Does life’s having meaning depend on a supernatural reality? Is death a threat to life’s meaning? Is life the sort of thing that can have a “meaning”? In what sense? Here we will consider some approaches to questions about the meaning of life.
Category: Phenomenology & Existentialism
Meaning in Life: What Makes Our Lives Meaningful?
What is a meaningful life? This essay reviews some influential answers to this question.
Happiness: What is it to be Happy?
An introduction to philosophical theories of happiness: what is it to be happy?
African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King
An introduction to African American Existentialism and the thought of DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King.
“Hell Is Other People”: Sartre on Personal Relationships
An introduction to John-Paul Sartre on Personal Relationships through an examination of his famous quote, "Hell Is Other People."
What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? The question is itself a philosophical question. This essay surveys some answers. #philosophy #whatisphilosophy #definingphilosophy
Is Immortality Desirable?
Author: Felipe Pereira Categories: Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Phenomenology and Existentialism Word Count: 998 Many people hope to live on after death, in heaven, forever. Even those who don’t believe in heaven usually agree that an eternal life there would be better than any finite, mortal life.[1] Are they correct? Some influential philosophers have argued … Continue reading Is Immortality Desirable?
Camus on the Absurd: The Myth of Sisyphus
Author: Erik Van AkenCategory: Phenomenology and Existentialism, EthicsWord Count: 1000 Video below “There is only one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy." – Albert Camus It might seem flippant to remark that the essential question in philosophy … Continue reading Camus on the Absurd: The Myth of Sisyphus
“God is dead”: Nietzsche and the Death of God
Author: Justin Remhof Categories: Phenomenology and Existentialism; Philosophy of Religion; Ethics; Historical Philosophy Word Count: 985 Listen here, video below Nietzsche is perhaps most famous for making the striking claim that God is dead. He writes, “God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him!” (GS 125). What does this mean? Straightforwardly, it seems nonsensical. God is … Continue reading “God is dead”: Nietzsche and the Death of God
The Badness of Death
Author: Duncan Purves Category: Ethics, Phenomenology and Existentialism Word Count: 1000 So death, the most terrifying of ills, is nothing to us, since so long as we exist, death is not with us; but when death comes, then we do not exist. It does not then concern either the living or the dead, since for … Continue reading The Badness of Death