All this research paints a picture of minute physical systems which build up via self-organization principles into what we call life. As Kolchinsky suggests, this is pre-cognitive behavior. Does this behavior eventually build up into and explain consciousness as well?
Read moreTwo-Minute Philosophy: The Meaning of Life
Guide to the Meaning of Life
aka "You are an individual. You are a member of society."
For a meaningful life...
1. maximize spontaneity, by which is meant your *freedom* as an individual.
2. master respect for all other life.
To achieve freedom, we owe ourselves nothing more than our intuition, improvisational art, dalliance. "The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life."
To master respect requires a certain discipline. This discipline need not oppose freedom.
Pay attention to the context under which you were born, and all the *models* of reality that accompany this context. When the transcendent meaning of life unfolded in (1) and (2) above conflicts with meaning given by the context you were born under, (1) and (2) become supercharged: (1) becomes harder to achieve and (2) becomes more dutiful. In this way our legacies become meaningful, and only in this way.
Pay special attention to children. They add to (1). They also may subtract from (1). In so much as the latter is true, they also add to (2) especially in light of your legacy vis-a-vis the above paragraph.
This is my advice. You're welcome :)