Topic: Philosophers and the Meaning of Life
For your reflection, review and consider (1) how the philosophers we have read this semester explain the meaning of life, and (2) what you have written in your reflections for the course so far. Then address the following questions
Which philosopher’s perspective on the meaning of life is closest to your own? Why?
Which philosopher(s) challenged your views the most (whether or not you ultimately agreed with that philosopher)? Why? What reasons (arguments) did they challenge you with? Were you convinced by those reasons?
Did you change your mind about anything from readings in this course, so far? Or did you discover any new questions you had not thought about from your readings?
As you look back over your reflections, what is the biggest change you would like to make to what you have written so far? Explain.
Guidelines
Base answers on the readings and not just the lecture notes.
You must discuss at least two philosophers in your reflection, identifying them by name.
Quote and cite the readings properly to support what you say about the philosophers.
Look for arguments. Write about arguments. Show that you understand not just what the philosophers believe but the reasons they give us for believing it.
If you use any secondary sources, cite them properly. I recommend that you not use secondary sources at all, and that if you do, you use only the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Sparknotes or the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Do not lowball the assignment. Less than 2 pages is not enough. Do not try to get by with only writing about the earliest or easiest readings (typically, lowballers pick Taylor and Wolff) and ignoring the more difficult and interesting philosophers we read through the weeks after.
We have read and discussed several different philosophical perspectives on the meaning of life. Voluntarists like Taylor and James claim that satisfying our needs and desires is what makes life meaningful. Hedonists like Epicurus advise us to live the pleasant life, by seeking pleasure in moderation and avoiding pain. Perfectionists claim that meaning in life comes from being excellent or doing things that are objectively valuable (good whether or not we desire to do them or feel pleasure from doing them.) Some perfectionists like Aristotle, claim that we can know how to be excellent by considering human nature. Some like Aquinas, claim that to have a fully meaningful (and the best possible) life we must also know God in the afterlife. Your task is not summarizing these many different views, but evaluating and selecting the views that have most influenced your own thinking. A good place to start is by asking yourself, Am I more of a voluntarist, a hedonist or a perfectionist?Previous
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