The Good Cause Account of the Meaning of Life
Southern Journal of Philosophy (forthcoming)
| Abstract | I defend the theory that one's life is meaningful to the extent that one promotes the good. Call this the good cause account (GCA) of the meaning of life. It holds that the good effects that count towards the meaning of one's life need not be intentional. Nor must one be aware of the effects. Nor does it matter whether the same good would have resulted if one had not existed. What matters is that one is causally responsible for the good. I argue that the best theory of the meaning of life should clearly distinguish between subjective fulfillment and objective meaningfulness. The GCA respects the distinction. And it is superior to its leading rivals in the recent literature, most notably those of Erik Wielenberg and Susan Wolf. | |||||||||
| Keywords | meaning of life well-being Susan Wolf Erik Wielenberg fulfillment meaning in life internal meaning | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,705 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesAaron Smuts (2012). It's a Wonderful Life: Pottersville and the Meaning of Life. Film and Philosophy 16 (1):15-33.
Aaron Smuts (2013). Reply to Elliott: In Defense of the Good Cause Account. Film and Philosophy 17:47-57.
Carlo Cellucci, Knowledge and the Meaning of Human Life. naturalism.org.
Brooke Alan Trisel (2007). Judging Life and Its Value. Sorites (18):60-75.
Susan Wolf (1997). Happiness and Meaning: Two Aspects of the Good Life. Social Philosophy and Policy 14 (01):207-.
Joshua Seachris (2009). The Meaning of Life as Narrative. Philo 12 (1):5-23.
E. D. Klemke & Steven M. Cahn (eds.) (2008). The Meaning of Life: A Reader. Oxford University Press.
Thaddeus Metz (2007). God's Purpose as Irrelevant to Life's Meaning: Reply to Affolter. Religious Studies 43 (4):457-464.
Thaddeus Metz (2000). Could God's Purpose Be the Source of Life's Meaning? Religious Studies 36 (3):293-313.
Thaddeus Metz (2013). Meaning in Life as the Aim of Psychotherapy: A Hypothesis. In Joshua Hicks & Clay Routledge (eds.), The Experience of Meaning in Life: Classical Perspectives, Emerging Themes, and Controversies. Springer.
Antti Kauppinen (2012). Meaningfulness and Time. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 84 (2):345-377.
Roy W. Perrett (2010). Ineffability, Signification and the Meaning of Life. Philosophical Papers 39 (2):239-255.
A. L. Herman (1991). Jivacide, Zombies and Jivanmuktas: The Meaning of Life in the Bhagavad Git. Asian Philosophy 1 (1):5 – 13.
Thaddeus Metz (2013). Meaning in Life: An Analytic Study. Oxford University Press.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2011-10-07Total downloads69 ( #12,635 of 549,196 )Recent downloads (6 months)7 ( #10,444 of 549,196 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
