Moves in the game of life

Chapter 297

We can, therefore, see how the question as to the meaning of life is posed too simply, unless it is posed with complete specificity, in the concreteness of the here and now. To ask about “the meaning of life” in this way seems just as naive to us as the question of a reporter interviewing a world chess champion and asking, “And now, Master, please tell me: which chess move do you think is the best?” Is there a move, a particular move, that could be good, or even the best, beyond a very specific, concrete game situation, a specific configuration of the pieces? Maria Popova

Nuance. Chess and life and nuance. Popova has it right here, but I never saw it until she said it. There are no best moves in chess nor life, there are only moves. And whether or not it is the best move or not is tied tightly to the moment when the move is made, in relationship to all the other moves that have been made, plus the strategy of future moves, and most importantly what moves your game/life throw at you. This makes perfect sense once someone said the metaphor. In this sense, in chess and in life decisions, this is a great metaphor.

I am not nearly as confident that this is a great metaphor for the meaning of life questions as Popova proposes in the quote. Meaning of life questions are more philosophical. They are more about motivations and intent than action decisions. They are less strategic and more foundational than the next-step questions you need answers to in life. Meaning of life question will likely have a great deal of influence on those action-step decisions of which direction to choose in life, but they aren’t those questions.

Meaning of life questions aren’t situationally specific like chess moves.