Remember to open your AUTHOR invitations before they expire. If you've not yet requested an AUTHOR invitation, do so before leaving class today. Exam 2 is Dec 2. See Audio Review below.
Setiya, L is H
- The question of absurdity is about what? 148
- Why isn't "42" a good answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything? 151-2
- What did Samuel Scheffler say about "the afterlife"? What's "the Alvy Singer problem"? 161-3
- What does Rebecca Solnit say about the relation between hope and action? 175
- What did Seamus Heaney say about the relation between hope and history? 182
Final report blogpost - due Dec 5
OPEN YOUR EMAIL AUTHOR INVITATION, then look for the NEW POST tab in the upper right on our blogsite (do NOT create a new blog, post your final report on our site)... The topic should complement, clarify, and elaborate on some central aspect of your final presentation. Share and defend your own view(s), if you have any. Try to imagine what your best critic would say, and how you'd respond. Address one or more of your discussion questions.... Aim for a minimum of 1,000 words... Include relevant links (at least half a dozen or so), video & textual embeds (a couple), and photos (one or two): let me know if you need instruction on how to do it... When referencing texts we've read in the course, cite page #s and abbreviations (LHP=Little History of Philosophy, LH=Life is Hard, SSHM-Sick Souls Healthy Minds, WGU=Why Grow Up, F=Fantasyland)... Make sure your post has formatted correctly. If not, use the Clear Formatting command in the toolbar in the upper right, above, to fix it... You can continue to edit and revise until the final draft is due...
How to prepare for an exam: RELAX, says WJ
If you want really to do your best in an examination, fling away the book the day before, say to yourself, “I won’t waste another minute on this miserable thing, and I don’t care an iota whether I succeed or not.” Say this sincerely, and feel it; and go out and play, or go to bed and sleep, and I am sure the results next day will encourage you to use the method permanently. --William James, “Gospel of Relaxation"
If you’ve been up all night cramming, in other words, good luck. You’ll need it. But if you’ve been diligent, have steeped yourself in the subject all semester long, and either went out to play or to an early bed the night before, your luck will be the residue of design. You’ll do fine. Relax. But don’t try too hard to relax. It is needless to say that that is not the way to do it. The way to do it, paradoxical as it may seem, is genuinely not to care whether you are doing it or not. Care later. On exam day just show up and do your best.
Setiya argues that the question “What is the meaning of life” often collapses under its own weight because people do not even agree on what “meaning” refers to. This helps explain why Douglas Adams’s answer of “42” is humorous rather than informative. The joke highlights the mismatch between the kind of answer we want and what the question can realistically deliver. A simple number cannot resolve the emotional or philosophical tension behind the question. Setiya suggests that the issue is not a hidden answer but a question that demands more than the universe is structured to provide.
ReplyDeleteSamuel Scheffler’s idea of the “collective afterlife” reframes how people think about meaning. He claims that much of what individuals value depends on the belief that humanity will continue after they are gone. Setiya relates this to the Alvy Singer problem in Annie Hall, where concern over the end of the universe undermines motivation. Scheffler’s point shows that meaning is often tied to an assumed future shared by others. Without that expectation, ordinary activities such as work or education lose much of their purpose. This emphasizes how human continuation shapes practical reasoning.
Rebecca Solnit describes hope as an attitude that enables action rather than a guarantee of positive outcomes. It involves recognizing uncertainty while still engaging in meaningful efforts. Seamus Heaney adds that hope has a historical dimension, suggesting that it can influence the direction of events through cumulative choices. Together, these perspectives frame hope as a motivating force rather than passive optimism. In the broader context of Setiya’s discussion of absurdity, these ideas imply that meaning may arise from ongoing participation in improving the future, even when the final result cannot be predicted.
Section 2
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't "42" a good answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything? 151-2
Though I confess I have not read Setiya’s work, I can offer my own perspective on the matter. The ultimate question, going off of the other replies, seems to be the age old “what is the meaning of life” and similarly purpose-oriented thoughts. From my current philosophical perspective, 42 is actually just about as good an answer as any one could give, because I see the entire dilemma as sort of fruitless. To explain, the question, from everyone who I have heard contemplate it, has arisen from some desire to be extraordinary in the universe, for themselves or at least all of humanity to be some sort of exception, have a mission. Whether that be for personal validation, fear of aimlessness, or something else, is up to the questioner, but all seem rooted in the desire to be part of something important. Since I view importance as a construct of perspective and, therefore, not a quality something in the universe can objectively take on like it could density, color, or shape, I do not believe humans to be an exception. Our lives, to me, are entirely meaningless and without intention beyond that which we formulate for ourselves. Many take this perspective to be hopeless or depressing, but I love the notion. It takes the spotlight away from humans and lets wonder permeate every part of the universe instead of just keeping all the specialness to ourselves. For this reason, and many others, I prefer to envision humanity, in objective terms, as no more or less significant than any other matter in the universe, and just as circumstantially present. It is not just preference, however, which led me to this perspective; in truth, the perspective and the preference grew in tandem as I began philosophizing. Imagining humans as I have described, 42 is indeed an arbitrary answer, but any answer under these assumptions and beliefs would be arbitrary because it asks a question about the nature of something which fundamentally does not exist (human purpose). If you instead reframe the question to ‘how best can I optimize fulfillment in life’ or something adjacent, then I would have at least more tangible roots to go off of. Fulfillment is a vague word; it could mean absolute happiness as much as physically possible, it could mean a steady sense of security, it could mean having accomplished your greatest desires, it could mean something else entirely, it could also mean all of the above and more. Defining that word may differ from person to person, and perhaps there is not a ‘one size fits all’ answer, but it would at least help to know what the person in question believes it is. In a way, this is what many Ancient Greek philosophers were attempting to answer, and the discourse and disagreements between them alone should speak volumes for the uncertainty of answering this question. Circling back, 42 would not be a good answer for this new question, given the fact that regardless of whether you believe life to have a greater, singular purpose, optimizing fulfillment is believed to have at least one answer by most people.
4. Solnit says hope is inseparable from action. She compares hope to an ax you break down doors with in an emergency.
ReplyDelete5. Hearney argues that while history is full of suffering, hope is a legitimate act of faith and the two ideas can coexist.