Part IX: The Meaning of Life

Multiple Choice Questions

Weblinks for How might a meaningful life be possible in a purely physical world?

Metz, T. (2011). ‘The Good, the True and the Beautiful: Toward a Unified Account of Great Meaning in Life’. Religious Studies 47: 389–409, https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za/handle/10210/8584. [Critically explores a variety of non-subjective theories of what makes a life particularly meaningful, and develops a new one that purportedly avoids and explains their weaknesses.]

Sartre, J.-P. (1946). ‘Existentialism is a Humanism’, Philip Mairet, tr., http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm. [The famous French existentialist explains and defends his version of subjectivism, which he summarises with the phrase ‘existence precedes essence’, by which he means that what a particular person is or ought to be is determined only by the choices she makes.]

Introductory further reading for How might a meaningful life be possible in a purely physical world?

Belliotti, R. (2001). What Is the Meaning of Life? Rodopi. [Favours naturalism and rejects a subjective approach to meaning in the context of critical discussion of a variety of classic thinkers such as Aristotle, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer.]

Eagleton, T. (2007). The Meaning of Life: A Very Short Introduction.Oxford University Press. [A light and lively essay on a variety of facets of the question of life’s meaning, often addressing linguistic and literary themes. Rejects subjective (‘postmodern’) approaches to meaning in favour of a need for harmonious or loving relationships.]

Martin, R. (1993). ‘A Fast Car and a Good Woman’. In D. Kolak and R. Martin (eds), The Experience of Philosophy, 2nd edn, 556–65. Wadsworth Publishing. [In this chapter from a textbook, the author advances the subjective view that meaningfulness is a matter of getting what you want, but is pessimistic about the extent to which people are able to get much of what they want.]

Singer, P. (1993). How Are We to Live? Random House Australia. [Composed for the generally educated reader, in this book the author defends an objective, utilitarian approach, according to which the more a person benefits other people and animals, the more meaningful her life.]

Taylor, R. (1970). Good and Evil, 319–34. Macmillan Publishing. [One of the most widely reprinted and read texts on life’s meaning, which is based on the thought experiment of Sisyphus, mythically condemned by the Greek gods to roll a stone up and down a hill forever. In this chapter, the author maintains that the most important kind of meaning is subjective, obtaining whatever one most strongly desires.]

Advanced further reading for How might a meaningful life be possible in a purely physical world?

Brogaard, B. and Smith, B. (2005). ‘On Luck, Responsibility, and the Meaning of Life’. Philosophical Papers 34: 443–58. [The authors defend what is aptly called an ‘intersubjective’ theory of meaning in life; for them, it is a matter of engaging in activities that rank highly by the standards of success that one’s society accepts.]

Dworkin, R. (2000). ‘Equality and the Good Life’. In his Sovereign Virtue, 237–84. Harvard University Press. [Distinguishes between two major naturalist   theories, one according to which a life that matters produces good results in the long run and another, hybrid view, according to which it exemplifies skilful performances that one endorses, where the author defends the latter.]

Frankfurt, H. (1982). ‘The Importance of What We Care about’. Synthese 53: 257–72. [The most sophisticated subjectivist writing today, the author defends the view that meaning in life is constituted by caring about something.]

Kauppinen, A. (2012). ‘Meaningfulness and Time’. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 82: 345 77. [Unlike most of the other entries here, this one explores the idea that a large part of what makes a life meaningful is the pattern it displays as it develops over time.]

Levy, N. (2005). ‘Downshifting and Meaning in Life’. Ratio 18: 176–89. [Argues that great meaning in life would come not from working less and spending more time with family, but rather by actively progressing towards highly worthwhile states of affairs that cannot conceivably be realised, such as perfect justice and complete knowledge.]

Mintoff, J. (2008). ‘Transcending Absurdity’. Ratio 21: 64–84. [Advances a complex theory of what makes a life meaningful according to which one’s life is more meaningful, the more it achieves transcendent ends, roughly, goals that are objectively good, long-lasting in duration, and broad in scope.]

Taylor, R. (1987). ‘Time and Life’s Meaning’. Review of Metaphysics 40: 675–86. [Although the author is better known for his earlier, subjectivist account of meaning in life, he changed his mind and eventually defended the objectivist view that what makes a life meaningful is solely the extent to which it is creative.]