Meaning without fulfilment |
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Authors: | Kirsten Egerstrom |
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Institution: | 1. Southern Methodist University, Dallas, United States;2. Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg, South Africa |
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Abstract: | Some philosophers argue that a necessary component of a meaningful life is positive affect. The implication of this type of view is that a meaningful life necessarily feels good. I respond primarily to Susan Wolf's version of this type of view; for Wolf, meaningful lives are necessarily fulfilling lives. In contrast to Wolf, I argue that people do sometimes find parts of their lives to be meaningful when the feeling of fulfilment is absent. I propose an alternative subjective condition that does not involve positive affect. I argue that meaningful parts of our lives obtain their value through their relationship to our practical identities. |
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