Exploring the Meaning of Life: An Anthology and Guide

One of philosophy s traditional purposes was to questionthe meaning of life, a mission currently enjoying a resurgence ofinterest among analytic philosophers. As much a guide as it is areader, this anthology features astutely chosen essays that definethe context of this historically core philosophical imperative.Blending classic thinkers with the best contemporary commentary,its thematic structure mirrors the nuanced dialectical terrain ofthe current debate and extends recognition to the contributions ofliterary figures.

An extensive general introduction orients the reader to thehistorical, experiential, and conceptual aspects of the subject,and anticipates likely developments. In addition, each section isintroduced by internationally respected philosophers who havethemselves made vital contributions to our understanding of themeaning of life, while a wealth of references and suggestions forfurther reading provides students with a valuable tool forextending their knowledge. Exploring the Meaning of Life: AnAnthology and Guide is a comprehensive survey that shepherdsreaders to the frontiers of modern philosophy at the same time ascharting the roads taken to get there.

Notes on Contributors viii

Preface x

Personal Acknowledgments xii

Acknowledgments xiii

General Introduction 1
Joshua W. Seachris

Section I Understanding the Question of Life′s Meaning21

Introduction 23
Thaddeus Metz

1.1 Why 29
Paul Edwards

1.2 Untangling the Questions 40
Garrett Thomson

1.3 Questions about the Meaning of Life 48
R. W. Hepburn

1.4 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life 62
Robert Nozick

1.5 The Concept of a Meaningful Life 79
Thaddeus Metz

1.6 Assessing Views of Life: A Subjective Affair? 95
Arjan Markus

Section II What Does God Have to Do with the Meaning of Life?113

Introduction 115
John Cottingham

2.1 Ecclesiastes 121

2.2 On Living in an Atomic Age 133
C. S. Lewis

2.3 Is the Existence of God Relevant to the Meaning of Life?138
Jeffrey Gordon

2.4 The Absurdity of Life without God 153
William Lane Craig

2.5 Is Nature Enough? 173
John Haught

2.6 Religion and Value: The Problem of Heteronomy 183
John Cottingham

2.7 Could God′s Purpose Be the Source of Life′s Meaning?200
Thaddeus Metz

Section III The Loss of Meaning in a World Without God:Pessimistic Naturalism 219

Introduction 221
Garrett Thomson

3.1 On the Vanity of Existence 227
Arthur Schopenhauer

3.2 A Free Man′s Worship 230
Bertrand Russell

3.3 The Absurd 236
Thomas Nagel

3.4 Why Coming into Existence Is Always a Harm 245
David Benatar

3.5 Secular Philosophy and the Religious Temperament 262
Thomas Nagel

Section IV Finding Meaning in a World Without God: OptimisticNaturalism 275

Introduction 277
Erik J. Wielenberg

4.1 The Human World 282
John Kekes

4.2 Time and Life′s Meaning 296
Richard Taylor

4.3 The Meanings of Lives 304
Susan Wolf

4.4 Intrinsic Value and Meaningful Life 319
Robert Audi

4.5 God and the Meaning of Life 335
Erik J. Wielenberg

4.6 The Varieties of Non–Religious Experience 353
Richard Norman

4.7 Emergent Religious Principles 367
Ursula Goodenough

Section V The Meaning of Life and the Way Life Ends: Death,Futility, and Hope 371

Introduction 373
John Martin Fischer

5.1 A Confession 380
Leo Tolstoy

5.2 Annihilation 388
Steven Luper–Foy

5.3 Why Immortality Is Not So Bad 404
John Martin Fischer

5.4 The Immortality Requirement for Life s Meaning416
Thaddeus Metz

5.5 Human Extinction and the Value of Our Efforts 428
Brooke Alan Trisel

5.6 Free Will, Death, and Immortality: The Role of Narrative445
John Martin Fischer

5.7 Death, Futility, and the Proleptic Power of Narrative Ending461
Joshua W. Seachris

5.8 Divine Hiddenness, Death, and Meaning 481
Paul K. Moser

Joshua W. Seachris (PhD, University of Oklahoma) isAdjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest Universityin North Carolina, as well as Grant Administrator for The CharacterProject, which aims to map the contours of the human character byfunding key research in philosophy, psychology and theology. He isthe author of peer–reviewed articles on a range of topics inphilosophy, including the problem of evil, Confucius and virtue,the meaning of life, and death. His work has appeared in theInternational Journal for Philosophy of Religion, AsianPhilosophy, Philo, Religious Studies, and theInternet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

With Section Introductions by:

John Cottingham (DPhil, Oxford University) is ProfessorEmeritus of Philosophy at the University of Reading, ProfessorialResearch Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London, and anHonorary Fellow of St John′s College, Oxford. His recent titlesinclude On the Meaning of Life (Routledge, 2003), TheSpiritual Dimension (Cambridge University Press, 2005),Cartesian Reflections (Oxford University Press, 2008), andWhy Believe? (Continuum, 2009). He is editor of theinternational philosophical journal Ratio.

John Martin Fischer (PhD, Cornell University) isDistinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophyat the University of California, Riverside, where he has held aUniversity of California President′s Chair (2006 10). He isthe editor of The Metaphysics of Death (Stanford UniversityPress, 1993), and many of his articles on death, immortality, andthe meaning of life are collected in his Our Stories: Essays onLife, Death, and Free Will (Oxford University Press, 2011).

Thaddeus Metz (PhD, Cornell University) is ResearchProfessor of Philosophy at the University of Johannesburg, SouthAfrica. His work on developing and evaluating theoreticalapproaches to what makes a life meaningful has appeared in suchjournals as American Philosophical Quarterly, Ethics,Ratio, Religious Studies, and Utilitas. His book,Meaning in Life: An Analytic Study, will be published byOxford University Press in 2012.

Garrett Thomson (DPhil, Oxford University) teachesphilosophy at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where heholds the Compton Chair. He is the author of several books,including On Kant (Wadsworth, 2003), On the Meaning ofLife  (Wadsworth 2002), Una Introducción a laPráctica de la Filosofía (PanAmericana, 2002),Bacon to Kant (Waveland Press, 2001), On Leibniz(Wadsworth, 2001), and Needs (Routledge, 1987). With DanielKolak, he co–edited the six volumes of the LongmanStandard History of Philosophy (Longman′s Press, 2006). Heis chief executive officer of the Guerrand–Hermès Foundationfor Peace.

Erik J. Wielenberg (PhD, University ofMassachusetts–Amherst) is Associate Professor of Philosophy atDePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He is the author of Value and Virtue in a Godless Universe (Cambridge UniversityPress, 2005) and God and the Reach of Reason (CambridgeUniversity Press, 2007).