The meaning of life 1 The meaning of life zThe issue: Does human life have a purpose? yThree views x1. The pessimistic or nihilistic –Friedrich Nietzsche.

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Presentation transcript:

The meaning of life 1 The meaning of life zThe issue: Does human life have a purpose? yThree views x1. The pessimistic or nihilistic –Friedrich Nietzsche ( ) –A critique of this position: R. M. Hare

The meaning of life 2 The meaning of life x2. The secular or humanistic –Albert Camus ( ) x3. The metaphysical or religious –Teilhard de Chardin ( )

The meaning of life 3 The meaning of life y1. Friedrich Nietzsche’s ( ) expression of nihilism xFrom The Gay Science (1882) The theme of the death of God & the resulting disorientation & experience of nothingness (meaninglessness).

The meaning of life 4 The meaning of life “Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market place, and cried incessantly, ‘I seek God! I seek God!’... ‘Whither is God’ he cried. ‘I shall tell you. We have killed him--you and I. All of us are his murderers. [more]

The meaning of life 5 The meaning of life But how have we done this? How were we able to drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizen? What did we do when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving now? Away from all suns? Are we now plunging continually?

The meaning of life 6 The meaning of life Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there any up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing?... God is dead.... And we have killed him.... Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must not we ourselves become gods simply to seem worthy of it?’” (from The Gay Science, 1882)

The meaning of life 7 The meaning of life What kind of a statement is Nietzsche’s declaration of the death of God? –Metaphysical? –Cultural? For Nietzsche, one can overcome the meaninglessness brought about by the death of God by an act of will--a superhuman effort of will.

The meaning of life 8 The meaning of life yR.M. Hare’s critique of the nihilist view on the meaning of life xThe story of a Swiss boy Read Camus’s L’Etranger Rien, rien n’avait d’importance –Hare’s diagnosis: “Something matters” is an expression of concern about something.

The meaning of life 9 The meaning of life Now can a person be completely unconcerned about everything? Hare: No –Human beings are always concerned about something; humans cannot be completely unconcerned about everything

The meaning of life 10 The meaning of life Thus if someone says “nothing matters,” they are –either uttering nonsense –or they are psychologically disturbed & ought to seek counseling

The meaning of life 11 The meaning of life y2. Albert’s Camus’ ( ) humanism xCamus in 1944, at age 31

The meaning of life 12 The meaning of life xCamus & his wife, Francine, December 1957, Stolkholm. Reception on the occasion of the Nobel prize.

The meaning of life 13 The meaning of life xFrom The Myth of Sisyphus (1942) xLife is absurd but this absurdity can be overcome. How? The answer in The Myth –Problem: Is the struggle to overcome absurdity enough? Struggle for what? The answer in The Plague (1947)

The meaning of life 14 The meaning of life xThe general answer of the humanist approach to the meaning of life: We make meaning for our lives through our choices.

The meaning of life 15 The meaning of life y2. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s ( ) religious answer Background –The momentousness of the theory of evolution –The Law of Complexity- Consciousness

The meaning of life 16 The meaning of life –The theory of spheres (realms) barysphere lithosphere hydrosphere biosphere noosphere

The meaning of life 17 The meaning of life –The directionality of evolution -- toward the Omega Point = God x“Reflections on Happiness” (1943) Three attitudes toward life and three kinds of happiness –pessimist - tranquility –hedonist - pleasure –enthusiast - growth

The meaning of life 18 The meaning of life How can we choose between these? –Evolution provides a clue –The examples of the Curie’s, the Arctic & Antarctic explorers The route to the third form of happiness –A combination of fitting into the flow of evolution and helping bring it about

The meaning of life 19 The meaning of life –The 3 rules of happiness –1. Fight against following the least line of resistance –2. Pursue the proper form of love- -namely, giving ourselves to others –3. Turn the ultimate interest of our lives to the advancement of the world we live in –For Chardin, this coincides with the Christian vision.