PHIL 180 Lecture 15: Klemke on Meaning of Life
Document Summary
Klemke (1926-2000) taught for more than twenty years at iowa state university. He was a prolific editor and one of his best known collections is the meaning of life: a reader, first published in 1981. The follo(cid:449)i(cid:374)g su(cid:373)(cid:373)ary is of his 1(cid:1013)(cid:1012)1 essay: (cid:862)li(cid:448)i(cid:374)g without appeal: a(cid:374) affir(cid:373)ati(cid:448)e philosophy of life. (cid:863) i find it one of the most profound pieces in the literature. Klemke begins by stating that the topics of interest to professional philosophers are abstruse and esoteric. Klemke argues that the essence of the problem for him was captured by camus in the phrase: (cid:862)k(cid:374)o(cid:449)i(cid:374)g (cid:449)hether or (cid:374)ot o(cid:374)e (cid:272)a(cid:374) li(cid:448)e (cid:449)ithout appeal is all that i(cid:374)terests (cid:373)e. (cid:863)[ii] Many writers in the late 20th century had a negative view of civilization characterized by the notion that society was in decay. While the problem has been expressed variously, the basic theme was that some ultimate, transcendent principle or reality was lacking.
