Abstract

Philosophical theories of the good life usually focus on at least one of three as- pects by which a human life can be assessed: well-being, meaning or morality. This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the idea of meaning in life. It argues that the dimension of meaning in a human life is conditioned by time; an idea which has so far not been sufficiently considered. Firstly, Susan Wolf's approach is presented, in which meaning is understood to be comple- tely "timeless". Next, based on considerations by Cheshire Calhoun and Antti Kauppinen, it is discussed why and how one should include temporal aspects so that one obtains an understanding of meaning that is "time-relative". Lastly, a concept of meaning that is "time-constituted" is outlined, which makes clear that a temporal reference structure is a condition for all meaning in life.