PHIL 180 Lecture 18: Smith on Meaning of Life
Document Summary
Huston smith (1919 ) is o(cid:374)e of the (cid:449)orld"s fore(cid:373)ost s(cid:272)holars o(cid:374) (cid:449)orld religio(cid:374)s a(cid:374)d his (cid:271)ook the. World"s religio(cid:374)s is the (cid:271)est-selling book in its field, having sold over 2 million copies! He has served on the faculties of washington university in st. louis, mit, syracuse, and the university of california- I(cid:374) his arti(cid:272)le, (cid:862)the mea(cid:374)i(cid:374)g of life i(cid:374) the world"s religio(cid:374)s,(cid:863) (cid:894)2000(cid:895) (cid:373)ith spe(cid:272)ifi(cid:272)all(cid:455) addresses the question of how the generic religious standpoint supplies an answer to the question of meaning. Hu(cid:373)a(cid:374) life is o(cid:271)je(cid:272)ti(cid:448)el(cid:455) (cid:373)ea(cid:374)i(cid:374)gful (cid:271)e(cid:272)ause it e(cid:454)presses god"s i(cid:374)fi(cid:374)it(cid:455); that is, (cid:449)ithout us god (cid:449)ould not be god. Smith explains this cryptic notion by saying that we are part of a great chain of being which extends down from the heavenly world to the physical world.
