The Meaning of Life

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Have you ever wondered about the meaning of it all? Though many philosophers, especially for a better part of the twentieth century were suspicious of the question, and despite the fact that it is often the subject of parody in pop culture, the question of life's meaning remains of deep and abiding human concern. In this course, we will tackle the question head on. To do so, we will explore a number of interconnected themes including intelligibility, purpose, significance, futility, naturalism, God, death, pessimism, and hope to name several. We will begin by considering thorny interpretive issues about how best to understand the question. In the heart of the course, we will compare theories of meaning grouped under the following broad categories: (1) Naturalistic Pessimism, (2) Theistic Optimism, and (3) Naturalistic Optimism. We will conclude by discussing a cluster of topics surrounding death, futility, and hope, weaving these themes back into earlier material. Along the way we will discuss questions like: Does the question of life's meaning make sense? Are we cosmically significant? Does life have a purpose(s)? Is God necessary for a meaningful life? Is leading a meaningful life about fulfilling your strongest desires? Can you be wrong about what constitutes a meaningful life? Can an immoral life still be a meaningful life? How can I avoid a midlife crisis? How do circumstances, like being locked in solitary confinement for long periods, threaten meaningful life? Is death good news or bad news for life's meaning? Is an afterlife necessary for a meaningful life? We will not limit ourselves to philosophy. Given that this is humanity's question, others from both within and outside of the Academy have as much to say. We will expand our exploration of the topic beyond the written medium to include film as we carefully listen to the diversity of voices speaking on life's grandest question.