Money and the Meaning of Life

Recently, a professor of philosophy in the United States has written a book called Money and the Meanlng of Life. He has discovered that how we deal with money in our day-to-day life has more meaning than we usually think. One of the exercises he asked his students to do is to keep a record of every penny they spend for a week.From the way they spend their money, they can see what they

really value in life.

He says our relation with others often becomes clearly defined when money enters the picture. You might have a wonderful friendship with somebody and you think that you are very good friends. But you will know him only when you ask him to lend you some money. If he does, it brings something to the relationship that seems stronger than ever before. Or it can suddenly weaken the relationship if he doesn‘t. This person may say that he has a certain feeling, but if it is not carried out in the money world, there is something less real about it.

People just have an idea of making more and more money, but what is it for? How much do I need for any given purposes in my life7 In his book, the professor uncovered an important need in modern society: to bring back the idea that money is an instrument rather than the end. Money plays an important role in the material world, but expecting money to give happiness may be missing the meaning of life.

金钱与生命的意义

最近，美国一位哲学教授完成了一本名为《金钱与生命的意义》的书。他发现日常生活中人们如何对待金钱所展示出的意义比我们通常认为的更为深远。他让学生们所做的一项练习就是记录下他们一周来所花费的每一分钱。从花钱方式上，他们可以看到在生活中他们真正珍惜的是什么。

他说，一旦有金钱介入，通常我们与他人之间的关系就变得易于分辨了。也许你和某个人的友谊亲密无间，你觉得你们是相当不错的朋友。但只有当你向他借钱的时候你才会真正了解他。如果他借钱给你，这带给你们的关系一些什么东西使你们的关系也好像比以往任何时候都更为牢固。如果他不借钱给你，这就会突然削弱你们的关系。这个人可能会说他有某种感情，但如果不在金钱的世界加以实施，这种感情中就有些东西不那么真实。

人们只想着要赚越来越多的钱，但赚钱为什么呢?生命中的一个特定目标需要多少钱呢?教授在他的书中揭示了一个现代社会至关重要的需求：找回金钱只是工具而非目的这样一理念。金钱在物质社会中发挥着重要作用，但期望金钱带来快乐也许是对生命意义的误解。