THE MEANING OF LIFE...

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Since the beginning of metaphysical thought, one of the central questions has been finding the meaning of life. There have been both religious and secular answers to this question but ultimately it remains unsolved for most. Adding further difficulty to finding an answer is that many thinkers have rightly pointed out that a meaning to life has to account for non-human life as well. So do dogs and cats, and even cockroaches have the same life meaning as us?

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Some views, often religious ones, answer this question negatively. Human life is divinely created, or at least of a markedly different character than animal life. To support this argument, holders of this view often point out that human beings are unique in comparison to all the other living creatures on earth. For example, humans are seemingly the only life form capable of rational thought. Humans also seem to be the only living thing capable of advanced social interaction, in comparison to all other animals. So naturally with so many deep differences, the meaning of life can't be the same for animals and people.

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Contrary to the above views, some agreements posit that the differences between animal life and human life is not due to different qualities as much as that human beings just experience more of some abilities and less than others. Rational thought for instance is just a product of very powerful brains, but even insects have thoughts, just on a much lower scale. Since people and animals are really the same and the differences are more illusory, according this view, the meaning of life must be the same for all living creatures.

Other sets of views say that there is no universal meaning to life, and that species, human societies, and even individuals create them as they are living. In this case animals, each according to its capacity to do so, creates its own meaning. Of course if an animal is not even able to comprehend the meaning of life in the first place, could it have one?
What do you think?