LEHLOGONOLO MOLOKOMME

14M3152
BIANCA
TUTORIAL 5
19 MAY 2014
1. A meaningful life is better than a meaningless one, but once it is meaningful enough,
there may be no self-interest reason to want, as it where, to squeeze more meaning
into it. Page 224.
Having a meaningful life a person has to be engaged in projects of worth or projects
they perceive as worthy, such as, supporting breast cancer awareness. In order for a
person to engage in these projects there needs to be a reason as to why they engage in
it; a person would support breast cancer awareness as it is a worthy cause or it could
be that a person has lost a loved one due to breast cancer. If a person can engage in
projects where they find fulfilment of some sort then they will not find the need to
keep looking for some to find pleasure in.
The authors claim has been that a meaningful life occurs when a person takes part in
worthy activities; she backs up her claim by stating that this explanation fits well with
the typical idea of the needs of a meaningful life and the ideals of a meaningful and
meaningless life. Generally that people have an idea or certain view on what is
required of a meaningful life and the difference between a meaningful life and a
meaningless life. The first criticism of the concept is that although they may be a
meaningful life in such worthy activities, they question whether these activities even
exist in human condition. If God does not exist then nothing can be worthwhile, only
God can make meaningful life a possibility. This criticism to me is not valid as there
are people out in the world who live meaningful lives yet do not believe that God
exists, and to some God it not a necessary condition for them to have meaningful life.

2. Fulfilment in Wolfs view is a feeling or the sense that some of the experiences have;
it is a specific sort of pleasure, as she puts it that is associated with the thought that
our life has meaning. A meaningful life is partly fulfilling as fulfilment is a feeling
with some cognitive consent, we find things fulfilling only if we think of them or
perceive them in a certain way.
She is taking into account that if we accept that fulfilment is a necessary condition
with beliefs about its object then an activity if only fulfilling if the person believes it
to be independently good. Since a meaningful life is partly fulfilling this is dependent
on the engagement of worthy projects, if it does not matter what a person does
whether it is worthy or not then it cannot be said to be meaningful.
3. A meaningful life is a good life as goodness is not independent from happiness
satisfying our preferences. Self-interest is not fully subject in terms of a persons
experiences being a subjective quality or allowing standards of self-interest to be set
by persons subjective preference. A person has a good, meaningful life if there
personal preferences make them happy.
Her explanation does make sense has a person has to be totally conscious to their
preferences and how those preferences could bring about a meaningful life.
4. A good life is not all about the subject as it is not completely independent to a
persons experiences or to their preferences. As mentioned earlier a meaning life is a
life where a person engages in worthy projects where the person has a reason to be
participating it, meaningfulness is part of a persons good.