ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a few attempts in the Western tradition to give suffering meaning and then asks whether it is possible to conceive of an authentic acceptance of suffering as something inherently negative, destructive and adverse to human happiness. The genius of ancient Greek thought was to have transcended the anthropomorphic gods and replaced them with more abstract concepts. The concept of justice acquired content similar to that of destiny; it alluded to the cosmic order itself. The idea that suffering is an inevitable and inescapable aspect of worldly existence but that it can be escaped by a form of self-transcendence or an elevation to a higher mode of existence can be found in many of the great world religions including Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. The Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas firmly rejects the possibility that suffering has any providential meaning.
