The Value and Meaning of Life

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000199932
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis The Value and Meaning of Life by : Christopher Belshaw

Download or read book The Value and Meaning of Life written by Christopher Belshaw and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-28 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book Christopher Belshaw draws on earlier work concerning death, identity, animals, immortality, and extinction, and builds a large-scale argument dealing with questions of both value and meaning. Rejecting suggestions that life is sacred or intrinsically valuable, he argues instead that its value varies, and varies considerably, both within and between different kinds of things. So in some cases we might have reason to improve or save a life, while in others that reason will be lacking. What about starting lives? The book’s central section takes this as its focus, and asks whether we ever have reason to start lives, just for the sake of the one whose life it is. Not only is it denied that there is any such reason, but some sympathy is afforded to the anti-natalist contention that there is always reason against. The final chapters deal with meaning. There is support here for the sober and familiar view that meaning derives from an enthusiasm for, and some success with, the pursuit of worthwhile projects. Now suppose we are immortal. Or suppose, in contrast, that we face imminent extinction. Would either of these threaten meaning? The claim is made that the force of such threats is often exaggerated. The Value and Meaning of Life is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy, ethics, and religion, and will be of interest to all those concerned with how to live, and how to think about the lives of others.

The Value and Meaning of Life

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 9781138908789
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (87 download)

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Book Synopsis The Value and Meaning of Life by : Christopher Belshaw

Download or read book The Value and Meaning of Life written by Christopher Belshaw and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Which lives, if any, are valuable, and to what extent? What sort, or sorts, of value do they have? Is life meaningful? What sorts of lives? And what sorts of meaning can they have? In this book Christopher Belshaw addresses these questions and more. He draws on earlier work concerning death, identity, animals, immortality and extinction to build a large-scale argument on the value and meaning of life. Rejecting suggestions that life is sacred or intrinsically valuable, Belshaw argues instead that its value varies - and varies considerably - both within and between different plants, animals and persons. The central chapters of the book focus on a key question: do we have sufficient reason to start lives? Not only is it denied that there is any such reason, but some sympathy is afforded to the anti-natalist contention that there is reason against. The final chapters deal with meaning. Support is given to the sober and familiar view that meaning derives from an enthusiasm for, and some success with, the pursuit of worthwhile projects. Now suppose we are immortal. Or suppose, in contrast, that we face imminent extinction. Would either of these threaten meaning? Belshaw claims that the force of such threats is often exaggerated. The Value and Meaning of Life is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy, as well those in related subjects such as religion"--

The Meaning and Value of Life

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Meaning and Value of Life by : Rudolf Eucken

Download or read book The Meaning and Value of Life written by Rudolf Eucken and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Meaning and Value of Life

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 157 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis The Meaning and Value of Life by :

Download or read book The Meaning and Value of Life written by and published by . This book was released on 1909 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Meanings of Life

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Publisher : Guilford Press
ISBN 13 : 9780898625318
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (253 download)

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Book Synopsis Meanings of Life by : Roy F. Baumeister

Download or read book Meanings of Life written by Roy F. Baumeister and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 1991-01-01 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who among us has not at some point asked, what is the meaning of life?' In this extraordinary book, an eminent social scientist looks at the big picture and explores what empirical studies from diverse fields tell us about the human condition. MEANINGS OF LIFE draws together evidence from psychology, history, anthropology, and sociology, integrating copious research findings into a clear and conclusive discussion of how people attempt to make sense of their lives. In a lively and accessible style, emphasizing facts over theories, Baumeister explores why people desire meaning in their lives, how these meanings function, what forms they take, and what happens when life loses meaning. It is the most comprehensive examination of the topic to date.

What's It All About?

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Publisher : Granta Publications
ISBN 13 : 1847089208
Total Pages : 179 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (47 download)

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Book Synopsis What's It All About? by : Julian Baggini

Download or read book What's It All About? written by Julian Baggini and published by Granta Publications. This book was released on 2013-07-11 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Secular-minded readers seeking an alternative to The Purpose-Driven Life have an excellent starting point here.”—Publishers Weekly For readers who are serious about confronting the big issues in life—but are turned off by books which deal with them through religion, spirituality, or psychobabble, this is an honest, intelligent discussion by a philosopher that doesn't hide from the difficulties or make undeliverable promises. It aims to help the reader understand the overlooked issues behind the obvious questions, and shows how philosophy does not so much answer them as help provide us with the resources to answer them for ourselves. “Useful and provocative.”—The Wall Street Journal “Looking for a clear guide to what contemporary philosophy has to say about the meaning of life? Baggini takes us through all the plausible answers, weaving together Kierkegaard, John Stuart Mill, Monty Python, and Funkadelic in an entertaining but always carefully reasoned discussion.”—Peter Singer, author of How Are We To Live “The question of the meaning of life has long been a byword for pretentious rambling. It takes some nerve to tackle it in a brisk and no-nonsense fashion.”—New Statesman

Meaning in Life and Why It Matters

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691154503
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis Meaning in Life and Why It Matters by : Susan Wolf

Download or read book Meaning in Life and Why It Matters written by Susan Wolf and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-25 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most people, including philosophers, tend to classify human motives as falling into one of two categories: the egoistic or the altruistic, the self-interested or the moral. According to Susan Wolf, however, much of what motivates us does not comfortably fit into this scheme. Often we act neither for our own sake nor out of duty or an impersonal concern for the world. Rather, we act out of love for objects that we rightly perceive as worthy of love--and it is these actions that give meaning to our lives. Wolf makes a compelling case that, along with happiness and morality, this kind of meaningfulness constitutes a distinctive dimension of a good life. Written in a lively and engaging style, and full of provocative examples, Meaning in Life and Why It Matters is a profound and original reflection on a subject of permanent human concern.

The Brain and the Meaning of Life

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691142726
Total Pages : 293 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis The Brain and the Meaning of Life by : Paul Thagard

Download or read book The Brain and the Meaning of Life written by Paul Thagard and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-14 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Defending the superiority of evidence-based reasoning over religious faith and philosophical thought experiments, Thagard argues that minds are brains and that reality is what science can discover. Brains come to know reality through a combination of perception and reasoning. Just as important, our brains evaluate aspects of reality through emotions that can produce both good and bad decisions. Our cognitive and emotional abilities allow us to understand reality, decide effectively, act morally, and pursue the vital needs of love, work, and play. Wisdom consists of knowing what matters, why it matters, and how to achieve it."--Jacket.

A Significant Life

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022623570X
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (262 download)

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Book Synopsis A Significant Life by : Todd May

Download or read book A Significant Life written by Todd May and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015-04-02 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A tour de force. It is a thoughtful, subtle, beautifully written discussion of what it takes to live a meaningful life.” —Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice Throughout history most of us have looked to faith, relationships, or deeds to give our lives purpose. But in A Significant Life, philosopher Todd May offers an exhilarating new way of thinking about meaning, one deeply attuned to life as it actually is: a work in progress, a journey—and often a narrative. Offering moving accounts of his own life alongside rich engagements with philosophers from Aristotle to Heidegger, he shows us where to find the significance of our lives: in the way we live them. May starts by looking at the fundamental fact that life unfolds over time, and as it does so, it begins to develop certain qualities, certain themes. Our lives can be marked by intensity, curiosity, perseverance, or many other qualities that become guiding narrative values. These values lend meanings to our lives that are distinct from—but also interact with—the universal values we are taught to cultivate, such as goodness or happiness. Offering a fascinating examination of a broad range of figures—from music icon Jimi Hendrix to civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer, from cyclist Lance Armstrong to The Portrait of a Lady’s Ralph Touchett to Claus von Stauffenberg, a German officer who tried to assassinate Hitler—May shows that narrative values offer a rich variety of criteria by which to assess a life, specific to each of us and yet widely available. They offer us a way of reading ourselves, who we are, and who we might like to be.

The Death of God and the Meaning of Life

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135020906
Total Pages : 246 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (35 download)

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Book Synopsis The Death of God and the Meaning of Life by : Julian Young

Download or read book The Death of God and the Meaning of Life written by Julian Young and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-05-16 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the meaning of life? In today's secular, post-religious scientific world, this question has become a serious preoccupation. But it also has a long history: many major philosophers have thought deeply about it, as Julian Young so vividly illustrates in this thought-provoking second edition of The Death of God and the Meaning of Life. Three new chapters explore Søren Kierkegaard’s attempts to preserve a Christian answer to the question of the meaning of life, Karl Marx's attempt to translate this answer into naturalistic and atheistic terms, and Sigmund Freud’s deep pessimism about the possibility of any version of such an answer. Part 1 presents an historical overview of philosophers from Plato to Marx who have believed in a meaning of life, either in some supposed ‘other’ world or in the future of this world. Part 2 assesses what happened when the traditional structures that give life meaning began to erode. With nothing to take their place, these structures gave way to the threat of nihilism, to the appearance that life is meaningless. Young looks at the responses to this threat in chapters on Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, Foucault and Derrida. Fully revised and updated throughout, this highly engaging exploration of fundamental issues will captivate anyone who’s ever asked themselves where life’s meaning (if there is one) really lies. It also makes a perfect historical introduction to philosophy, particularly to the continental tradition.

What is the Meaning of Human Life?

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Author :
Publisher : Rodopi
ISBN 13 : 9789042012967
Total Pages : 198 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (129 download)

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Book Synopsis What is the Meaning of Human Life? by : Raymond A. Belliotti

Download or read book What is the Meaning of Human Life? written by Raymond A. Belliotti and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2001 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines core concerns of human life. What is the relationship between a meaningful life and theism? Why are some human beings radically adrift, without radical foundations, and struggling with hopelessness? Is the cosmos meaningless? Is human life akin to the ancient Myth of Sisyphus? What is the role of struggle and suffering in creating meaning? How do we discover or create value? Is happiness overrated as a goal of life? How, if at all, can we learn to die meaningfully?

The Value and Meaning of Life

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000199738
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis The Value and Meaning of Life by : Christopher Belshaw

Download or read book The Value and Meaning of Life written by Christopher Belshaw and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-28 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book Christopher Belshaw draws on earlier work concerning death, identity, animals, immortality, and extinction, and builds a large-scale argument dealing with questions of both value and meaning. Rejecting suggestions that life is sacred or intrinsically valuable, he argues instead that its value varies, and varies considerably, both within and between different kinds of things. So in some cases we might have reason to improve or save a life, while in others that reason will be lacking. What about starting lives? The book’s central section takes this as its focus, and asks whether we ever have reason to start lives, just for the sake of the one whose life it is. Not only is it denied that there is any such reason, but some sympathy is afforded to the anti-natalist contention that there is always reason against. The final chapters deal with meaning. There is support here for the sober and familiar view that meaning derives from an enthusiasm for, and some success with, the pursuit of worthwhile projects. Now suppose we are immortal. Or suppose, in contrast, that we face imminent extinction. Would either of these threaten meaning? The claim is made that the force of such threats is often exaggerated. The Value and Meaning of Life is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy, ethics, and religion, and will be of interest to all those concerned with how to live, and how to think about the lives of others.

Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190657685
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (96 download)

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Book Synopsis Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World by : Iddo Landau

Download or read book Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World written by Iddo Landau and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-07-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does life have meaning? Is it possible for life to be meaningful when the world is filled with suffering and when so much depends merely upon chance? Even if there is meaning, is there enough to justify living? These questions are difficult to resolve. There are times in which we face the mundane, the illogically cruel, and the tragic, which leave us to question the value of our lives. However, Iddo Landau argues, our lives often are, or could be made, meaningfulwe've just been setting the bar too high for evaluating what meaning there is. When it comes to meaning in life, Landau explains, we have let perfect become the enemy of the good. We have failed to find life perfectly meaningful, and therefore have failed to see any meaning in our lives. We must attune ourselves to enhancing and appreciating the meaning in our lives, and Landau shows us how to do that. In this warmly written book, rich with examples from the author's life, film, literature, and history, Landau offers new theories and practical advice that awaken us to the meaning already present in our lives and demonstrates how we can enhance it. He confronts prevailing nihilist ideas that undermine our existence, and the questions that dog us no matter what we believe. While exposing the weaknesses of ideas that lead many to despair, he builds a strong case for maintaining more hope. Along the way, he faces provocative questions: Would we choose to live forever if we could? Does death render life meaningless? If we examine it in the context of the immensity of the whole universe, can we consider life meaningful? If we feel empty once we achieve our goals, and the pursuit of these goals is what gives us a sense of meaning, then what can we do? Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World is likely to alter the way you understand your life.

Welfare, Meaning, and Worth

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 131544190X
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (154 download)

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Book Synopsis Welfare, Meaning, and Worth by : Aaron Smuts

Download or read book Welfare, Meaning, and Worth written by Aaron Smuts and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-22 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welfare, Meaning, and Worth argues that there is more to what makes a life worth living than welfare, and that a good life does not consist of what is merely good for the one who lives it. Smuts defends an objective list theory that states that the notion of worth captures matters of importance for which no plausible theory of welfare can account. He puts forth that lives worth living are net high in various objective goods, including pleasure, meaning, knowledge, and loving relationships. The first part of the book presents a theory of worth, a mental statist account of welfare, and an objectivist theory of meaning. The second part explores the implications for moral theory, the popularity of painful art, and the viability of pessimism about the human condition. This book offers an original exploration of worth as a combination of welfare and meaning that will be of interest to philosophers and ethicists who work on issues in well-being and positive psychology.

The Meaning of Life

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781948220002
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis The Meaning of Life by : Nathanael Novosel

Download or read book The Meaning of Life written by Nathanael Novosel and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "What is the meaning of life?" Throughout history, people have spent much of their lives trying to explain how the world works and why. Initially, they seek to live better lives and thrive. Ultimately, they seek to find purpose and significance in their existence. Experience the scientific and philosophical journey billions of years in the making to answer the question that all living beings capable of rational thought will ask themselves: why are we here? Over the course of that journey, you will come to understand how humans determine their meaning and, with some of your own analysis, discover your own purpose along the way.

The Experience of Meaning in Life

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Author :
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400765274
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis The Experience of Meaning in Life by : Joshua A. Hicks

Download or read book The Experience of Meaning in Life written by Joshua A. Hicks and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-05-27 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers an in-depth exploration of the burgeoning field of meaning in life in the psychological sciences, covering conceptual and methodological issues, core psychological mechanisms, environmental, cognitive and personality variables and more.

Exploring the Meaning of Life

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Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470658789
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (76 download)

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Book Synopsis Exploring the Meaning of Life by : Joshua W. Seachris

Download or read book Exploring the Meaning of Life written by Joshua W. Seachris and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-09-04 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much more than just an anthology, this survey of humanity's search for the meaning of life includes the latest contributions to the debate, a judicious selection of key canonical essays, and insightful commentary by internationally respected philosophers. Cutting-edge viewpoint features the most recent contributions to the debate Extensive general introduction offers unprecedented context Leading contemporary philosophers provide insightful introductions to each section