AGENDA
- participation self-evaluation at Canvas
- Exam 3 -- during tomorrow's class
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Study materials
- The big picture
- Review page
- Meaning page
- your notes, your RRs, comments on your RRs, the readings
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20 QUESTIONS
(1) What do you need to know from Module 5?
- Anything we continued to discuss in Modules 6 and 7
- Tolstoy: his crisis about death, his solution
- Taylor: myth of Sisyphus, his view of meaning
(2) What does Wolf think is right and wrong with Taylor's view of meaning?
(3) What does she mean by "fitting fulfillment"?
(4) When we discussed Wolf, why did we discuss looksmaxxing?
(5) Why is DeBres unhappy with Wolf's view? Does she completely reject it?
- See: the choppy life vs. the cohesive life
(6) Why does telling your life story add meaning to your life?
- Is it the sole source of meaning, a necessary source of meaning, or one source of meaning, according to De Bres?
- We embellish, forget, distort, shape our stories...does truth really matter? What does she say?
(7) Why is Strawson so skeptical of narrativism?
- What does he mean by "narrative people" and "non-narrative" people?
(8) Setiya and Hanh both talk about presence and encourage you to meditate. How are they different?
- What is Hanh's "here and now" argument for becoming more present?
(9) Kauppinen (first post, second post) has four arguments why presence during atelic activities does not add any meaning to your life. What are they? (see second post)
(10) What sort of life does have meaning, according to Kauppinen? (see second post)
- a project centered life
- but to avoid post-project deflation, choose your projects wisely
- check-box projects -- going to Machu Pichu
- fertile projects -- learning about the Incas
- prospective ground projects -- becoming a lawyer
- reflexive ground projects -- being a friend, helping children, protecting nature, supporting family -- not completable, but still dedicated to a value (unlike Setiya's examples of atelic activities)
(11) Why is Cottingham dissatisfied with all the meaning in life authors?
- he thinks they are theorizing about meaning without grappling with human incompleteness
- what are the four dimensions of human incompleteness?
(12) Cottingham says "striving for transcendence" is essential for a meaningful life. How should we express that striving?
(13) At the beginning of "The Absurd" Nagel talks about feeling small in a large universe and the thought that nothing matters, because it won't matter in a million years. Does he say life is absurd because of such feelings?
(14) Nagel says we oscillate between two views of ourselves. What are the two views?
- Is one better than the other?
- Can we stop oscillating?
(15) How bad is it that life is absurd, according to Nagel?
(16) Does Weinberg think life is totally meaningless? Explain.
(17) Weinberg makes a complicated argument with many steps. What are the main steps.
(18) Nobody seems to be convinced by Weinberg, but what exactly is wrong with her argument. Can you make an objection aimed at one specific step of the argument?
(19) How do you think she would respond to your objection?
(20) Who is the best meaning author we have read? Why is that view best?
