to the
attainment of our desired puruṣārtha is worthy one and it imparts meaning
to our lives.
In the west, the extant literature tells us that it was Socrates, the
great Greek philosopher, who first provides us with an answer by saying
that an unexamined life is not worth living. Not only that his method,
known as the Socratic method, an art of questioning everything, tried to
find the rationale for our every work. It was actually an effort to find the
meaning of all our moves in life. Successive philosophers after him tried
to formulate and reformulate the question and attempted answers in their
own way.
In the contemporary period, analytic philosophers whose main tool
of philosophizing was hair-splitting analysis of every concept helped
immensely to analyse the question. They were under the impression that a
better formulation of the question will facilitate a better response. They
show us that every word of the question― ‘the’ ’meaning’, ‘of’, ‘human’,
‘life’― needs to be clarified first. Once we get a precise idea of all these
words it will go a long way in understanding the question. We can say that
their task was like a grammarian. Their task was second-order. But they
did a yeomen task by reminding us that without proper clarification any
attempt to furnish an answer is bound to be a half-hearted one. I have
attempted an analysis of these words in the first chapter.
A survey of the literature gave me the impression that answers to
our enquiry can be given from a number of perspectives. When we come
to know about these perspectives, we get confused as we fail to determine
which one is the right answer. Determination of the right answer to such
an enquiry is not possible, to my mind. However, traversing these different
lines of thinking is indeed rewarding. Hence, I handpicked three different
lines of thought whose lines of thinking influenced later
philosophers/scholars. One of them was a pessimist, Arthur Schopenhauer,
the next one was Richard Taylor, a critical thinker and finally, I discussed
the view of Viktor E. Frankl, a psychiatrist and a survivor of the Nazi
concentration camp. I did this to illustrate that scholars with a particular
background are committed to a specific line of thought.
I also attempted to elicit the opinion of people who are not
associated with the discipline of philosophy. I talked with research
scholars from other departments, and elicited opinions of people who are
in distress (for example, people residing in old age homes) and also some
professors engaged in teaching at different universities. This attempt also
provided me with some clues to think over the issue.
Chapter II is written under the rubric of “Meaning of Life:
Viewpoints of Some Major Classical Western Philosophers”. In this
chapter, I chose some Greek philosophers who made a ground-breaking
contribution to the issue. They are: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus,
Diogenes, a cynic, and Sextus Empiricus, a sceptic. I have deliberately
chosen these philosophers. Socrates first articulated the question and
brought the issue to the forefront of discussion in the western world. Plato
made an original contribution by enunciating his view in a more precise
way. Aristotle was the first philosopher, and it has been held by many
scholars, who addressed the question most systemically unknown before
his time. He, for example, showed us that the question has two
aspects―theoretical and practical. Hence, any answer which does not
address these two sides is bound to be an inadequate one.
In the previous chapter I have shown that the term ‘meaning,’ as it
has many meanings, in the present case it has been used in the sense of
goal or purpose. Greek philosophers tell us that it is eudaimonia or
happiness that is the goal of life. But the moot question is what is
happiness. Raising this question, they dug deeper into the problem. What
is usually thought as happiness may not be real happiness. Epicurus
showed us very clearly what happiness is. It is a particular state of body
and soul, e. g. absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul. By
showing that all pleasures are not pleasurable, and all pains are not painful
he subtly introduced qualitative hedonism. Aristotle very meticulously
defined the notion of life. By doing this he not only clarified the question
rather he pioneered the advent of biological sciences. He very beautifully
showed that life is a continuum. Doigenes, another Greek thinker, spent a
life which attracted the attention of his many contemporaries. His lifestyle
and views instantiated a different line of thinking. Sextus Empiricus did a
great task by espousing a sceptical line of thinking. Scepticism has a great
role in philosophy as it impels us to be critical and not to hold a dogmatic
view on any issue. Any dogmatic view of life’s meaning has the capacity
iv
to lead us astray. Hence, a critical outlook is a sine qua non. All these issues
were part of my second chapter.
The last century witnessed the triumph of reason. Logic, rational
arguments, realism, etc. were buzzwords of philosophers of that century.
It is during this time that analytic philosophy took its birth and logical
analysis came into vogue. Philosophers used it very craftily to resolve
philosophical problems. The meaning was a dominant theme of this school
of thinking. We are habituated to thinking that when analytic philosophers
talk about meaning their focal points are the semantical and the syntactical
sides of the issue. This is true. However, no intellectual can ignore the
question with which we are dealing. Hence, analytic philosophers either
directly or indirectly attempted to answer the question. I have shown this
in chapter III. To limit our discussion, I have chosen three prominent
philosophers of the last century who left indelible marks in different fields
of thinking and activities. They are Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein
and A. J. Ayer. Bertrand Russell was a renowned British philosopher and
activist. Though he adopted a naturalist line of thinking, he proferred some
opinions on this issue which are indeed enlightening. As his writings are
vast we selected certain books and essays and delineated his views on the
basis of views given in those pieces of writing.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, an Austrian-born British philosopher,
initially treated the question under discussion, as nonsense about which we
are not in a position to say anything. In spite of saying this, he held the
issue/question has merit and made ingenious attempts to answer the
question. Peter Hacker beautifully showed that though no answer can be
furnished, according to Wittgenstein, to the question of the meaning of life
and hence makes no sense still such type of non-sense is different from
misleading non-sense. He, therefore, labelled it ‘illuminating non-sense.’
A. J Ayer, known as the spokesperson of the logical positivist,
initially held that answer to such a question does not fall within the domain
of philosophy. He held so as he clearly stated the task of philosophy in his
celebrated book Language, Truth and Logic. His hard stance on ethics and
religion etc. was the result of his affiliation with rigorous empiricism and
logical analysis. By making a distinction between the how question and
the why question he illuminated our thinking on the issue. Still, he held
some sort of opinion which is really interesting. For example, we find him
saying that though life has no independent meaning still someone can give
it meaning through his activities. He claims himself to be a humanist.
Perhaps this terminology gives us enough hints about how he tried to give
meaning to his life. A later revision of his view given at the fag end of his
life is intriguing and we have discussed it in chapter III.
Chapter IV deals with some existential philosophers’ viewpoints.
When the English-speaking world was putting emphasis on reason, some
other parts of Europe put a premium on passion and emotion and relegated
reason to the back-burner. Crises faced by the world during two
devastating wars and their sequel accentuated the issue and popularized
existential philosophy. Absurdity, anxiety, fear, nothingness, being,
thrownness, fallenness, facticity, choice, etc. were their main jargon. Out
of many existential philosophers I have chosen Soren Kierkegaard,
Fredrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and Jean-Paul Sartre. These
philosophers repeatedly showed the existential crisis faced by humanity
and their main slogan was ‘existence precedes essence.’ The
Kierkegaardian concern centres around how to live a life. For him, truth is
subjective. As he emphasized on the subjectivity of truth, he was
concerned about “what is truth ‘for me’”. He found the answer in living a
religious life. For this, he was willing to live and die.
Existential philosophers can be grouped under two
umbrellas―theists and atheists. We have seen Kierkegaard’s stance. He
was a theist. On the other hand Fredrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre were
atheists. They also espoused existentialist ideas though of a different sort.
Hence, their answer varied about life’s meaning. Martin Heidegger, a
doyen of this school of thought, gave a highly original philosophy. The
meaning of life questions dominated his entire philosophical journey. For
him, philosophical enquiry focuses on understanding language and life.
Such engagement provides us with the experience of Being. His Being and
Time is a tome where human beings’ choices and actions have been given
paramount importance. One being’s choice is dissimilar to other beings.
Therefore, their meaning of life will also vary. Dissimilarity does not prove
wrongness. To the question of what makes life meaningful, he gives
several answers. Some such answers are: care gives the meaning of life,
time brings the meaning of life and authenticity imparts the meaning of
life. These words, although frequently used in ordinary discourse,
Heidegger used these in a technical sense. Most existentialist philosophers
hold that Authenticity makes our life meaningful.
In chapter V I have discussed how Indian philosophy attempts to
answer the question about the meaning of life. I have discussed the concept
of puruṣārtha. Ancient and classical Indian philosophy discussed the
meaning of life in terms of puruṣārtha. There are many puruṣārthas out of
which four got prominence. If our activities propel us towards our supreme
goal then those activities are considered as worthy or śreyo. Indian
philosophy does not repose faith in pleasurable life. They rather focus on
the attainment of a life where suffering is completely absent. Whether such
life is ānanda svarupa or not is a debatable issue. However, it is usually
held that it is a blissful life. Contemporary Indian philosophers tried to
justify this line of thinking, of course, in their own way. This is not to say
that they held this view dogmatically. Rather they supported it with
independent reasoning. Here we find a reasoned combination of tradition
and ratiocination. Out of many contemporary Indian philosophers I have
chosen Rabindranath Tagore’s and Krishna Chandra Bhattacharyya’s
views.
Chapter VI, which is my concluding chapter, begins with Walt
Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’ where he beautifully depicts human beings’
differences from other animals. It is only human beings who can raise
certain questions. Enquiry into the meaning of life is such an issue. It has
intrigued the human mind to such an extent that they took recourse to many
routes to have a satisfactory answer to this question. Will Durant in order
to get an answer to this question wrote a long letter to 100 persons who
have many accomplishments to their credit. A study of their answers made
me feel that it is worth traversing but at the same time made the thing more
intricate. Some held life has no meaning, some argued on the theistic line,
and some answered in an unconventional way.
All these answers made me pensive. The appearance of a pandemic
and on account of which a serious danger loomed large over the globe, I
got the impression that I have been thrown into a world which is dreadful
and any search for meaning is a meaningless task. However, Viktor
Frankl’s view and our successful fight against the pandemic restore my
conviction that life has a meaning if we can give it one. We need to create
meaning for our own life. Meaning, therefore, seems to be a subjective
one.
While I was mulling over this idea during my pre-submission
seminar, I was reminded by a professor of mine that I need to rethink the
issue. He made me think that human life’s goal is objective though roads
leading to that may be subjective. I concluded my thesis with this view.