Does Life Have Meaning?
Hedonism —Epicurus
 The aim of a blessed life is the soul’s
freedom from disturbance.
 The standard by which we judge every
good is pleasure.
 Excessive drinking, reveling, and luxurious
eating cannot produce a pleasant life.
Does Life Have Meaning?
Hedonism —Epicurus
• Death is nothing to us, because as long as
we exist, death is not with us, but when
death comes, then we do not exist.
• It is not possible to live pleasantly without
living virtuously.
Does Life Have Meaning?
Life Is Absurd —Albert Camus
• The question of the meaning of life is the
most urgent of questions.
• Being aware of one’s life and one’s
freedom is living to the maximum.
• The myth of Sisyphus is tragic because its
hero is conscious.
Does Life Have Meaning?
Life Is Absurd —Albert Camus
• The sense of the absence of a profound
reason for living is the feeling of absurdity.
• Sisyphus is a hero.
Does Life Have Meaning?
Religion Gives Meaning to Life —Louis
Pojman
• If theism is true and there is a benevolent
sovereign of the universe, we have an answer to
the problem of why be moral.
• If theism is true and there is a benevolent
sovereign of the universe, there is life after
death.
Does Life Have Meaning?
Religion Gives Meaning to Life —
Louis Pojman
• Since we don’t know whether theism is
true, we should live as if theism is true.
• The argument that we cannot have both
autonomy and purpose in life presents a
false dilemma.
Does Life Have Meaning?
Reflections on Suffering —Bertrand
Russell
• The loneliness of the human soul is
unendurable.
• Only on the firm foundation of unyielding
despair can the soul’s habitation be safely
built.