What is the meaning of life? That age old, philosophical cliché has had no shortage of answers but what if there isn’t one? What if life is pointless? Philosopher Rivka Weinberg presents a compelling argument for the pointlessness of life which I explore in this episode. But don't be alarmed, there is a bright side! (Spoiler alert: there may not be a bright side).
We explore
The myth of Sisyphus
The journal of controversial ideas
The notions of telic and atelic meaning
Why a valued end can only be external to an enterprise
Why life can have no ultimate meaning
Why an afterlife doesn’t change anything
Why goals give us an illusory sense of purpose
Are you making a categorical error by asking the question: what is the meaning of life?
Why the scale of the universe does not diminish our significance
The importance of everyday meaning
Why we are better off forgetting the question
Whether it is right or wrong to live a pointless life
We’re here, now what?
The ultimate choice
Show Notes
The Myth of Sisyphus
Weinberg, R. (2021). Ultimate Meaning: We don’t have it, we can’t get it, and we should be very, very sad. Journal of controversial ideas, 1(1), 4.
Making Sense Podcast 245 – Can we talk about scary ideas?
Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World - Iddo Landau, 2017
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