PHIL 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Cannibalism, Teleology, Calibration
Document Summary
Analytic philosophers are trained to spot weaknesses in arguments. Unfortunately, that sort of training does not prepare us for questions about life"s meaning : it"s not a purely theoretical question, it"s a practical one. When we think about life"s meaning we are not trying to win a debate. Success in grappling with the question is less like articulating and defending a position and more like growing up. : requires a sense of maturity. The article, it turns out, is a reply to nozick, written for a volume of essays on his philosophy. What the sage knew about the limits of meaning. Two kinds of attitudes: the existentialist attitude. Popular from 40"s 60s, european, mostly atheist. Find out the meaning of life, hugely important, stoicism if you don"t find a meaning for life (stiff upper lip), angst, perhaps even suicide (should i kill myself right now?)