3.0

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What is the meaning of life? Is the question well-formed? What does living well require? Does death give human life meaning? What does it mean to say that life is ‘absurd’? Are we free to do as we choose? What should we make of human nature or the human condition in light of the great and ever more pervasive technological advances of the present epoch? Will we transform our nature? In light of threats of environmental catastrophes spurred by global warming, nuclear war and the like, what do we make of our daily lives and the activities that compose them? Do those equipped with the relevant capacities and apprised of the relevant information bear a moral obligation to the communities of which they are members? Crucially, these questions require us to reflect deeply on our human values. To address these questions, we will read selected works of philosophers ranging in time from Plato to the present – including both analytic and continental philosophers, men and women, the canonized and otherwise.