Finding a Subjective Meaning in Life. In the opening paragraph of The Myth of Sisyphus Albert Camus states, Judging

Transcription

1 Finding a Subjective Meaning in Life In the opening paragraph of The Myth of Sisyphus Albert Camus states, Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. (Camus 1955, 3) In this essay Camus discusses whether it is possible to say that life has no meaning but is still worth living. In this paper I will argue that even though life is meaningless, as humans we project a subjective meaning onto life that exists only on a level the individual can see and understand. In Meaning in Life and Why it Matters Susan Wolf calls this idea the Fulfillment View and argues that this in fact does not give meaning to a person s life. In order to answer the question of whether life is worth living one must first look at how life is in fact meaningless. Human lives are meaningless when seen on a scale compared to the infinitely large universe over the infinitely long period of time that the universe has and will exist. Everything we do in life will mean absolutely nothing in the future when human life ceases to exist. Robert Solomon raises this point in his book, Dark Feelings, Grim Thoughts: Experience and Reflection in Camus and Sarte, we are all going to die, and our projects, our good deeds, and our reputations will die with us, or soon after (Solomon 2006, 35). This then raises the question of should we even bother living then? The answer to that question is in fact yes, humans do have a reason to continue living. Humans are able to project a subjective meaning onto their lives that give them a reason to live. As human we are able to find an activity or project that provides us with a feeling of fulfillment or accomplishment in our lives that provides a personal meaning to life. While in the scale of the entire universe that activity is still meaningless all that matters is the individual scale where each person personally decides

2 that an activity is fulfilling enough to provide meaning, or a reason to live. The activity that a person chooses does not matter as long as the individual decides that it means enough to continue living. The activity could be sitting around doing Sudoku s, or cooking food for the homeless. The activity could also be in loving another person, as long as the individual places enough personal importance on the activity and is able to gain a sense of fulfillment. This activity does not have to be lifelong either. A person can have one activity that provides them with a sense of fulfillment and give them a reason to live for a part of their life, but that activity could change. As humans we are always changing, our ideas, our opinions, always adjusting as we move through our lives. It stands, therefore, that our interests and our desires will change too. As our interests change, then our activity that gives us reason to live may also change. Leading a meaningful life is not about finding one project that you love and only staying with that project, it is about finding what provides you with the greatest sense of fulfillment at every moment of your life. In his essay Camus uses Sisyphus as a prime example of someone finding a reason to live, and enjoying it, in a meaningless task and life. Sisyphus is forced to roll the rock uphill only for it to roll back down, a completely meaningless task. Camus imagines that Sisyphus is happy though. While this is a poor example based on the fact that this is for eternity for Sisyphus and that he is not choosing to do the task but being forced too, the idea of rolling a rock uphill everyday only for it to roll back down, can be used as an example of finding a reason to live even through a meaningless task. If Sisyphus was mortal and he was choosing to roll the rock with his own free will then this meaningless task would be enough to give Sisyphus reason to

3 live. The key point however is that Sisyphus has to enjoy the task and it would then give him a sense of fulfillment in his life which is enough to give him a reason to live. In a piece entitled, Meaning in Life and Why it Matters Susan Wolf directly attacks what she calls, the Fulfillment view as an incorrect way to find meaning in life. Wolf raises the argument that if all that matters in determining meaning in one s life is a subjective quality like enjoyment then it should not matter what activity provides that sense of fulfillment and enjoyment. Wolf then claims that while some activities could provide fulfillment they would be deemed worthless by others and therefore not good enough to provide meaning (Wolf 2010, 15-16). Wolf looks at Sisyphus as a prime example of how a task can provide fulfillment but still be pointless and not suitable to provide meaning. To make her point Susan Wolf uses Richard Taylor s thought experiment to change the idea of Sisyphus to fit the Fulfillment view. Wolf assumes that Sisyphus was somehow changed to actually enjoy the task of rolling the rock, so he gains a sense of fulfillment from the activity. Wolf argues that even though Sisyphus is no longer bored and enjoying his work, because the task is still pointless and nothing ever comes of his work then his task is still not a good enough meaning in life (Wolf 2010, 17). In another piece entitled, Happiness and Meaning Two Aspects of the Good Life, Wolf states that, meaningful lives are lives of active engagements in projects of worth (Wolf 1997, 209). In the story of Sisyphus while he is actively engaged in his project, he is excited and involved in it, the project is not of any worth. In Susan Wolf s mind nothing actually comes of the rolling of the rock, it affects no one so therefore it is not a meaningful life. Wolf states that a meaningful life must involve an active engagement in a project of worth. While that is correct, where Wolf goes wrong is how she defines a project of worth.

4 Wolf claims that a project of worth has to be decided worthwhile objectively and cannot be determined subjectively by the person participating in the activity (Wolf 1197, 209). As already determined, everything we as humans do is meaningless in the realm of the universe and time as a whole. That means that objectively, from the outside looking in, everything is meaningless. Therefore meaning must come from within, it must be subjective. Attempting to find meaning in one s life is finding a reason to live; this implies that the meaning only has to be worthwhile to the individual. The worth of one s project is also determined within or subjectively, unlike what Wolf claims. The individual determines if a project is of any worth. If a person decides an activity is worthwhile then that activity is enough to make a meaningful life, or a life worth living. An activity that Wolf views as not worthwhile now because others deem in not worthwhile may change in the future because society changes. This means that if a person pursued an activity that currently no one else in the world would deem worthwhile would make that life meaningless. However if somewhere in the future, others begin to deem that activity as worthwhile the life becomes meaningful. Susan Wolf attempts to claim that the subjective view of society can determine whether a life is meaningful. Susan Wolf points to the myth of Sisyphus as an example of a meaningless life. Assuming that Sisyphus was somehow changed and now enjoys and receives a sense of fulfillment from rolling the rock, the task is still pointless and nothing comes of it which according to Wolf makes it meaningless. The task is not pointless to Sisyphus however and on a personal level something does come out of the rolling of the rock, a sense of fulfillment and a reason to live. Wolf assumes that others must think a life is worthwhile for that life to actually be meaningful, she specifically asks about Sisyphus, The question is, what should we think of

5 him (Wolf 2010, 17)? She fails to grasp that leading a meaningful life is not determined by someone on the outside looking it. A meaningful life is an internal, subjective idea, determined by the person living the life. Susan Wolf implies that the task must contribute something to someone else in order for it to be meaningful. While in the present someone may gain something from Wolf s interpretation, in the realm of eternity both lives are going to contribute the same thing, nothing. So it does not matter if Sisyphus s rock rolling contributes to anyone else s life, it provides him with enjoyment and a sense of fulfillment which is reason enough to keep living. The easiest way to see this is to compare the lives of two people, someone Susan Wolf would agree led a meaningful life and someone who led a meaningless life. In Happiness and Meaning Wolf states that Albert Einstein led a meaningful life (Wolf 1997, 209). On the other hand, in Meaning in Life Wolf states that someone that lives to make handwritten copies of War and Peace lives a meaningless life (Wolf 2010, 16). In the future when the human race no longer exists, all of the contributions that Albert Einstein made to society will be equal to the contributions made by the one who only made copies of War and Peace. That raises the question, why is Einstein s life meaningful but the copiers not? If handwriting copies of some novel can provide the same sense of fulfillment and contributing some new invention to society and the only difference is that other people may be affect by one and not the other then both lives are meaningful, to the individual. Wolf points to the fact that others would not see Sisyphus s life of constantly rolling the rock as proof that his life is meaningless. What she fails to take into account is the fact that most people would not enjoy rolling the rock, therefore they would not choose that life in the

6 first place. Wolf further states about Sisyphus, Something desirable seems missing from his life despite his experience of fulfillment (Wolf 2010, 18). Once again she is looking at his life from the outside when finding a reason to live is a very personal quest and takes place inside one s mind. It is impossible to say that Sisyphus would be missing something in his life by looking at his life from an outsider s point of view. Albert Camus believed that the most important philosophical question was whether life was worth living. He questioned whether it was possible to say that life has no meaning yet is worth living. We can understand how life is meaningless when seen in the realm of the entire universe and the eternity of time. What we do now will not matter far in the future when human life ceases to exist. However, life is still worth living because as humans we naturally assign our own subjective meaning onto our lives which gives us a reason to live. We find a task that we love to do and can provide us with a feeling of fulfillment and accomplishment and those feelings give us a meaningful life. This activity is determined within and is subjective. Susan Wolf calls this idea the Fulfillment view and believes that living that type of life is not necessarily leading a meaningful life. She believes that to lead a meaningful life one must find a project that is seen as objectively meaningful, it cannot be only subjectively meaningful. It must be actively engaging and worthwhile, which to her means it has to affect someone besides the individual. However because objectively, in the long term both tasks become meaningless the meaning must be subjective. Humans apply their own meaning to a meaningless life that gives them reason to live.

7 Bibliography Camus, Albert The Myth of Sisyphus. United States: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Wolf, Susan Meaning in Life and Why it Matter. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Solomon, Robert Dark Feelings, Grim Thoughts Experience and Reflection in Camus and Sarte. New York: Oxford University Press. Wolf Susan Happiness and Meaning: Two Aspects of the Good Life, Social Philosophy and Policy 14: