PHIL 003. First-Year Seminar: The Meaning of Life

What is the meaning of life? Isn’t this question too big for us? Do we even understand the question? This course will engage critically with several philosophical attempts to make sense of this fundamental question; we will discuss different answers to it. More specifically, we will deal with questions like the following: Can life have a meaning only if there is a God? Isn’t life just absurd? Is there anything that really matters? Is death a problem for the attempt to lead a meaningful life? (and wouldn’t immortality be a good alternative?) What is the role of purpose, purposes and plans in our lives? Is a meaningful life a happy life? What role do values and goals play in a meaningful life? And, finally: What is a good life?
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2024. Baumann.
Fall 2025. Baumann.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy

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