God, Soul and the Meaning of Life

Description

This Element critically explores the potential relevance of God or a soul for life's meaning as discussed in recent Anglo-American philosophical literature. There have been four broad views: God or a soul is necessary for meaning in our lives; neither is necessary for it; one or both would greatly enhance the meaning in our lives; one or both would substantially detract from it. This Element familiarizes readers with all four positions, paying particular attention to the latter two, and also presents prima facie objections to them, points out gaps in research agendas and suggests argumentative strategies that merit development. Cover Title page Copyright page God, Soul and the Meaning of Life Contents 1 Introducing the Philosophy of Life’s Meaning 2 Clarifying the Terms of the Debates 2.1 The Concept of Life’s Meaning 2.2 Conceptions of Life’s Meaning 2.3 Meaning and Metaphysics 3 Extreme Supernaturalism 3.1 God’s Purpose 3.2 Relationality 3.3 An Afterlife 3.4 Humanity’s Origin 3.5 Humanity’s Prospects 4 Moderate Naturalism 4.1 The Nature of Naturalism 4.2 Unintelligibility 4.3 Incoherence 4.4 Counterintuitiveness 5 Moderate Supernaturalism 5.1 The Concept of a Great Life’s Meaning 5.2 An Afterlife Redux 5.3 Being Part of God’s Life 5.4 Satisfaction of Deep Desires 5.5 An Objection to Arguments for Moderate Supernaturalism en Masse 6 Extreme Naturalism 6.1 The Rise of Extreme Naturalism 6.2 Reasons to Reject a Soul 6.3 Reasons to Reject God 7 Concluding Remarks: Further Reflection on God and Soul Bibliography