A meaningful human life connects with things of value outside of itself and provides fulfilment for its bearer. For humans, fulfilment depends upon self-discovery, which requires a process of conjecture and refutation, a willingness to question and criticise received views and to welcome challenges and criticism to views that one holds dear and that may seem to be part of one’s identity. I discuss some practical limitations on that self-discovery process, particularly our proneness to self-deception. I offer a personal case-study to illustrate how poor self-knowledge due in part to self-deception may bring about a descent into depression and anxiety. When one pursues an organised project of self-discovery, living one’s life is intertwined with drafting a philosophical autobiography that gives an account of one’s progress in discovering the type of life that one finds most fulfilling.
