Exam 9: Postscript: the Meaning of Life

For Kierkegaard, the commitment to the ethical stage of life involves

The response to the question of what the meaning of life is led Tolstoy out of his depression.

Ayer believed that the question of whether life has meaning was meaningless.

Who said, "So the ultimate purpose of human beings is to know God"?

Aquinas' view can be called the response to the question of meaning.

For Kierkegaard, the move to the religious stage requires a(n) ____________________ ____________________.

Do you believe that we can find the meaning of life in human progress? What does your answer to this question tell you about (a) your views on the question of whether morality is objective or subjective, or (b) your views on the question of whether we can know anything about the external world.

Marx held that progress was

Tolstoy was a theist.

Kierkegaard described three lifestyles.

Most philosophers today endorse logical positivism.

What did Hegel say was free?

In this chapter, which of the following philosophers argued that the nihilist response is mistaken?

Richard Taylor believes that life has no meaning.

What type of meaning could our lives have, according to Taylor?

For Kierkegaard, the meaning of life is objective.

Sartre was a theist.

Do you believe that the question of whether our lives have meaning can be settled merely by appealing to events that occur during the--or could events that occur after our lives affect their meaning? For example, suppose that a person spent her life writing a novel that her friend promised to publish posthumously, but as soon as she died her friend destroyed it. Would the posthumous destruction of her work affect the meaning of the novelist's life in any way? Argue for your view here.

Do you believe that there are limits on subjective meaning? Are there certain activities that are objectively pointless, even if someone values them highly? If you believe that there are such limits on subjective meaning, explain how we can determine them. If you believe that there are not, would you say that a person who was delusional could have a meaningful life?

Kierkegaard described three lifestyles, which he called ethical, religious, and .