What’s the Point of Living If We Are Going to Die?

A question— lump in the throat—that has likely crossed everyone’s mind at least once. In a previous article, I explored how creativity can counteract our awareness of death, alluding to the broader question of life’s meaning. Yet the very concept of “meaning” remains controversial, even within the scientific community. Some researchers break down this concept into three parts: coherence, purpose, and significance. Coherence refers to the sense that one’s experiences and life as a whole are understandable and make sense while purpose involves having a clear sense of direction and future-oriented goals. Lastly, significance relates to the feeling that one’s life has inherent value and worth. This dimension is closely linked to the Japanese concept of ikigai, often defined as “that which makes one’s life worth living” (Martela & Steger, 2016).

In contrast, existential psychiatrist and psychotherapist Irvin Yalom—my personal favorite— argues that the universe provides no inherent purpose. The absence of meaning is an “existential dynamic conflict” that compels individuals to create meaning through their own interpretations, values, and actions. Rather than viewing meaninglessness as a deficit, he frames it as an opportunity: a space in which individuals can actively construct purpose through choice, responsibility, and relationships. These ideas form the foundation of Yalom’s “four existential concerns” —death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness—which shape both human experience and the practice of existential psychotherapy (Yalom, 1980; Nel, 2025).

As unsettling as this may sound, the responsibility of building meaning from scratch, rather than discovering it fully formed, reveals an essential truth: we are the authors of our own lives. The meaning of life is neither universal nor predetermined; it is deeply personal and varies according to the things we consider the most important.

Nevertheless, attempting to assign meaning to our existence, humans appear to share three fundamental needs: to understand the world around us, to find direction in our actions, and to perceive value in our lives (Martela & Steger, 2016). Returning to the question posed in the title—What’s the point of living if we are going to die?—I’ll have to borrow my professor’s words. Imagine how torturous immortality would be. Moments would lose their significance if they could be experienced endlessly. Life acquires meaning only because we get to live once.

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