Deck 18: The Meaning of Life

Question 1

Albert Camus declared, "Judging whether __________ amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy."

A) there is a God
B) life is or is not worth living
C) knowledge is possible
D) morality is real

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Philosophers distinguish life's value or meaning from __________.

A) law and society
B) religion and politics
C) happiness and moral rightness
D) family relations and friendships

Answer 2

C

Question 3

One of the main impediments to thinking clearly about life's meaning is confusion about __________.

A) which religious belief has the most accurate presentation of meaning
B) what style of philosophy best answers the question about life's meaning
C) how to ask the correct question concerning life's meaning
D) what meaning refers to

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The meaning or purpose that humans give to themselves is called __________ meaning.

A) external
B) internal
C) personal
D) human

Question 5

Internalists about meaning in life can be divided into two camps: subjectivists and __________.

A) relativists
B) emotivists
C) Platonists
D) objectivists

Question 6

__________ is the classic example of a subjectivist regarding meaning in life.

A) Wolf
B) Sartre
C) Tolstoy
D) Schopenhauer

Question 7

A common criticism of __________ views of meaning is that it seems intuitively obvious that objective standards sometimes apply to us.

A) externalist
B) objectivist
C) subjectivist
D) internalist

Question 8

Pessimism about meaning in life is also called __________.

A) fundamentalism
B) extremism
C) conformism
D) nihilism

Question 9

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer argues that life is __________.

A) meaningful, even if it is hard, and so is worth living
B) meaningful because God exists, and so is worth living
C) bereft of meaning, and so nonexistence would be better than existence
D) bereft of meaning, and so God is not all good

Question 10

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer writes, "Unless __________ is the direct and immediate object of life, our existence must entirely fail of its aim."

A) cruelty
B) suffering
C) evil
D) religious faith

Question 11

Contemporary philosopher Julian Baggini claims that pessimists are guilty of __________.

A) mixing up the two senses of meaning, internal and external
B) not realizing that God does not exist
C) failing to see the value in life generated by God's love
D) thinking that meaning is internally generated

Question 12

Contemporary philosopher Julian Baggini claims, "Almost all deniers of meaning in life really seem to be rejecting only the idea that life has a specific kind of meaning: one determined by __________."

A) God's purposes or principles, which are external to this world.
B) agents, purposes or principles somehow external to this world.
C) political institutions, purposes or principles internal to this world.
D) religious institutions, purposes or principles internal to this world.

Question 13

Lucretius argues that the meaning of life can be found in rational and prudent __________.

A) pleasure-seeking
B) intellectual endeavors
C) forms of religious worship
D) acts of charity and selflessness

Question 14

According to Susan Wolf, meaning in life must consist of __________ and __________ elements.

A) internal; external
B) rational; emotional
C) subjective; objective
D) theistic; humanistic

Question 15

Susan Wolf's view on meaning in life can be summarized in the slogan: "meaning arises when __________ meets __________."

A) objective attraction; subjective attractiveness
B) subjective attraction; subjective attractiveness
C) objective attraction; objective attractiveness
D) subjective attraction; objective attractiveness

Question 16

Religious optimists think that living contrary to God's plan__________.

A) is to generate a different, but equally worthwhile meaning for one's life
B) does not mean your life is meaningless
C) is to live a meaningless life
D) is to put one's soul at risk

Question 17

__________ argues that the notion of a God assigning a purpose to humans should be objectionable to believers and nonbelievers alike.

A) Baggini
B) Tolstoy
C) Schopenhauer
D) Edwards

Question 18

Paul Edwards focuses on meaning at the level of __________.

A) the particular individual's life
B) the family and small group relationships
C) the community
D) religious fellowship

Question 19

Edwards proposes two ways to think about meaning: someone having __________.

A) a fervent religious faith and a place in a religious community to support it
B) an atheistic view of life and the concomitant belief that one is entirely alone in the universe
C) an overall goal or goals, and a passion in pursuing that goal that would not be present without it
D) a stoical outlook on life and a firm grasp of scientific knowledge

Question 20

__________ asserts that the length of one's life is irrelevant to the question of life's meaning.

A) Schopenhauer
B) Tolstoy
C) Baggini
D) Edwards

Question 21

__________ once thought, "My life is a stupid, mean trick played on me by somebody."

A) Schopenhauer
B) Tolstoy
C) Baggini
D) Edwards

Question 22

Although __________ thinks there is only one consolation in misfortune or affliction, namely the thought that there are others worse off, he also thinks this is a "fate . . . for mankind as a whole."

A) Schopenhauer
B) Tolstoy
C) Baggini
D) Edwards

Question 23

According to __________, the wretchedness of existence is proof life has no meaning.

A) Schopenhauer
B) Tolstoy
C) Baggini
D) Edwards

Question 24

Both __________ agree that life can be meaningful without recourse to a belief in God.

A) Schopenhauer and Tolstoy
B) Tolstoy and Baggini
C) Baggini and Edwards
D) Edwards and Schopenhauer

Question 25

According to __________, it does not follow from the rejection of an externalist view of meaning that life has no meaning at all.

A) Schopenhauer
B) Tolstoy
C) Baggini
D) Edwards

Question 26

Tolstoy's later view of meaning can be classified as __________.

A) optimist/internalist
B) optimist/externalist
C) pessimist/externalist
D) pessimist/internalist

Question 27

Tolstoy eventually finds that __________ understand the meaning of life better than others.

A) "the criminals, the outcasts, and the idiots"
B) "the poor, the simple and unlettered folk, of pilgrims, monks, dissenters, peasants"
C) "the politicians, the church fathers, the landed gentry"
D) "the children, the women, the underprivileged and unheard voices

Question 28

__________ argues, "Most reflective religious believers would agree that saying God's purpose for us is to serve it or live full lives is not adequate."

A) Baggini
B) Schopenhauer
C) Tolstoy
D) Edwards

Question 29

For the atheistic internalist, meaning is found in __________.

A) the varieties of religious experience
B) the structure of the universe
C) life (i.e., one's goals, purposes, and concerns)
D) biology

Question 30

According to Landau, __________ is one of the greatest obstacles to finding meaning in life.

A) a lack of religious faith
B) perfectionism
C) misery and loss
D) a lack of interpersonal relationships

Question 31

To believe life is meaningful, you have to be an atheist.

Question 32

Internalists believe they can have meaningful lives without relying on the concepts of God or transcendent realms.

Question 33

Leo Tolstoy was a lifelong atheist who did not think life has any meaning.

Question 34

Arthur Schopenhauer was a pessimist who claimed life is meaningless.

Question 35

Before converting to Christianity, Tolstoy was what philosophers call an internalist on the question of the meaning of life.

Question 36

Arthur Schopenhauer wrote, "Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest-whether the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories-comes afterwards."

Question 37

Lucretius holds that life can be meaningful even in a completely materialistic universe devoid of God.

Question 38

A pessimist is one who denies any externally given meaning or purpose to life, but believes that meaning is internally generated.

Question 39

According to the author of Living Philosophy, an obstacle to thinking clearly about life's meaning is confusion about what meaning refers to.

Question 40

On an internalist view, life can be viewed as meaningful for persons if they come to see their goals or purposes as inherently valuable or worthwhile.

Question 41

Those who believe that God alone bestows meaning on life are internalists.

Question 42

An optimist is defined as a person who believes that God alone bestows meaning on life.

Question 43

Many people, including those who accept a religious worldview, assume that if life has no external meaning, it has no meaning period.

Question 44

The pessimist thinks life has no meaning apart from what one creates for oneself.

Question 45

Belshaw argues that life is meaningless because it is so brief and we are so insignificant compared to the vastness of the cosmos.

Question 46

According to the pessimist position either (1) life's meaning is external (the common religious perspective), or (2) life's meaning is internal (the view held mostly by the nonreligious or nontheistic).

Question 47

According to thinkers like Baggini and Edwards, death undermines the internal optimist's position.

Question 48

According to Baggini, the idea of God creating people for a purpose is an affront to human dignity.

Question 49

Wolf argues that no human activity is worthwhile in itself.

Question 50

According to Landau, meaningful lives must transcend the common and the mundane.