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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... reasons for expanding the dialectical space from two spaces of meaning to at least six: (1) The dominant form of dyadic analysis is to examine the conflict between science and religion. Indeed, there is a whole publishing industry ...
... reason is that it is an occupational hazard that comes from thinking , following Sellars , that this is our voca- tion.1o Philosophers aside , the claim is that the shape of perfectly ordinary lives is affected typically by commerce ...
... reason for broadening the scope of inquiry from a conflict between two images or spaces of meaning, science and religion, to six (or more) deserves emphasis, since from this point forward I will largely assume it. The reason has to do ...
... reason is that no one deems each equally significant to finding his way. Especially in the West, where no one needs to live in absolute poverty and where communication media are intrusive and speak about all these forms of life and all ...
... reason is doubly principled : Many of the relations explored are not explored causally ( the relation in which science excels ) . A good love song can make you feel love , but it never does so by getting into the " pheromonics " and the ...
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 |