ادموند هوسرل، فیلسوف سرشناس معاصر، با تکیه بر حیث التفاتی آگاهی، روش نوین پدیدارشناسی استعلایی را در فلسفه غرب مطرح کرد. طبق این روش، بر خلاف تجربه‌باوران، حقیقت نه ریشه در تجربه‌های حسی از جهان فیزیکی دارد، نه از عناصر متافیزیکی برمی‌خیزد، بلکه امری است که پیشاروی آگاهی قرار گرفته و متعلَّق آن به حساب می‌آید. در این فرایند، جهان فیزیکی به تعلیق درمی‌آید و آنچه باقی می‌ماند آگاهی و تجربۀ التفاتی و ایدئال از ذات اشیاء است. از این رو، (...) جهان آن گونه که بر آگاهی پدیدار می‌شود معیار حقیقت خواهد بود. از نظر او، تنها راه تبدیل شدن فلسفه به علمی متقن و به تبع آن رهایی از بحران جهان معاصر و دست‌یابی به عالم زندگیِ مطلوب به‌کارگیری روش پدیدارشناسی استعلایی است. هوسرل پرسش از معنای زندگی را به شکل مستقیم مورد بررسی قرار نداده، اما چشم‌انداز نوینی را برای عالم زندگی تصویر کرده است. طبق این نگرش نوین، که در پژوهش حاضر تحلیل خواهد شد، زندگی آن گونه که بر ما پدیدار شده و شهود بی‌واسطه از آن داریم، حقیقتی استعلایی است که بر بستر عقلانیت می‌تواند افق نوینی را برایمان بگشاید. (shrink)

Purpose. The paper considered the explication of the concept of "Sinn des Lebens" within the framework of Western philosophy and psychology of the ХІХ-ХХІ centuries. On the basis of this, the role of this concept in contemporary theoretical discussions and psychological and psychotherapeutic practices is understood. Theoretical basis. The authors believe that understanding the concept of "Sinn des Lebens" is possible only based on the synthesis of modern analytical philosophy methods with the methodological guidelines of modern psychology, in particular logotherapy. (...) Originality. The authors have proved that the problem of "meaning of life" is not an "eternal problem" of philosophy, but arises only in the early nineteenth century as a reflection on European secularization and widespread individualistic values and becomes extremely relevant gaining different interpretations at the beginning of the twentieth century based on the crisis of the sensory values of modern man. Conclusions. The concept of "Sinn des Lebens" originated in the philosophy of the German Romantics and gained philosophical significance only in the works by Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. Russian philosophy and literature give priority to the meaning of life in ethical and anthropological studies, focusing on its religious intentions. Analytical philosophy and existentialism appear to be diametrically opposed to the life-purpose anthropological problems, but they attempt to solve this problem by understanding the absurdity of human existence and language from different angles of view. The most reasonable concept of meaning in psychology can be considered Frankl’s logotherapy, which, despite certain drawbacks, remains the most significant in modern Western psychology. Modern philosophical studies on the problems of the meaning of life, despite their prudent analyticity and systematic nature, have not found credible criteria and means of human life self-reflection yet and have further incentives to develop their methodological and philosophical considerations. However, the diversity of interpretations of the concept of "meaning of life" that exists in modern scientific literature needs further reflection. (shrink)

In this critical notice of Clifford Williams’ Religion and the meaning of life, I focus on his argumentation in favour of the moderate supernaturalist position that, while a meaningful life would be possible in a purely physical world, a much greater meaning would be possible only in a world with God and an eternal afterlife spent close to God. I begin by expounding and evaluating Williams’ views of the physical sources of meaning, providing reason to doubt both that he has (...) captured all the central ones and that he has provided the right explanation of why we ought to care about them. Then I address Williams’ account of why God would greatly enhance the meaning of our lives, arguing that, if God could do so, then God could by the same token reduce their meaning as well, such that it is unclear that a world with God would offer a net gain in meaning. Finally, I take up Williams’ position that an eternal afterlife with God would greatly enhance the meaning of our lives, contending that, if it would do so, then it would to such an enormous degree as to make it hard to capture the intuition that a meaningful life would be possible in a purely physical world. (shrink)

In this article, part of a special issue on meaning in life and medical ethics, I argue that several issues encountered in a bioethical context are not adequately addressed only with values such as morality and welfare. I maintain, more specifically, that the value of what makes a life meaningful is essential to being able to provide conclusive judgements about which decisions to make. After briefly indicating how meaningfulness differs from rightness and happiness, I point out how it is plausibly (...) central to making decisions in six ‘life and death’ matters. My aim is not to draw any firm conclusions about what to do when it comes to these topics, but rather to show that in order to arrive at any, one cannot plausibly ignore the category of life’s meaning that has, until recently, been nearly absent from Western bioethics since its inception. (shrink)