Philosophy and the Meaning of Life

PHIL 219, Fall 2021

MWF 11:30-12:20

Prof. Jacqueline Mariña

Department of Philosophy
Office: BRNG 7134, 4-4833
E-mail: marinaj@purdue.edu
Office Hours: After class or by appointment; we can also set up a meeting on Web Ex.

Description of Course:
Should we agree with Shakespeare’s Macbeth that life is “a tale told by an idiot, full of
sound and fury, signifying nothing?” Or can we give a coherent account of how and
why what we do, and our lives as a whole, should matter to ourselves and others? Do
our lives have a purpose, and if so, what is it? In this class we will study these
questions, mainly through the writings of existentialist thinkers such as Nietzsche,
Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre, but the writings of some contemporary analytic
philosophers will be explored as well.

Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and discuss the difference between the meaning of life and
meaning in life.
2. Provide an account of the differences between first and third person
points of view and how they relate to existential philosophy.
3. Provide an account of the philosophical views of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche,
Heidegger, and Sartre, and how their views relate to the question of the
meaning of life.
4. Write medium sized essays (800 words) incorporating textual evidence
and interpreting it so as to argue for a larger thesis statement.

Required Texts:
1. Existentialism: Basic Writings, edited by Charles Guignon and Derk Pereboom,
Hackett Publishing, Indianapolis: 2001. ISBN: 0-87220-595-9.

2. The Meaning of Life: A Reader, ed. By E. D. Klemke and Steven M. Cahn, Oxford
University Press, 2018.

3. Other material will be posted on Brightspace.

Course Requirements:
• Class participation (10%). You are expected to attend every class and to
participate in discussions. After two unexcused absences, you will be docked five
points on one of your essays for each absence that exceeds this. If you have a
legitimate reason for missing class, the absence will be excused, but you must
reach out to me via e-mail or through virtual office hours to explain the problem.
 • Several short quizzes throughout the semester, 20%. Midterm 15% and final
15%.
• Two 1000-word essays, each worth 20%, due throughout the semester.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Tentative Course Outline and Readings:

Assignments and deadlines may be modified during the course of the semester. We will
probably fall behind; I will announce quizzes as we go along, as well as the midterm.
Reading of primary sources is absolutely essential. I have provided links to on-line
encyclopedia articles providing a very general background to the figures, as well as
some other suggested background reading that will be very helpful to you in both your
short paper as well as your other written assignments. In the event of a campus
emergency, schedule and requirements are subject to change.

Week One: Introduction

• August 23rd: Introduction to the course; fundamental questions concerning the

meaning of life and Existentialism.
“The Meaning of Life: Contemporary Analytic Perspectives.” In
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy https://www.iep.utm.edu/mean-
ana/.

• August 25th: Existentialism and the First-Person Point of View. Please read:
“Introduction to the Legacy of Existentialism,” in Existentialism,
xiii-xxxviii.
Supplementary: Steven Crowell, “Existentialism,” in Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/existentialism/.

• August 27th: The meaning of life and the disenchantment of the world;
existentialism and the first-person point of view, continued.
Kurt Baier, “The Meaning of Life,” in The Meaning of Life, pp. 76-
107.

Week Two: Purpose in Life: What should be the aims of the human being?

• August 30th: Leo Tolstoy, “My Confession,” in The Meaning of Life, pp. 7-16.
Dostoyevsky, “The Grand Inquisitor,” PDF on Brightspace.

• September 1st: Immanuel Kant, “What is Enlightenment?” PDF on Brightspace.

The Grand Inquisitor vs. Kant.

• September 3rd: Suffering and Meaning: Arthur Schopenhauer: “On the Sufferings
of the World,” in The Meaning of Life, pp. 43-48.
 John Hick, “Soul-Making Theodicy,” PDF on Brightspace.

Week Three: Kierkegaard and Religious Existentialism

• September 6th: Labor Day

• September 8th: Introduction to Kierkegaard: Hegelianism and Kierkegaard’s

Reaction Against it. Existentialism, p. 1-25 (This
includes the excerpt from Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit).

§ Supplementary: William McDonald, “Søren Kierkegaard,” in

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kierkegaard/

• September 10th: Religious Existentialism: Fear and Trembling, “The

Teleological Suspension of the Ethical,” in Existentialism, 26-66.

Week Four: Religious Existentialism Continued:

• September 13th: The Teleological Suspension of the Ethical, continued.

• September 15th: Kierkegaard: Kierkegaard and the Absolute Duty Towards
God. Please read: Fear and Trembling, Problema II: “Is there an
Absolute Duty Towards God?” in Existentialism, 66-77.
• September 17th: Problema II continued.
• Subjectivity, Inwardness, and Despair. Please read: Fear and Trembling,
Problema III, “Was it Ethically Defensible of Abraham to
Conceal his Purpose from Sarah, from Eleazar, from Isaac?”
PDF available in Brightspace.

Week Five: Kierkegaard on Faith and Despair

• September 20th: Faith and Despair: Excerpts from Sickness unto Death and
Concluding Unscientific Postscript, in Existentialism, 78-92.

• September 22nd: Kierkegaard, continued.

• September 24th: Introduction to Nietzsche. Please read: Existentialism, 93-118.

Supplementary: Robert Wicks, “Nietzsche,” in Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/

Week Six: Nietzsche and the Genealogy of Knowledge

• September 27th: Nietzsche on the Birth of Tragedy; Introduction to The Gay

Science; A Genealogy of Knowledge. Please read Existentialism, 119-144.
 • September 29th: Genealogy of Knowledge, continued.

• October 1st: Nietzsche: The Death of God and Perspectivalism. Existentialism,

144-171.

Week Seven: Nietzsche and Perspectivalism.

• October 4th: Perspectivalism continued.

• October 6th: Nietzsche: The Overman and the Creation of Value. Existentialism
172-181.

• October 8th: A Genetic Account of Morality and “Ressentiment.”

Please read excerpts from Beyond Good and Evil and The Genealogy
of Morals, First Essay: “Good and Evil,” “Good and Bad,” posted
on Brightspace.

Week Eight: Nietzsche and the Genetic Account of Morality

• October 11th: October Break

• October 13th: Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals, Second Essay: “ ‘Guilt,’ ‘Bad

Conscience,’ and the Like.”

• October 15th: Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals, Third Essay, “What is the

Meaning of Ascetic Ideals?” On Brightspace.

Week Nine: Introduction to Heidegger and his Method

• October 17th: Genealogy continued.

• October 19th: Introduction to Heidegger: Please read Existentialism, 183-210.
Supplementary: “Martin Heidegger” in the IEP:
http://www.iep.utm.edu/heidegge/

• October 21st: Heidegger and the Question of Being. Existentialism, 185-189;

211-221.

Week Ten: Heidegger and his Method, continued.

• October 25th: Heidegger and the Question of Being, continued.

• October 27th: Heidegger and the Phenomenological Tradition: Critique of

Husserl; Being in the World and the Worldhood of the World.
Existentialism, 221-230.

• October 29th: The Worldhood of the World, continued.

Week Eleven: Heidegger, Alienation, and Thrownness.

• November 1st: Heidegger: The “They” & Everyday Being in the World.
Existentialism, 231-236.

• November 3rd: Heidegger: Language, Interpretation, Fallenness & Thrownness.

Existentialism, 236-243;

• November 5th: Heidegger: Care as the Being of Dasein. Existentialism, 243-246.

Week Twelve: Heidegger, Care & Authenticity; Introduction to Sartre

• November 8th: Authenticity and Being Towards Death. Existentialism, 246-

254.
• November 10th: Introduction to Sartre. Existentialism, 255-275.
• November 12th: Transcendence and the Nature of Consciousness: Husserlian
Background. Existentialism, 276-289.

Week Thirteen: Husserlian Influences in Sartre’s Thought; Transcendence, Freedom

and Determinism.

• November 15th: Transcendence and the Nature of Consciousness: Husserlian

Background. Existentialism, 276-289.
• November 17th: The Importance of Nothingness in Sartre’s Thought:
Existentialism, 309-328.
• November 19th: Freedom, Determinism, and Bad Faith, Existentialism 328-349.

Week Fourteen: Sartre: Freedom, Determinism, and Bad Faith.

• November 15th: Bad Faith and “the Look.” Excerpt from Being and Nothingness
posted on Blackboard, 340-375.

• November 17th: Bad Faith and “the Look,” continued. Excerpt on “the Look,”
from Being and Nothingness continued, 375-400.

• November 19th: Catch up.

Week Fifteen:
• November 29th: Albert Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus,” in Meaning in Life, pp.
66-75.
• December 1st: Thomas Nagel, “The Absurd,” in Meaning in Life, pp. 137-146; Joel
Feinberg, “Absurd Self-Fulfillment,” 147-178.
 • December 3rd: Paul Edwards, “The Meaning and Value of Life,” in Meaning in
Life, pp. 108-127.

FINAL PAPER DUE ON DECEMBER 8TH.

Grading:
I will be assigning numerical values to your assignments and examinations. Grades
are as follows:
• 96-100=A+ • 73-76=C
• 92-95=A • 70-72=C-
• 90-91-A- • 67-69=D+
• 87-89=B+ • 63-66=D
• 83-86=B • 60-62=D-
• 80-82=B- • 59 and Below
• 77-79=C+

Policies and Procedures:

• Assignments and deadlines may be modified during the course of the semester.
• Reading of primary sources is absolutely essential. Please come to class prepared
to discuss the day’s material.
• In the event of a campus emergency, schedule and requirements are subject to
change.
• I expect full attention at each class; this means no shopping or texting as the
class is proceeding.
• Plagiarism will not be tolerated; plagiarized assignments will receive a grade of
0, and the student will be reported to the dean of students.
Purdue University is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion and
welcomes individuals of all ages, religions, sex, sexual orientations, races,
nationalities, languages, military experience, disabilities, family statuses, gender
identities and expressions, political views, and socioeconomic statuses. Please
respect the different experiences, beliefs and values expressed by everyone in this
course. Behaviors that threaten, harass, discriminate or that are disrespectful of
others will not be tolerated. Inappropriate behaviors will be addressed with
disciplinary action, which may include being referred to the Office of the Dean of
Students.
As a boilermaker pursuing academic excellence, I pledge to be honest
and true in all that I do. Accountable together - we are Purdue.