![]() Nothing, so it is nothing to fear: it is not painful or pleasurable death is simply the end of Nothing that could be called "us" that survives death which we need to fear. They are to our bodies-will not survive in some afterlife as the same personality, so there is The atoms that make up who we are will simply form new combinations. ![]() One should avoid those things that cause fear (e.g.,ĭeath and thoughts about what will happen to us after death) because fear itself is evil. Intense suffering), we should consider suicide. If this is impossible (as in the case of long-term, When we are confronted with pains over which we have noĬontrol, we should think about other things. Because pleasures are never as intense as pains, the aim of life is not to achieve That is, the best objects of desire should be those things that do Not as good as the static pleasures associated with being in a state of painlessĬontemplation (without desire). Getting what one desires is a dynamic pleasure, but dynamic pleasures are Lucretius, 95-55 B.C.): the meaning of life is found in a pleasurable existenceįree from pain. (a) Epicureanism ( Epicurus, 342-270 B.C. Hedonism: Epicureanism : The meaning of life consists in the pursuit and We areĬonstantly suffering for having committed the crime of being born, condemned to strive endlessly So either we are frustrated in pursuing what we do not have or bored with what we have. Even if we achieve what we set out to do, our satisfaction is soon converted to boredom. We canĮasily point to those who are worse off than us, but have difficulty pointing to those who have itīetter. Painful and evil things are more real, more characteristic of the way the world really is. Unaware of pleasant things, but we seem always to be aware of things that are painful-because Even the activity of striving toward such goals is always painful. Think in terms of purposes or goals is when we are talking about that which we do not have orĬannot achieve. (b) Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860): Living is in vain. Lack thereof) will only makes us feel worse. Way to get through life is not to ask questions such as "why are we here?" because the answer (or ![]() Wishful thinking, since it tries to relate the finite to the infinite (which cannot be done). Even if there is a God, whatĭifference should my puny little life make to him? To say that God cares about us individually is To explain something that is finite to an incomprehensible infinite. The more intelligent we are, the more we see life as a bad joke, an attempt We realize that our livesĪre ultimately pointless, and we fear death because we know that we have no proof that there isĪnything after we die. Rely only on faith that there is something that makes our lives meanigful. Provide a satisfactory answer to the question of why we exist, we must renounce reason and can (a) Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) argues that, given the inevitability ofĭeath, there is no rational justification for saying that life is meaningful. Of life consists in finding our true place in the universe, fulfilling ourselves by limiting our desires Pursuit of happiness in this life is what gives life its meaning. Some deny that life has any meaning at all. ![]() The meaning of life? Some philosophers (as we have seen) say that life has meaning only insofar as In any event, in this and the next class we will consider proposed answers to the question, What is Purpose: that is, there can be purpose in life without there being a purpose That can give it a purpose or direction without necessarily thinking that our life in general has a What would it mean to say that life has meaning or purpose? Where does such meaning, if it existsĪt all, come from? Obviously someone can believe that there are things in life Notes for Class 22: The Meaning of Life and Marxism
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