Philosophy And The Meaning Of Life

Catalog description

Does life have meaning? If so, in what sense? If not, does this matter? Does the answer depend on the existence of God and an afterlife? What, if anything, makes existence worthwhile? Might the question – ‘does life have meaning?’ – be malformed? This course explores these and related questions, as well as answers to them, with the aim of teaching students to think critically and rigorously about matters of perennial existential importance. In previous iterations of this course, readings have been chosen from the following writers: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Marcel, Heidegger, Camus, Sartre, Jaspers, de Beauvoir, Ortega, and Merleau-Ponty. Typically offered Summer Fall Spring. General Education: Humanities View Class Schedule