The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material WorldA noted philosopher proposes a naturalistic (rather than supernaturalistic) way to solve the "really hard problem": how to live in a meaningful way—how to live a life that really matters—even as a finite material being living in a material world. If consciousness is "the hard problem" in mind science—explaining how the amazing private world of consciousness emerges from neuronal activity—then "the really hard problem," writes Owen Flanagan in this provocative book, is explaining how meaning is possible in the material world. How can we make sense of the magic and mystery of life naturalistically, without an appeal to the supernatural? How do we say truthful and enchanting things about being human if we accept the fact that we are finite material beings living in a material world, or, in Flanagan's description, short-lived pieces of organized cells and tissue? Flanagan's answer is both naturalistic and enchanting. We all wish to live in a meaningful way, to live a life that really matters, to flourish, to achieve eudaimonia—to be a "happy spirit." Flanagan calls his "empirical-normative" inquiry into the nature, causes, and conditions of human flourishing eudaimonics. Eudaimonics, systematic philosophical investigation that is continuous with science, is the naturalist's response to those who say that science has robbed the world of the meaning that fantastical, wishful stories once provided. Flanagan draws on philosophy, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and psychology, as well as on transformative mindfulness and self-cultivation practices that come from such nontheistic spiritual traditions as Buddhism, Confucianism, Aristotelianism, and Stoicism, in his quest. He gathers from these disciplines knowledge that will help us understand the nature, causes, and constituents of well-being and advance human flourishing. Eudaimonics can help us find out how to make a difference, how to contribute to the accumulation of good effects—how to live a meaningful life. |
From inside the book
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Meaning in a Material World Owen Flanagan. to Güven Güzeldere and David Wong , dear friends and spiritually advanced natural philosophers Contents Acknowledgments Introduction xi ix 1 Meaningful and Enchanted Lives.
... Lives : A Threat from the Human Sciences ? 1 2 Finding Meaning in the Natural World : The Comparative Consensus 37 3 Science for Monks : Buddhism and Science 63 4 Normative Mind Science ? Psychology , Neuroscience , and the Good Life ...
... live , and how it flows , how it connects to itself , is what makes me who I am . Meaning , if there is such a thing , is a matter of whether and how things add up in the greater scheme of things . Meaning , unlike consciousness , is ...
... live a meaningful life . But it is not clear that any of these stories give us insight , let alone an answer , to the question of what a truly meaningful life is or might be . We can imagine respectable answers to the first two ...
... to embrace fantastical stories - unbecoming to historically mature beings— about our nature and prospects to make it so . All Saints ' Day ( November 1 ) , 2006 The Really Hard Problem 1 Meaningful and Enchanted Lives : Introduction xiii.
Contents
1 | |
The Comparative Consensus | 37 |
Buddhism and Science | 63 |
4 Normative Mind Science? Psychology Neuroscience and the Good Life | 107 |
5 Neuroscience Happiness and Positive Illusions | 149 |
6 Spirituality Naturalized? A Strong Cat without Claws | 183 |
Notes | 221 |
Bibliography | 265 |
Index | 285 |