1. Jean Kazez Southern Methodist University
Necessities
Jean Kazez
Southern Methodist University

2. I want to live a good life I want to live a meaningful life same thing?

3. Very roughly... ...adds up to something ...has value
A good life...
...has value
A meaningful life...
...adds up to something
What more can we say?

4. Taylor on the meaning of life

5. The Myth of Sisyphus
The 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.

6. This is objectively meaningless...
Taylor says...
This is objectively meaningless...

7. Why objectively meaningless
Why objectively meaningless? Taylor’s definition: a meaningful activity/life has some significant and lasting result.

8. 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.

9. I want to keep pushing!

10. TAYLOR’S ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVELY MEANINGLESS BUT
I want to keep pushing!
OBJECTIVELY MEANINGLESS
BUT
SUBJECTIVELY MEANINGFUL
NEED EXTRA CLICK

11. What does any of this have to do with our lives?

12. (1) Objective meaninglessness...
the ugly worms, p. 23
migrating birds, p. 24
busy street, p. 24
country road, p. 25

16. Can objective meaninglessness be avoided? (p. 25)
heaven (think Tolstoy)
Platonic forms
earthly ideals such as universal justice and brotherhood (compare Singer)

17. (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

18. Last two paragraphs (p. 27-8)
Taylor’s Conclusion
We should be satisfied with living lives that are
(1) objectively meaningless
(2) subjectively meaningful
Last two paragraphs (p. 27-8)

19. My life is objectively meaningless?
What, me worry?
I LOVE LIFE!

20. What do you think? Is life really objectively meaningless?
Does Taylor define “meaningful” correctly?
Is it “enough” for life to be subjectively meaningful?
What about Singer’s claim that an ethical life is particularly meaningful?

21. The Meaningful life
The Good Life
EXTRA CLICK

22. IS THIS A GOOD LIFE?
I want to keep pushing!

25. THE DESIRE VIEW OF THE GOOD LIFE
A good life contains lots of good
Good = desire fulfillment
(3) Sisyphus has lots of fulfilled desire
(C) Sisyphus has a good life

26. Tempting, but...

27. Desire fulfillment isn’t always good

28. 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”

29. revise

30. Or move on?

31. The Tree of (the Good) Life
Simple Happiness View
Objective List View
Desire View
Aristotle
Cultural Relativism
Inflexible
One-size-fits-all
Extreme
Relativism
Flexible
Relativism
Absolutism

32. Objective list view* ingredient etc. ....
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”

33. 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

34. Discovering the necessities
books
movies
examples
draw on other theories
thought experiments
avoid ethnocentrism

35. What must we change to make his life a good one?
I want to keep pushing!

36. Autonomy
I’M GOING TO BECOME A...

37. 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

38. What’s “enough”? arranged marriage (of adults, of children)
Did Galileo’s daughter have enough?
Could a slave have enough?

39. Self
MY OPINION IS...
I LIKE...

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

42. Morality
THOU SHALT NOT...

43. 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

44. Happiness
AWESOME!!!

45. Happiness can come from
Helping orphans
Listening to music
Eating a lot of ice cream
Torturing kittens
Magic Drug
DOES IT MATTER?

46. Maggie and Magic Drug

47. Happiness comes from good
I’M FREE... AWESOME!

48. American Cancer Society
Constance
Beethoven
Land’s End fashions
American Cancer Society
Reads the bible
Same from 21 to 81

49. Progress
I NEED A CHANGE...

50. The List Autonomy Self Morality Happiness Happiness from good sources
Progress
Other?

51. The new life of Sisyphus

52. The Tree of the Good Life
Hedonism
Objective List View
Desire View
Aristotle
Cultural Relativism
Inflexible
One-size-fits-all
Extreme
Relativism
Flexible
Relativism
Absolutism

53. Decisions, decisions... 1. same value choices
2. different value choices
3. morality/other value choices
Chapters 7-8

54. Necessities not on list?

55. All you need
is love?

56. A. Love relationships  an optional ingredient
☐ one of the necessities
 an optional ingredient
 instrumentally important for securing happiness and other goods

57. “Find what you love” the trumpet chemistry medicine Jane Austen etc.
B. Loving X
“Find what you love” the trumpet chemistry medicine Jane Austen etc.

58. Harry Frankfurt, The Reasons of Love
Love is foundation of value
No love-independent
“objective” list

59. How to have a good life find what/whom you love
loving it makes it seem to have intrinsic value
add that loved thing to your live
presto: a good life!

60. This sounds familiar...

61. Is the love view any more plausible than the desire view?

62. I love it!
IS THIS A GOOD LIFE?

63. Loving X is... ☐ The reason why those things matter
 Instrumentally important for securing happiness, morality, self, etc.
☐ The reason why those things matter

64. What’s play got to do with it?

65. What’s God got to do with it?

66. For the low, low price of $25.95!!!
See chapters 1, 6, and 9
For the low, low price of $25.95!!!