PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy: The Meaning of Life 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'narrative theory' of life's meaning holds that a life is meaningful when:
- It maximizes pleasure over pain
- It coheres as a unified story with intelligible structure (Correct answer)
- It fulfills God's specific plan
- It achieves fame or legacy
Correct answer: It coheres as a unified story with intelligible structure
Narrative theorists like Alasdair MacIntyre argue that meaning emerges when one's life can be understood as a coherent narrative with goals, setbacks, and character development.
Question 2: Which thought experiment asks whether a being of vastly superior intelligence could make life objectively meaningful in a way humans cannot see?
- The veil of ignorance
- The view from nowhere
- The 'God's eye view' argument (Correct answer)
- Pascal's Wager
Correct answer: The 'God's eye view' argument
The 'God's eye view' or cosmic perspective argument considers whether meaning might be objectively real but only discernible from a vantage point beyond human cognition.
Question 3: Existential philosopher Martin Heidegger argued that confronting 'Being-toward-death' (Sein-zum-Tode) leads to:
- Paralysis and despair
- Authentic existence and genuine self-ownership (Correct answer)
- Religious conversion
- Social rebellion
Correct answer: Authentic existence and genuine self-ownership
Heidegger held that only by fully owning our mortality can we break free from das Man (the 'they-self') and live authentically.
Question 4: Confucian philosophy approaches the meaning of life primarily through the lens of:
- Individual salvation and personal enlightenment
- Relational roles, ritual propriety (li), and cultivating ren (benevolence) (Correct answer)
- Logical analysis and metaphysical argument
- Ascetic renunciation of worldly ties
Correct answer: Relational roles, ritual propriety (li), and cultivating ren (benevolence)
Confucianism grounds meaning in fulfilling one's roles (parent, child, ruler, subject) with proper ritual and cultivating benevolent regard for others.
Question 5: The 'anti-natalist' position in philosophy of meaning, associated with David Benatar, argues that:
- Having children is the primary source of life's meaning
- Coming into existence always harms the person brought into being, making procreation wrong (Correct answer)
- Meaning requires biological continuity through offspring
- Life has no meaning unless future generations continue it
Correct answer: Coming into existence always harms the person brought into being, making procreation wrong
Benatar's asymmetry argument holds that the absence of pain is good even when there is no one to enjoy it, making non-existence preferable to existence.
Question 6: Richard Taylor's account of Sisyphus offers a positive reading of the myth by suggesting Sisyphus's life would be meaningful if:
- His boulder eventually reached the top permanently
- He were caused by the gods to desire the very activity of rolling the boulder (Correct answer)
- He reflected philosophically on his task
- He converted others to his cause
Correct answer: He were caused by the gods to desire the very activity of rolling the boulder
Taylor argued that if Sisyphus genuinely wanted to roll the boulder, the activity would be subjectively meaningful even without external achievement.
Question 7: Philosophical 'supernaturalism' about life's meaning holds that meaning ultimately requires:
- High achievement in secular pursuits
- A connection to something transcendent or divine beyond the natural world (Correct answer)
- Maximum happiness for the greatest number
- Authentic self-creation free of social norms
Correct answer: A connection to something transcendent or divine beyond the natural world
Supernaturalists argue that naturalistic sources of meaning are insufficient and that a truly meaningful life must connect to God or a transcendent reality.
PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy: The Meaning of Life 5
The 'narrative theory' of life's meaning holds that a life is meaningful when: