Meaning in Life

This book develops and defends a subjectivist account of meaning in life, which holds that the only place that meaning can ever be found is in the way we experience the living of our lives.

Many philosophers consider that a life can only be meaningful if it meets certain objective standards. For a life to be meaningful, they insist, it needs to make a difference and contribute something important, something that is of value, and not just for the person whose life it is.

In contrast, this book contends that meaningfulness is not an objective quality of lives, nor is it in some way dependent on such a quality. Meaning is not like truth, which is commonly thought to be an objective quality of propositions. Statements or beliefs are not true simply because someone thinks or feels that they are true. Something can appear true that is in fact false. But a person cannot feel their life to be meaningful, while in fact it is not, because meaning does not depend on the presence of certain features without which no life can be rightly considered meaningful. The book therefore concludes that many people live a meaningful life. Meaning is not the prerogative of an elite minority. It is not a measure of human accomplishments.

This book will be essential reading for philosophers and postgraduate students researching the meaning of life and is also suitable for use in teaching on philosophy courses at university level.

Provides the first comprehensive philosophical discussion and defence of meaning subjectivism Gives a detailed analysis and critique of all relevant philosophical positions on meaning in life Does full justice to the value of ordinary lives and the various different ways people can find meaning in life

Autorentext

Michael Hauskeller is professor of philosophy at the University of Liverpool, and has been Head of the Department of Philosophy since January 2018. Professor Hauskeller has published three previous books with Palgrave Macmillan: Sex and the Posthuman Condition (2014), The Palgrave Handbook of Posthumanism in Film and Television (ed., 2015), and Mythologies of Transhumanism (2016).

Klappentext

This book develops a subjectivist account of meaning in life and argues that meaning or its absence can only be judged by the way we feel about our lives.

Against many philosophers who consider that a life can only be meaningful if it 'makes a difference' and contributes something important, this book contends that meaningfulness is not an objective quality of lives, nor is it in some way dependent on such a quality. Meaning is not like truth, which is commonly thought to be an objective quality of propositions. A person cannot feel their life to be meaningful, while in fact it is not, because meaning does not depend on the presence of certain features without which no life can be rightly considered meaningful. The book therefore concludes that many people live a meaningful life. Meaning is not the prerogative of an elite minority.

This book will be essential reading for philosophers and postgraduate students researching the meaning of life and is also suitable for use in teaching on philosophy courses at university level.

Michael Hauskeller is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Liverpool, and has been Head of the Department of Philosophy since January 2018. Professor Hauskeller has published three previous books with Palgrave Macmillan: Sex and the Posthuman Condition (2014), The Palgrave Handbook of Posthumanism in Film and Television (ed., 2015), and Mythologies of Transhumanism (2016).

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The Apparent Absurdity of Meaning Subjectivism.- Chapter 3: Meaning Nihilism, Ultimate Purpose, and God.- Chapter 4: Death and Ultimate Significance.- Chapter 5: Mattering and Objective Value.- Chapter 6: Are Only Useful Lives Meaningful?.- Chapter 7: Can the Life of Non-Human Animals Be Meaningful?.- Chapter 8: Importance, Achievement, and Post-Mortal Fame.- Chapter 9: Towards a Pluralistic Account of Meaning in Life.- Chapter 10: Existential Distress, Suicide, and Moral Faith.- Chapter 11: What It Means to Experience One's Life as Meaningful.- Chapter 12: Meaning, Doing Good, and Being Good.- Chapter 13: Can the Experience of Meaning Ever Be Illusory?.- Chapter 14: Conclusion.