Deck 9: Does Life Have Meaning

Question 1

According to Epicurus, death is nothing to us because if we exist, death is not with us, but when death comes, then we

A) have eternal life.
B) do not exist.
C) still exist.
D) feel pain.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Epicurus says that the aim of a blessed life is

A) a profligate life.
B) the soul's freedom from sensation.
C) suffering.
D) the soul's freedom from disturbance.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

For Epicurus, the standard by which we judge every good is

A) pain.
B) death.
C) pleasure.
D) disturbance.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Epicurus maintains that excessive drinking, reveling, and luxurious eating

A) can produce a pleasant life.
B) should be preferred over simple pleasures.
C) cannot produce a pleasant life.
D) help make the soul truly free.

Question 5

According to Camus, the question of the meaning of life is

A) unimportant.
B) not worth asking.
C) the most urgent of questions.
D) not a philosophical question.

Question 6

Camus writes that the feeling of _______ is the sense of the absence of a profound reason for living.

A) joy
B) triumph
C) numbness
D) absurdity

Question 7

Camus believes that being aware of one's life and one's freedom is

A) unnecessary.
B) living to the maximum.
C) living reduced to its minimum.
D) living with illusion.

Question 8

For Camus, the myth of Sisyphus is tragic because

A) its hero is conscious.
B) its hero is unaware of his situation.
C) Sisyphus believes in the gods.
D) Sisyphus is unconscious.

Question 9

According to Russell, his experience taught him that

A) war is never wrong.
B) a public school education is ideal.
C) the use of force is usually justified.
D) war is wrong.

Question 10

Richard Taylor observes that what makes Sisyphus' labor so unbearable is

A) its repetitiveness.
B) the weight of the rock.
C) the pointlessness of the task.
D) the steepness of the hill.

Question 11

Taylor believes that meaninglessness is

A) active engagement.
B) endless pointlessness.
C) the absence of the gods.
D) the desire to complete the task.

Question 12

Taylor says that if Sisyphus had an unappeasable desire to do just what he was doing, his life would

A) have no meaning.
B) be even more absurd.
C) have a meaning for him.
D) be physically different.

Question 13

Taylor argues that the meaning of life is

A) bestowed upon us by a higher power.
B) from within us.
C) never attainable.
D) found through absurd belief.

Question 14

Taylor says that his idea of the meaning of life

A) barely has any value at all.
B) can be realized only after death.
C) cannot be realized.
D) exceeds the beauty of any imagined heaven.

Question 15

Russell states that he came to believe that the loneliness of the human soul is

A) an illusion.
B) endurable.
C) unendurable.
D) inconsequential.

Question 16

In the five minutes of his profound experience, Russell became a(n)

A) imperialist.
B) Buddhist.
C) mystic.
D) pacifist.

Question 17

According to Russell, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair can the soul's habitation

A) be destroyed.
B) be safely built.
C) become immortal.
D) be mythologized.

Question 18

Russell found his life

A) worth living.
B) not worth living.
C) loveless.
D) devoid of knowledge.

Question 19

Russell holds that love

A) yields no ecstasy.
B) is ultimately the same as hate.
C) does not relieve loneliness.
D) is philosophy.

Question 20

Russell writes that he wanted to find a philosophy that would make human life

A) useful.
B) rational.
C) joyous.
D) endurable.

Question 21

Russell says that his three passions have been love, knowledge, and

A) pity.
B) sensual pleasure.
C) divinity.
D) Pythagoreanism.

Question 22

Epicurus says that we should seek every kind of pleasure possible.

Question 23

Epicurus believes that it is not possible to live pleasantly without living virtuously.

Question 24

Epicurus is an atheist.

Question 25

Epicurus favors a life of social and public involvement.

Question 26

Camus believes that Sisyphus is a hero.

Question 27

Camus thinks that Sisyphus is sustained by his sense of hope.

Question 28

Camus says that one cannot imagine Sisyphus to be happy.

Question 29

Sisyphus triumphs because he knows he can escape his fate.

Question 30

Russell rejects emotional experiences.

Question 31

Russell found his life worth living.

Question 32

Voltaire says that he could find no one willing to accept the bargain of becoming a simpleton in order to become contented.

Question 33

Epicurus cherished friendship above all.

Question 34

Camus takes pleasure in the thought that there is a God.

Question 35

For Camus, the effort expended toward satisfying earthly passions ultimately accomplishes nothing.

Question 36

Russell says that his three passions have been love, knowledge, and pity.

Question 37

Russell admits that he never found love.

Question 38

Frankl declares that humans can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom even in the worst conditions of physical and psychological stress.

Question 39

Western monotheistic religions answer both the meaning in life and the meaning of life questions with an overarching worldview.

Question 40

Eastern religions focus more on finding meaning in life rather than the meaning of life.

Question 41

Discuss the sense of meaninglessness and despair that the good, but unhappy, Brahmin feels. Why does he experience such emptiness in life?

Question 42

Compare the Brahmin with the old and contented woman. Why would people prefer to be the Brahmin rather than the unreflective woman? Would you rather be a happy simpleton than a sometimes sad but rational person, who must live with a sense of the absurd? Consider animals, so long as they are fed, as the epitome of contentment. They never ask about the meaning of life. Is the sense of the absurd a hallmark of our superior rationality?

Question 43

Epicureanism is often thought of as a shallow, gluttonous, profligate life of undifferentiated pleasure, whose motto has been "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" ("the pig philosophy"). Does one get this impression from Epicurus's writings?

Question 44

Consider his view toward the fact of death: You ought not fear what never touches you. Death never touches you, for when you are, it is not; and when it is, you are not. Is this a reasonable argument against the fear of death? Why do we consider death an evil? What is the proper attitude toward death and why?

Question 45

Is Camus being irreverent in asking such an outrageous question as "Why not commit suicide"?

Question 46

Why does Camus say that Sisyphus must be imagined to be happy?

Question 47

Compare Camus with Epicurus. In what ways are their views similar? In what ways different?

Question 48

What, according to Frankl, are the important ingredients in living a truly human life? Do you agree?

Question 49

Frankl's ideas are relevant to concentration camp experience, but are they the best ones for everyday existence?

Question 50

How does Messerly distinguish between two basic questions concerning life and meaning?

Question 51

What differences does Messerly point out in how Western and Eastern religions approach questions about life's meaning?

Question 52

What has research in positive psychology found regarding how we experience meaning and life satisfaction?

Question 53

What does Messerly say about individual death and meaning? Cosmic death and meaning? What is your response?

Question 54

Compare Russell's first passage with his second. Do you see any differences?

Question 55

How does your set of values compare with Russell's? Do you think that Russell's philosophy of life is adequate for happiness and the good life? Compare it with the other readings in this part.

Question 56

What is Taylor's theory of meaning in life? Do you agree with him? Explain.

Question 57

What is Taylor's idea of meaninglessness? According to him, how can our lives have meaning despite meaninglessness?

Question 58

Discuss transhumanism as it relates to finding meaning in life. What is your response?