	Philosophy is a discipline that takes up questions of definition, description, or inquiry. To find good answers to philosophical questions, it is necessary to find what is puzzling then attempt to find good answers to these questions. Unlike other disciplines, there is little evidence that can be utilized to answer these questions (such as in history) and it is very difficult to manipulate variables (such as in the sciences) to answer these questions. To find good answers to philosophical questions, arguments are posed and others test the soundness of the argument by ensuring that the premises in the argument that lead to the conclusion are true and that the premises themselves are true. Meaning in life is a question that has been asked by many for ages but still does not have a lot of work devoted to it. Until very recently, philosophers thought that all actions had value from self-interest or moral worth and meaning came from one of these two concepts. Philosophers are just now starting to work with the idea that meaning can be a concept independent of self-interest and moral worth and can affect people’s lives just as much as the other two concepts. However, due to the nature of philosophy, there is not a unified answer to the question of meaning in life. Using the self-reflection and critical reasoning essays, the goal is to show that there are ideas in this discipline that can provide valid insights to answering the question of meaning in life, even if the viewpoints of the authors do not hold a popular opinion to the public. It is important to analyze many ideas in a discipline such as philosophy so that the valid premises can see use in formulation for one’s own concept for a meaningful life, even if the argument that the philosopher makes is unsound or if one disagrees with the conclusion that the philosopher makes. 
	Frankl and Tolstoy discuss concepts that they label as “overarching purposes of life” and one could consider them as starting points to find meaning in life. Frankl states that one should do what “life expects of you,” while Tolstoy states that one should do everything “for the good.” Both of these philosophies have flaws in them, mainly due to the lack of specificity in them that that makes them less useful for finding meaning in life. However, they show that meaning in life can have both an external and internal component, something that was discussed throughout the course. These two philosophies provide further analysis by introducing the concept of “meaning” so that one knows exactly what they are looking for when they are trying to find meaning in life. Their philosophies also stem from their personal troubles of looking for meaning in life themselves, suggesting that “meaning” is something that all humans want to possess in their lives. Although there might not be a definitive answer to what a meaningful life is, not having an answer to this question does not make life meaningless.
