Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only resp...

Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.” As you can probably imagine, philosophers have spent countless hours considering the concept of meaning, as well as the “meaning of meaning.” Many theories of meaning have been put forth over the last couple of centuries, as humans struggled to come to some kind of coherent understanding of what meaning is, how it is made, and how it can be found. However, no theory has been proposed that answers all the big questions. Some answer one or two questions, while others might address another, but none of them offer a comprehensive view on the subject. A few of the most significant theories of meaning are described below.