It is sometimes complained that academic philosophy contains inadequate discussions of this question. But the notion that philosophers have talked little about the meaning of life is false. Theories of value--of which there are very many indeed--can be construed as theories of the meaning of life. Great philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, and many others had clear views about what sort of life was best (and hence most meaningful). The existentialists addressed themselves to the question head-on. More recently, Robert Nozick discussed the question at great length in his Philosophical Explanations.
The 'meaning' referred to is purpose, justification, not meaning in the sense that words have meaning. This is why responses such as 'life can't have a meaning, it's not a word' or 'look it up in a dictionary' are fallacious.
We can also separate this question into two different questions: one about the objective purpose of life, and the other about subjective purpose of life. The subjective purpose of life varies of course from person, and need not be considered any further.
Many deny that an objective purpose of anything is possible. Purposes, they argue, are purely subjective. Others claim that life has an objective purpose, though they differ as to what this purpose is, or where it comes from.
Common answers include: happiness or flourishing; pleasure; power; knowledge, understanding, or wisdom; and being blessed, or achieving union with God or the divine.
In reference to the popular comedy book series The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the meaning of life is sometimes said to be 42, but this is not actually correct. Rather, 42 is the answer to the ultimate question about life, the universe and everything. Unfortunately, the actual question itself remains unknown despite much effort by the mice to calculate it.
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