Saturday, Nov. 24, 2:00-5:00 U104
Screening of Bicentennial Man, Discussion
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2:00-5:00 U105
Review Session
Many of the topics we have discussed relate somehow to the meaning of life:
Is life meaningful if we live in a simulated world (e.g. the Matrix)?
Is the meaning of life related to living a virtuous life ?
Can life be meaningful if we have no free will ?
Is the meaning of life related to consciousness?
What sorts of things can have meaningful lives (e.g. robots, animals, people)
Is death necessary to make life meaningful ?
What kinds of things are still meaningful in various types of situations?
That depends, of course, on what, if anything, is meaningful.
The Meaning of Life
Theories about the meaning of life can be divided into two
types: subjective and objective
1)
Subjective
To have a meaningful life = to feel that one has a meaningful life
In other words, what is valuable/meaningful is one’s own personal
happiness or a sense of fulfillment or psychological health.
2) Objective
Meaning exists outside of ourselves. Some things have value
beyond how they benefit us or how they make us feel.
Examples of subjective theories:
1) Eudaimonia
2) Positive Psychology
3) Daoism and Buddhism
4) The meaning of life is the search for the
meaning of life
Aristotle
The function of a human being to is obtain
eudaimonia through the use of reason
Eudaimonia: “The good life”
To obtain excellence (in action) through the use of reason
To be virtuous: honest, courageous, kind, temperate, just,
generous, etc.
To have good fortune: family, friends, wealth, power, etc.
Emphasis on human flourishing
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Top tier, self-actualization, requires a sense of
purpose and perhaps a belief in the value of
something outside of yourself.
Belief in the meaningfulness of your activities
becomes a tool with which to obtain
happiness/self-fulfillment.
Happiness/self-fulfillment implicitly regarded as
valuable/meaningful
Daoism: the purpose of life is to live in conformity with the Dao.
Buddhism: to escape suffering, to achieve nirvana
Zen Buddhism: to live in the moment, to find nirvana in this
world in everything you do
The Daoism and Buddhism ideas regarding the meaning of life
can be interpreted subjectively or objectively.
Subjectively: to follow the Dao or find nirvana for yourself
Objectively: to help everyone or all living creatures to follow
the Dao or find nirvana, spreading happiness or peace to
others
The meaning of life is the search for
the meaning of life
Technically a paradox.
“Searching for meaning is a meaningful activity” is not a
paradox.
Can be interpreted as subjective: we feel that searching for the
meaning of life is meaningful, but actually the feeling of
meaningfulness is what is meaningful.
Or can be interpreted as objective: searching for meaning in life
is meaningful, but it is not the one and only meaning of life.
E.g. the meaning of life is the search for truth and the
progress of human understanding and knowledge. Searching
for the meaning of life is one way to add to this project.
2) Objective theories of the meaning of life
Depends on some external value, i.e. in the belief that certain things are
valuable whether or not we benefit from them, or even know about them
One way to look at this idea, is to ask if there is something, anything, that
you would rationally sacrifice you life for:
1) would you die to protect your family
2) would you die to make the world a better place
3) would you die for everlasting fame
4) would you die to save the rest of the world (if the alternative was living
a comfortable and interesting life, e.g. with an alien life-form)
The determination of an objective value can still be a subjective
determination. i.e. I can decide that x is objectively valuable and you can
decide that y is objectively valuable. Maybe there is no matter of fact to
determine who is right. Nevertheless, if I decide that x is valuable, I will
find my life meaningful insomuch as I help to further or promote x. I do it
for the sake of x and not because it makes me happy or fulfilled to do so.
Examples of objective theories:
1) Otherworldly religion
2) Utilitarianism
3) Environmentalism
4) Family
5) Human Progress
6) The present moment
1)
The meaning of life is to serve God’s
purposes (or, perhaps, to keep the
universe in order)
Question: is God having a purpose for your life the
same as the purpose of life to you?
2) The purpose of life is to follow the laws of religion so
that you can be rewarded in the afterlife.
Implication: only eternal life can be meaningful.
The greatest good for the greatest number.
The only valuable thing is happiness and the absence
of suffering (or perhaps the fulfillment of human
preferences – or possibly also the preferences of
other intelligent beings).
A meaningful life is one that promotes the welfare of
others or of future generations.
The meaning of life is to promote the welfare of
the earth as a living system or to restore the
balance of nature or to live in harmony with
nature or to promote the welfare of all living
things.
A theme in Confucianism, but not limited to Confucianism.
As individuals we are part of a bigger system, the family, which
precedes us and outlives us. When we contribute to our
family’s future welfare, and when we pay respects to our
ancestors, our lives become meaningful.
Note: it is easy to feel this way when you have children. Your
children will (hopefully) outlive you, and if they have children
who have children, your actions in the present will have
ramifications far into the future.
The logic of family need not be limited to literal families. The
concept of “family” can be extended to any kind of social
group, and even to all of humanity.
The meaning of life is to make a contribution to the ongoing projects
of mankind, e.g.
1)
2)
3)
Contribute to scientific or philosophical understanding
To create art, literature, music, structures or other enduring works
that can be enjoyed by future generations
To improve the human condition through medicine, social
welfare, etc.
To “make a mark on the world” (preferably in a good way)
Underlying philosophy: as individuals are lives are short and
unimportant, but as a species we have value and making to make
contribution to human flourishing is to make a contribution that
will live on through the ages.
大學
Da Xue
Chapter of the Book of Rites
Confucian classic
禮記
The right way to live is to:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Cultivate oneself 修身
Bring harmony to the family 齊家
Bring order to the state 治國
Bring peace to the world 平天下
The purpose of life is to make the world better starting
with an individual life and expanding outward to
eventually include the whole world.
Mentioned before under Zen Buddhism. Also related to
existentialism.
If there is no God, and life is short, we have only a series of
moments.
If there is any value in life, the value must exist in the moments
that make up life.
So the only way to find meaning in life is to imbue the present
moment with meaning.
The best way to do that is to value the joy and beauty in what is
around us and in what we do at every moment of our lives.
Nihilism: there is no meaning of life
Existentialism: there is no meaning of life other than
what we choose to imbue with meaning. Every
individual has the right and the responsibility to
decide for themselves what is meaningful.
Thomas Nagel (1987),What does it all mean?,
Chapter 10: “The Meaning of Life”, at:
http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/19143263/1413421
300/name/What+does+it+all+mean+-+Nagel.pdf
Albert Camus (1942), “The Myth of Sisyphus” , at:
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/00/pwille
n1/lit/msysip.htm