Necessities

Jean KazezSouthern Methodist University

I want to live a good life

I want to live a meaningful life

same thing?

Very roughly...A good life...

...has value

A meaningful life......adds up to something

What more can we say?

Taylor on the meaning of life

The Myth of SisyphusThe gods punished Sisyphus for stealing their secrets by forcing him to push a giant boulder up a hill forever. Over and over again it rolled back down, and he was forced to start all over again.

This is objectively

meaningless...

Taylor says...

Why objectively meaningless?

Taylor’s definition: a meaningful

activity/life has some significant and lasting result.

The Myth of Sisyphus (Taylor’s revision)

... and then the gods took pity on Sisyphus, and injected a drug into his veins so that he would enjoy his endless labors.

I want to keep

pushing!

TAYLOR’S ASSESSMENT

I want to keep

pushing!

OBJECTIVELY MEANINGLESS

BUTSUBJECTIVELY MEANINGFUL

What does any of this have to do with our

lives?

(1) Objective meaninglessness...

• the ugly worms, p. 23• migrating birds, p. 24• busy street, p. 24• country road, p. 25

Can objective meaninglessnessbe avoided? (p. 25)

• heaven (think Tolstoy)• Platonic forms• earthly ideals such as universal

justice and brotherhood (compare Singer)

(2) Subjective Meaningfulness

• “our deep interest in what we find ourselves doing” (p. 25-6)

• back to the ruined house— “the day was sufficient unto itself” (p. 27)

• this should remind you of Frankfurt’s “care theory” of the good life

Taylor’s ConclusionWe should be satisfied with living lives that are

(1) objectively meaningless(2) subjectively meaningful

Last two paragraphs (p. 27-8)

My life is objectively

meaningless?What, me

worry?I LOVE LIFE!

What do you think?1. Is life really objectively meaningless?2. Does Taylor define “meaningful”

correctly?3. Is it “enough” for life to be

subjectively meaningful?4. What about Singer’s claim that an

ethical life is particularly meaningful?

The Good Life

The Meaningful life

I want to keep

pushing!

IS THIS A GOOD LIFE?

(1)A good life contains lots of good(2) Good = desire fulfillment

(3) Sisyphus has lots of fulfilled desire

(C) Sisyphus has a good life

THE DESIRE VIEWOF THE GOOD LIFE

Tempting, but...

Desire fulfillment isn’t always good

• Desires implanted by the gods• Desires implanted by advertising• Desires manipulated by bad people• Desires that are adaptive— “I want it because it’s easier if I just adapt”

revisereviserevise

Or move on?

The Tree of (the Good) Life

Relativis

mAbsolutis

m

InflexibleOne-size-fits-all Flexib

le

Aristotle

Simple Happiness View Desire

ViewObjective List View

Cultural Relativism Extreme

Relativism

Objective list view*1. ingredient2. ingredient3. ingredient4. etc.5. ....6. ....7. ....

Items are on the list NOT because we desire them, and

NOT because they make us happy, BUT

because they are intrinsically good.

Shafer-Landau calls it “The Objective View”

Recipe for a good life

A-LIST

necessities

MUST HAVE ALL

if one is missing, life is flawed

B-LIST

OPTIONAL

INTErchangEable

if one missing, life need not be flawed

Discovering the necessities

booksmovies

examplesdraw on other theoriesthought experimentsavoid ethnocentrism

What must we change to make his life a good one?

I want to keep

pushing!

AutonomyI’M GOING TO BECOME A...

What is autonomy?• Being author of your own life• Controlling where you live, what work

you do, how you do the work, what hours you work

What’s “enough”?• arranged marriage (of adults, of

children)• Did Galileo’s daughter have enough?• Could a slave have enough?

SelfMY OPINION

IS...I LIKE...

Nowhere man--“Doesn’t have a point of view, knows not where he’s going to” —The Beatles

MoralityTHOU SHALT

NOT...

Why is it necessary?Why does adding morality to the life of Sisyphus make it a better life?

• Morality as cure for profound isolation

• Morality as cure for finitude

HappinessAWESOME!!!

Happiness can come from• Helping orphans

• Listening to music• Eating a lot of ice cream

• Torturing kittens• Magic Drug

DOES IT MATTER?

Maggie and Magic Drug

Happiness comes from goodI’M FREE... AWESOME!

Constance

BeethovenLand’s End fashions

American Cancer SocietyReads the bible

Same from 21 to 81

ProgressI NEED A

CHANGE...

The List1. Autonomy2. Self3. Morality4. Happiness5. Happiness from good sources6. Progress7. Other?

The new life of Sisyphus

The Tree of the Good Life

Relativis

mAbsolutis

m

InflexibleOne-size-fits-all Flexib

le

Aristotle

Hedonism Desire

ViewObjective List View

Cultural Relativism Extreme

Relativism

Decisions, decisions...

1. same value choices2. different value choices3. morality/other value

choices

Chapters 7-8

Necessities not on list?

All you need is love?

A. Love relationships ☐ one of the necessities an optional ingredient instrumentally important

for securing happiness and other goods

B. Loving X“Find what you love”

the trumpetchemistrymedicine

Jane Austenetc.

Harry Frankfurt, The Reasons of Love

Love is foundation of value

No love-independent“objective” list

How to have a good life1. find what/whom you love2. loving it makes it seem to have

intrinsic value3. add that loved thing to your live4. presto: a good life!

This sounds familiar...

Is the love view any more plausible than the desire

view?

I love it!IS THIS A GOOD LIFE?

Loving X is... Instrumentally important for

securing happiness, morality, self, etc.

☐ The reason why those things matter

What’s play got to do with it?

What’s God got to do with it?

See chapters 1, 6, and 9

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