T H E M E A N I N G O F L I F E According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary (1996) The quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body. A principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings. An organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, reproduction.
However, The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42.