The Transformation of the Concept of Meaning in Life in Contemporary Western Philosophy: From Transcendent Meaning to the Crisis of Meaning with Emphasis on a Bergsonian Interpretation

Abstract

The question of the meaning of life in contemporary Western philosophy has undergone a fundamental transformation in connection with the crises of modernity and the decline of traditional metaphysical explanations. The aim of this study is to provide a comparative examination of the concept of meaning in life within the major currents of contemporary philosophy (analytic philosophy, continental philosophy, and existentialism) and to propose an alternative interpretation based on the philosophy of life developed by Henri Bergson. This study is qualitative in nature and was conducted using descriptive-analytical and comparative methods. Data were collected through documentary and library-based research grounded in philosophical texts and related scholarly studies. The research population consists of the works and perspectives of prominent philosophers in contemporary Western philosophy who have addressed the question of the meaning of life. The sample was purposively selected from the views of René Descartes, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Albert Camus, together with the writings of Henri Bergson. The research methodology is based on conceptual analysis, comparative evaluation of philosophical perspectives, and critical assessment. Data analysis was conducted through qualitative interpretation of philosophical texts and comparative examination of different philosophical approaches. The findings indicate that contemporary Western philosophy has moved from transcendent and objective conceptions of meaning toward subjective interpretations and ultimately toward the crisis of nihilism. Nevertheless, Bergson’s philosophy, drawing upon the concepts of duration (durée), intuition, and the vital impetus (élan vital), opens a path beyond the impasse between the “discovery” and the “creation” of meaning. From Bergson’s perspective, meaning is located neither in pre-established ends (mechanistic teleology) nor in the absurdity resulting from materialism; rather, it is rooted in the creative dynamism and continuous flux of life itself. In this interpretation, the meaning of life emerges from the inner transcendence of life and from the direct intuition of the creative flow that surpasses mechanical determinism, thereby justifying life as a continuous act of creation.