Ecclesiastes 3:9

Another rhetorical question expects another negative response (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:3; Ecclesiastes 2:11). There is no net gain in one’s toil given Solomon’s perspective.

". . . one thing that elevates us above the animal world, in addition to the God-given sense of eternity [Ecclesiastes 3:11], is the desire to understand the whole. This accounts for all science, philosophy, and human knowledge, as well as theology." [Note: Ibid., p. 1162.]