Deck 13: The Meaning of Life

Question 1

Recount the myth of Sisyphus in your own words and explain why Taylor takes it to provide an example of a meaningless life. Do you agree with his assessment?

Answer 1

good essay will:
Describe the myth of Sisyphus.
Explain Taylor's understanding of a meaningless life with regard to this myth.
Evaluate Taylor's assessment by agreeing/disagreeing with or modifying his view.

Question 2

Do you agree with Taylor that objective meaning requires that life have a point? Explain.

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Do you agree with Taylor that subjective engagement in the activity of living can give life meaning? Explain.

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Sisyphus was condemned by the gods to build a great temple on Mount Olympus.

Question 5

According to Taylor, the most appalling feature of Sisyphus's life is that his labors continue forever.

Question 6

Taylor claims that our lives are pointless and thus meaningless.

Question 7

Taylor claims that we can never find meaning in our lives.

Question 8

According to Taylor, life can be objectively meaningful.

Question 9

According to Taylor, life can be subjectively meaningful.

Question 10

The important aspect of Sisyphus's life for discussion of the meaningfulness of life is

A) The great strain of his labor.
B) The fact that it lasts forever.
C) The repetitive, cyclical activity that comes to nothing.
D) All of the above.

Question 11

Taylor uses the myth of Sisyphus to illustrate

A) The importance of determination and hard work.
B) The meaninglessness of life.
C) The importance of helping others.
D) The importance of piety.

Question 12

If Sisyphus were to build a great temple

A) His life would be objectively meaningful.
B) His life would have a point.
C) He would become bored.
D) All of the above.

Question 13

According to Taylor, we invent ways to

A) Accept that life is meaningless.
B) Portray permanent ideals of goodness.
C) Deny the meaningless of life.
D) Both b and c

Question 14

According to Taylor, people to turn __________ to satisfy a need for permanence in their lives.

A) Religion.
B) Philosophy.
C) Ideals like justice and brotherhood.
D) All of the above.

Question 15

Taylor claims that the philosopher seeks the

A) Subjective meaning in life.
B) Objective meaning in life.
C) Will of the agent.
D) All of the above.

Question 16

According to Taylor, our lives can have

A) Subjective meaning.
B) Objective meaning.
C) A will of their own.
D) All of the above.

Question 17

The meaning of life, to Taylor, is

A) Bestowed from without.
B) Found within us.
C) Founded upon a universal principle.
D) Both b and c

Question 18

What lessons does Taylor draw from the myth of Sisyphus?

Question 19

What are the two alternative versions of the myth of Sisyphus that Taylor considers, and what lessons does he draw from them?

Question 20

What is Taylor's conclusion, and do you agree? Explain.

Question 21

What does Wolf think makes for a meaningful life? Do you agree? Explain.

Question 22

What is the difference between subjective and objective value? Do you think there are objective values? Explain.

Question 23

What does Wolf mean by "active engagement"? Do you agree with her that someone engaged in a project of worth but bored with it does not have a meaningful life? Explain.

Question 24

Wolf claims that life is meaningless.

Question 25

Wolf claims that meaning comes from what one most wants to do.

Question 26

Wolf argues that meaning in life requires objective values.

Question 27

Something is objectively valuable if someone desires it.

Question 28

Wolf thinks that an adequate account of meaning in life must be able to explain our intuitions about examples of meaningful lives.

Question 29

According to Wolf, activities in which people are actively engaged may involve stress, danger, and sorrow.

Question 30

A meaningful life, according to Wolf, must have

A) Active engagement.
B) Pleasure.
C) Worthwhile projects.
D) Both a and c

Question 31

One sign of active engagement is

A) Excitement.
B) Pleasure.
C) Safety.
D) Ease.

Question 32

Objective value depends on

A) Pleasure.
B) Preference.
C) The subjective point of view.
D) None of the above.

Question 33

According to Wolf, understanding meaningfulness requires

A) A purely objective standard of worth.
B) A wholly substantive standard of worth.
C) Some way to determine more and less worthwhile pastimes.
D) Both a and b

Question 34

Being actively engaged in an activity, for Wolf,

A) Means that it is a meaningful activity.
B) Need not mean that it is a meaningful activity.
C) Means that it is a worthwhile activity.
D) Means that it is a worthless activity.

Question 35

To Wolf, someone with a socially valuable job

A) Would be leading a meaningful life.
B) Would be actively engaged in one's work.
C) Could still find life meaningless.
D) None of the above.

Question 36

According to Wolf, the life of __________ is an example of a meaningful life.

A) Gandhi.
B) Mother Teresa.
C) Albert Einstein.
D) All of the above.

Question 37

Wolf claims that her proposal may be summarized in the slogan: meaning arises when subjective attraction meets

A) Active engagement.
B) Objective attractiveness.
C) Objective validity.
D) Subjective attractiveness.

Question 38

How does Wolf's view of a meaningful life compare with Taylor's (previous reading)? Whose view do you prefer? Explain.

Question 39

What does Wolf mean by a "project of worth"? Do you agree with her that this requires objective values? Explain.

Question 40

Provide an example of a meaningful life, on Wolf's view. Explain why it is meaningful. Then provide an example of a meaningless life, on Wolf's view, and explain why it is meaningless.

Question 41

What problems does Vitrano find in Wolf's and Taylor's views of what constitutes a meaningful life, and how does her own view address these issues? Do you think her view improves on the first two?

Question 42

Do you agree with Vitrano that satisfaction lies "within yourself," independent of the judgment of others? Why or why not?

Question 43

What is the relationship between happiness and satisfaction as Vitrano sees it? Do you agree?

Question 44

Wolf's view of a meaningful life is based on the worthiness of one's activities.

Question 45

Different people will always claim the same objective value for the same activity.

Question 46

Taylor equates a meaningful life with one's personal satisfaction, regardless of activity.

Question 47

If someone is satisfied with life, they are living a morally worthy life.

Question 48

According to Vitrano, a meaningful life is one in which an individual acts morally and achieves happiness.

Question 49

According to Wolf, a meaningful life is based on

A) One's happiness or satisfaction.
B) One's concern for others.
C) One's engagement in projects of worth.
D) Both a and b

Question 50

Knowing which activities are worthwhile, according to Vitrano, would require

A) Shared intuition.
B) An objective measure of their value.
C) Distinguishing between mere pastimes and serious projects.
D) Cultural norms.

Question 51

According to Vitrano, the obvious problem with Wolf's position is that it lacks a

A) Philosophical theory of what objective value is.
B) Substantive theory about what has objective value.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 52

According to Taylor, a meaningful life provides

A) Long-term satisfaction, regardless of the activities performed.
B) Worthwhile actions, regardless of the satisfaction involved.
C) Concern for the welfare of others.
D) A shared intuition about what is worthwhile.

Question 53

A criticism of Taylor, for Vitrano, is that

A) Someone could enjoy life.
B) Someone could enjoy life yet still not lead a morally worthwhile life.
C) We cannot generalize from a single instance to all of humanity.
D) People care too much about the welfare of others.

Question 54

Vitrano's understanding of "satisfaction" must include

A) A collective acceptance of what is satisfying.
B) Rules of behavior.
C) Religious tenets.
D) An individual's personal sense of satisfaction.

Question 55

The key to achieving satisfaction, to Vitrano

A) Lies within each person.
B) Depends on the judgments of others.
C) Does not depend on the judgments of others.
D) Both a and c

Question 56

According to Vitrano, a meaningful life is one in which an individual

A) Achieves happiness.
B) Acts morally.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 57

A concern for others, according to Vitrano, is

A) Sufficient for living a meaningful life.
B) Not necessary for a meaningful life.
C) A vital component of a meaningful life.
D) Not possible for a single individual.

Question 58

Compare a time in your life when you considered your life to be meaningful and a time when you felt it was not, or was less so. What differences can you see?

Question 59

Do you think it's possible that someone could be unhappy while consciously living a meaningful life? Why or why not?

Question 60

What role does belief in an afterlife play in determining a life of meaning? Can a religious and secular person ever hope to understand each other with regard to these beliefs?

Question 61

Scheffler claims that many projects and activities that matter to us would lose their importance if we were to know that the earth would be destroyed shortly after our deaths. How does Scheffler argue for this claim? Is his argument convincing? Why or why not?

Question 62

How does Scheffler explain why the end of human life in the near term would make many things matter less to us when our knowledge of the end of human life in the long term does not? Is his explanation convincing? Why or why not?

Question 63

Scheffler claims that at least in one respect the survival of other people matters more to us than our own survival. How does Scheffler argue for this claim? Is his argument convincing? Why or why not?

Question 64

According to Scheffler, the prospect of human life ending shortly after our own deaths would make all our current projects and activities seem less important.

Question 65

According to Scheffler, the prospect of our own deaths makes our projects seem less important just like the doomsday scenario does.

Question 66

Scheffler argues that in some respects the survival of humanity matters more to us than our own survival.

Question 67

According to Scheffler, the continued existence of humanity after our own deaths is a condition for many things mattering to us.

Question 68

Scheffler claims that in the face of the imminent destruction of humanity even activities that provide personal comfort and pleasure would no longer seem worthwhile.

Question 69

Scheffler begins his essay by asking readers to consider a thought experiment according to which

A) They will be killed by a giant asteroid.
B) The earth will be destroyed thirty days after their deaths.
C) The entire universe will end a billion years in the future.
D) They will not live on in an afterlife following death.

Question 70

According to Scheffler, the prospect of the earth's imminent destruction would

A) Undermine religious belief.
B) Help us better appreciate the important things in our lives.
C) Make many of our projects seem less important.
D) All of the above.

Question 71

According to Scheffler, to say a project or activity becomes less important to us can mean that

A) Our reasons to engage in it no longer seem as strong.
B) Our emotional investment in it has weakened.
C) Our belief that it is worthwhile to engage in has weakened.
D) All of the above.

Question 72

Scheffler claims that __________ would likely seem less important in the face of the imminent destruction of human life.

A) Medical research.
B) Religious worship.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 73

According to Scheffler, the projects most likely to seem less important in the face of the imminent destruction of human life are

A) Projects for which ultimate success may be a long way off.
B) Projects that derive their value from benefiting many people over a long period of time.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 74

According to Scheffler, the doomsday scenario might undermine many creative pursuits because

A) Artists would be too distressed to continue to work.
B) The destruction of human life would rob artists of a future audience.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 75

Scheffler uses the term "afterlife" to refer to

A) The continuation of human life after our own deaths.
B) The religious concept of heaven.
C) The survival of an individual's soul after her physical demise.
D) None of the above.

Question 76

Scheffler discusses Alvy Singer, a film character troubled by

A) The fear that the world is about to end.
B) Doubts about the existence of God.
C) Doubts about whether he will survive after death.
D) The fact that the universe is expanding and will ultimately break apart.

Question 77

According to Scheffler, most people are untroubled by the fact that the universe will come to an end in the distant future because they

A) Believe that they have immortal souls.
B) Do not fully grasp the concepts necessary to think about it.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 78

According to Scheffler, our conviction that things matter is sustained by our confidence that

A) God exists.
B) Human life will continue after our own deaths.
C) The human soul is immortal.
D) All of the above.

Question 79

Scheffler claims that the prospect of our own deaths does not undercut the importance of our life activities in the way confronting the doomsday scenario would. Do you agree with him about this? If so, why do think that is? If not, why not?

Question 80

Are there any activities besides the ones Scheffler mentions that would lose their importance to us in the face of a doomsday scenario? If so, what are they and why exactly do you think they would lose their importance?