PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy: The Meaning of Life 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Stoic philosophy, living according to nature (kata phusin) in the context of meaning primarily refers to living according to:
- Physical pleasure and bodily instincts
- Reason and one's rational nature (Correct answer)
- Social customs and traditions
- Divine revelation
Correct answer: Reason and one's rational nature
Stoics held that humans are rational beings by nature, so flourishing means living in accordance with reason and virtue.
Question 2: The 'terror management theory' in psychology draws on which philosophical idea to explain human behavior?
- The absurd
- Mortality salience and the denial of death (Correct answer)
- The categorical imperative
- Utilitarianism
Correct answer: Mortality salience and the denial of death
Terror management theory, inspired by Ernest Becker, holds that awareness of mortality drives humans to construct cultural worldviews that buffer death anxiety.
Question 3: Which concept from Kierkegaard describes the leap beyond rational justification required to embrace religious faith as life's ultimate ground?
- The dialectic
- The teleological suspension of the ethical (Correct answer)
- Bad faith
- The eternal recurrence
Correct answer: The teleological suspension of the ethical
In 'Fear and Trembling,' Kierkegaard shows that Abraham's faith required suspending universal ethical norms—a leap no argument can fully justify.
Question 4: A 'cosmic pessimist' like Arthur Schopenhauer would argue that life is meaningful only if we:
- Pursue pleasure maximally
- Deny the will-to-live through asceticism or art (Correct answer)
- Create our own values freely
- Follow divine commandments
Correct answer: Deny the will-to-live through asceticism or art
Schopenhauer held that the blind will-to-live is the source of suffering, and temporary escape through aesthetic contemplation or ascetic denial offers the only reprieve.
Question 5: Derek Parfit's work on personal identity challenges meaning-of-life discussions by arguing that:
- Personal identity is a social construct with no moral import
- The separateness of persons is less deep than we think, affecting how we reason about future selves (Correct answer)
- Life has no meaning without a continuous soul
- Moral obligations cannot extend to future generations
Correct answer: The separateness of persons is less deep than we think, affecting how we reason about future selves
Parfit argued that personal identity over time is not what matters; psychological continuity is what grounds our concern for future selves and others.
Question 6: Simone de Beauvoir's contribution to the philosophy of meaning emphasizes that authentic meaning requires:
- Withdrawal from social life
- Recognition of and engagement with others' freedom alongside one's own (Correct answer)
- Strict adherence to rational duty
- Acceptance of biological determinism
Correct answer: Recognition of and engagement with others' freedom alongside one's own
De Beauvoir argued that authentic existence demands recognizing that one's freedom is intertwined with the freedom of others—oppression undermines meaning for all.
Question 7: The distinction between 'meaning in life' and 'meaning of life' is philosophically important because:
- They refer to exactly the same question
- The former concerns local sources of meaning in activities; the latter concerns life's overall cosmic purpose (Correct answer)
- Only theists accept 'meaning of life' while atheists accept 'meaning in life'
- The distinction was rejected by all major philosophers
Correct answer: The former concerns local sources of meaning in activities; the latter concerns life's overall cosmic purpose
Contemporary philosophers distinguish between what makes individual activities meaningful (meaning in life) and whether life as a whole has a cosmic purpose (meaning of life).
PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy: The Meaning of Life 4
In Stoic philosophy, living according to nature (kata phusin) in the context of meaning primarily refers to living according to: