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
Results 1-5 of 53
... religion , and what is nowadays called " positive psychology . " Anthropology , sociol- ogy , and economics are also major contributors to this exercise in eudai- monics , the attempt to say something naturalistic and systematic about ...
... religious thoughts , I comforted myself with the notion that God — if he existed — would not punish me for seeking the truth . I no longer believe in God , at least not the kind of God that I was taught to believe in . But I maintain ...
... religious practices and institutions , theol- ogies , and such non - theistic spiritual conceptions as ethical naturalism , secular humanism , pagan shamanism , Confucianism , Buddhism , and Sto- icism . The basic idea is that in order ...
... religion. Indeed, there is a whole publishing industry devoted to the conflicts between science and religion. But the places in which people find dis-ease among the spaces of meaning involve more than just science and religion. I know ...
... religion and science. There is much recent interesting work in anthropology about the ways in which television engenders and reinforces everything from one's self- conception as a citizen to appropriate gender roles. (See Abu-Lughod ...
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 |