{"product_id":"exploring-the-meaning-of-life-isbn-9780470658796","title":"Exploring the Meaning of Life","description":"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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eCutting-edge viewpoint features the most recent contributions to the debate\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eExtensive general introduction offers unprecedented context\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eLeading contemporary philosophers provide insightful introductions to each section\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes on Contributors viii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreface x\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePersonal Acknowledgments xii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments xiii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGeneral Introduction 1\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJoshua W. Seachris\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSection I Understanding the Question of Life’s Meaning 21\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 23\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThaddeus Metz\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.1 Why 29\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ePaul Edwards\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.2 Untangling the Questions 40\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eGarrett Thomson\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.3 Questions about the Meaning of Life 48\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eR. W. Hepburn\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life 62\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eRobert Nozick\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.5 The Concept of a Meaningful Life 79\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThaddeus Metz\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.6 Assessing Views of Life: A Subjective Affair? 95\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eArjan Markus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSection II What Does God Have to Do with the Meaning of Life? 113\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 115\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJohn Cottingham\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.1 Ecclesiastes 121\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.2 On Living in an Atomic Age 133\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eC. S. Lewis\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.3 Is the Existence of God Relevant to the Meaning of Life? 138\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJeffrey Gordon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.4 The Absurdity of Life without God 153\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eWilliam Lane Craig\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.5 Is Nature Enough? 173\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJohn Haught\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.6 Religion and Value: The Problem of Heteronomy 183\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJohn Cottingham\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.7 Could God’s Purpose Be the Source of Life’s Meaning? 200\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThaddeus Metz\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSection III The Loss of Meaning in a World Without God: Pessimistic Naturalism 219\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 221\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eGarrett Thomson\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1 On the Vanity of Existence 227\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eArthur Schopenhauer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.2 A Free Man’s Worship 230\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eBertrand Russell\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.3 The Absurd 236\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThomas Nagel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.4 Why Coming into Existence Is Always a Harm 245\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eDavid Benatar\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.5 Secular Philosophy and the Religious Temperament 262\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThomas Nagel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSection IV Finding Meaning in a World Without God: Optimistic Naturalism 275\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 277\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eErik J. Wielenberg\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.1 The Human World 282\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJohn Kekes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.2 Time and Life’s Meaning 296\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eRichard Taylor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.3 The Meanings of Lives 304\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSusan Wolf\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.4 Intrinsic Value and Meaningful Life 319\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eRobert Audi\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.5 God and the Meaning of Life 335\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eErik J. Wielenberg\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.6 The Varieties of Non-Religious Experience 353\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eRichard Norman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.7 Emergent Religious Principles 367\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eUrsula Goodenough\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSection V The Meaning of Life and the Way Life Ends: Death, Futility, and Hope 371\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 373\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJohn Martin Fischer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1 A Confession 380\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eLeo Tolstoy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.2 Annihilation 388\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSteven Luper-Foy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3 Why Immortality Is Not So Bad 404\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJohn Martin Fischer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.4 The Immortality Requirement for Life’s Meaning 416\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThaddeus Metz\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.5 Human Extinction and the Value of Our Efforts 428\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eBrooke Alan Trisel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6 Free Will, Death, and Immortality: The Role of Narrative 445\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJohn Martin Fischer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.7 Death, Futility, and the Proleptic Power of Narrative Ending 461\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJoshua W. Seachris\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.8 Divine Hiddenness, Death, and Meaning 481\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ePaul K. Moser\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoshua W. Seachris\u003c\/b\u003e (PhD, University of Oklahoma) is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, as well as Grant Administrator for The Character Project, which aims to map the contours of the human character by funding key research in philosophy, psychology and theology. He is the author of peer-reviewed articles on a range of topics in philosophy, including the problem of evil, Confucius and virtue, the meaning of life, and death. His work has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eInternational Journal for Philosophy of Religion\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAsian Philosophy, Philo\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eReligious Studies\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eInternet Encyclopedia of Philosophy\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWith Section Introductions by:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Cottingham\u003c\/b\u003e (DPhil, Oxford University) is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Reading, Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London, and an Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. His recent titles include \u003ci\u003eOn the Meaning of Life\u003c\/i\u003e (Routledge, 2003), The \u003ci\u003eSpiritual Dimension\u003c\/i\u003e (Cambridge University Press, 2005), \u003ci\u003eCartesian Reflections\u003c\/i\u003e (Oxford University Press, 2008), and \u003ci\u003eWhy Believe?\u003c\/i\u003e (Continuum, 2009). He is editor of the international philosophical journal \u003ci\u003eRatio.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Martin Fischer\u003c\/b\u003e (PhD, Cornell University) is Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside, where he has held a University of California President's Chair (2006–10). He is the editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Metaphysics of Death\u003c\/i\u003e (Stanford University Press, 1993), and many of his articles on death, immortality, and the meaning of life are collected in his \u003ci\u003eOur Stories: Essays on Life, Death, and Free Will\u003c\/i\u003e (Oxford University Press, 2011).\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThaddeus Metz\u003c\/b\u003e (PhD, Cornell University) is Research Professor of Philosophy at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His work on developing and evaluating theoretical approaches to what makes a life meaningful has appeared in such journals as \u003ci\u003eAmerican Philosophical Quarterly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEthics\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRatio, Religious Studies\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eUtilitas\u003c\/i\u003e. His book, \u003ci\u003eMeaning in Life: An Analytic Study\u003c\/i\u003e, will be published by Oxford University Press in 2012.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGarrett Thomson\u003c\/b\u003e (DPhil, Oxford University) teaches philosophy at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where he holds the Compton Chair. He is the author of several books, including \u003ci\u003eOn Kant\u003c\/i\u003e (Wadsworth, 2003), \u003ci\u003eOn the Meaning of Life\u003c\/i\u003e  (Wadsworth 2002), \u003ci\u003eUna Introducción a la Práctica de la Filosofía\u003c\/i\u003e (PanAmericana, 2002), \u003ci\u003eBacon to Kant\u003c\/i\u003e (Waveland Press, 2001), \u003ci\u003eOn Leibniz\u003c\/i\u003e (Wadsworth, 2001), and \u003ci\u003eNeeds\u003c\/i\u003e (Routledge, 1987). With Daniel Kolak, he co-edited the six volumes of the \u003ci\u003eLongman\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eStandard History of Philosophy\u003c\/i\u003e (Longman's Press, 2006). He is chief executive officer of the Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eErik J. Wielenberg\u003c\/b\u003e (PhD, University of Massachusetts-Amherst) is Associate Professor of Philosophy at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eValue and Virtue in a Godless Universe\u003c\/i\u003e (Cambridge University Press, 2005) and \u003ci\u003eGod and the Reach of Reason\u003c\/i\u003e (Cambridge University Press, 2007).   \u003cp\u003eOne of philosophy’s traditional purposes was to question the meaning of life, a mission currently enjoying a resurgence of interest among analytic philosophers. As much a guide as it is a reader, this anthology features astutely chosen essays that define the context of this historically core philosophical imperative. Blending classic thinkers with the best contemporary commentary, its thematic structure mirrors the nuanced dialectical terrain of the current debate and extends recognition to the contributions of literary figures.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAn extensive general introduction orients the reader to the historical, experiential, and conceptual aspects of the subject, and anticipates likely developments. In addition, each section is introduced by internationally respected philosophers who have themselves made vital contributions to our understanding of the meaning of life, while a wealth of references and suggestions for further reading provides students with a valuable tool for extending their knowledge. \u003ci\u003eExploring the Meaning of Life: An Anthology and Guide\u003c\/i\u003e is a comprehensive survey that shepherds readers to the frontiers of modern philosophy at the same time as charting the roads taken to get there.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47989189083365,"sku":"NP9780470658796","price":46.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780470658796.jpg?v=1761783143","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/exploring-the-meaning-of-life-isbn-9780470658796","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}