Meaning of Life

What was Lester's moral redemption?

Picture of Angela in roses signifies redemption (Christ pose). This suggests that morals bring meaning.

To what degree does human life resemble the glow worm's of that of Sisyphus?

Unlike sisyphus, we achieve things. Unlike the glow worm, we are conscious and have goals whose value we can judge.

Ethics of Absurdity

1. Dont commit suicide 2. embrace life in DEFIANCE of its meaninglessness 3. Remain fully conscious of life's meaninglessness and absurdity 4. live intensely

What are some unique modern problems to the problem of meaning of life?

1. Evolution and physics suggest that life was a cosmic accident so it takes away meaning 2. The unavoidability of suffering and death -Does death rob life of meaning? 3. Routine and Mechanical character -What's the point? 4. Personal crisis -death of loved one, divorce, illness, old age,etc.

Example of glow worm

worm is blind and traps prey caught in thread. The children eat the parents.

What awakening does Ricky have from watching the bag blow in the wind?

-awakening/overwhelmed in a good way -maybe religion?

Key Existentialist concepts

-radical freedom -alienation -despair -dread -consciousness -authenticity -existence preceeds essence

Why does Ricky film everything?

-wants to distract from his own life -to remember the beauty in the world -zooming and taping allow him to "look closer" to see the beauty in things

According to Epicuras, can death harm us?

1. Death cannot harm the living (since we are not dead yet) 2. Death cannot harm the dead (since there is nobody to harm) 3. Therefore, death cannot harm us

Question of the meaning of life can be asked at three levels. What are they?

1. Does the universe have meaning? 2. Does human existence (or life in general) have meaning? 3. Does my life have meaning?

Nagel's responses to why we think life is meaningless

1. If this were true, then it doesn't matter if it doesn't matter because it won't matter later. 2. Suppose we live forever, time is irrelevant to meaning. What does it matter if we do it for 70 years or forever? 3. Our justifications for pursuing various things comes to an end within our lives, not outside of them. (Context)

Any theory of life's meaning must satisfy two conditions:

1. It must be compatible with reason 2. The meaning must survive death

Attitudes toward life

1. Live in ignorance of problem of meaning of life 2. Be aware of the problem but try to maximize pleasure 3. Admit that life is meaningless and commit suicide 4. Admit life's meaninglessness but continue to live aimlessly

What is not essential to faith?

1. Not a matter of accepting divine revelation (scripture) 2. Not a trust in the word of God 3. Not simply a belief in things unseen 4. Not a matter of accepting certain propositions about the existence of God, an afterlife, heaven, etc.

What makes Sisyphus' Life meaningless?

1. Not the fact that he works really hard 2. Not the fact that he suffers any torture or pain 3. Not that his struggles continue forever 4. It is that the work of pushing a stone up a hill is pointless. *Taylor believes that the only purpose of life is to produce more life. It is the cycle of nature life.*

Thomas Nagel's perspective on reasons why we think life is meaningless

1. Nothing we do now will matter in a million years 2. Human beings are tiny specks in an infinite vastness of time and space 3. Since death is inevitable, life is an elaborate journey leading to nowhere (Like Tolstoy says death robs life of meaning)

Three ways of posing the question of human existence:

1. Purpose or point (goal) 2. Value 3. Signify (meaning)

Questions asked by Tolstoy:

1. What is the meaning of life? 2. What will come of my life? 3. Why does everything exist?

What makes Sisyphus a hero? (3)

1. his passion for life 2. his defiance of the gods 3. his hatred of death *He is conscious and accepts meaninglessness*

Two objections to Tolstoy's theory:

1. these values he chooses seem arbitrary. -why do these values uniquely survive death? -why these values and not some other set? 2. Why should we think that in order to have a meaningful life, it should survive death?

Absurdity vs meaninglessness

Absurdity -we demand objective meaning from a objectively meaningless universe -absurdity requires consciousness (this is why animals' lives are meaningless. They are unaware that their life can have meaning)

What are some of the existential themes in the movie?

Alienation -scenes at dinner table -Ricky's family Despair and Powerlessness -Mrs. Fitts -Lester spilling briefcase -Angela admits she's a virgin Rebllion/Revolt -Lester with job and marriage Fascination with death -dead bird -homeless lady freezing to death -Lester dying Escape from freedom -characters hide the truth about themselves and refuse to accept responsibility for their identity Self-deception -Ricky's identity to dad -Frank and his sexuality the absurd -Carolyn thinks being a successful realtor gives her life meaning but from our perspective, her life is meaningless. She has great despair when the world is not how she expects it. Live life for own sake -Lester's final message

Why does he think that life is a mean trick?

All going to end in the grave; seems meaningful until death; life deceives us

What was Albert Camus' idea?

Believed that the greatest sin against life is hoping for another one and not looking at the good things in your life. We demand something more from the universe than subjective meaning. We demand objective meaning but there is none.

Possible solutions to paradox

Camus claims that it is not a tragic life that makes it meaningful but it is worthwhile or valuable.

Paradox of ethics of absurdity

Camus seems to find meaning in meaninglessness of life

Myth of Sisyphus (Camus)

Camus' model of an absurd hero-follows the ethics of absurdity

What does Tolstoy mean by saying that a "person can live so long as he is drunk"?

Drunk on life, but it is all a deception

What is the central theme of American Beauty?

Genuine beauty is hidden and can only be discovered if you "look closer"-it is not on the surface

Why does Lester feel grateful if he thinks his life is "stupid"?

He feels grateful for moments in his life but those moments do not serve a larger purpose. He thinks that life as a whole is objectively meaningless but subjectively meaningful.

What does Tolstoy mean by he suffered an arrest of life?

His life changes dramatically; stopped living like he originally did

Examples of obsession with images and identity in the movie:

Most of the characters are struggling with an identity crisis. The movie stresses distinction between the image we project onto the world and our true selves. -Ricky's identity with father -Angela's sexual experience -Carolyn projecting success and happiness

Nagel on absurdity of human existence

Nagel -there are two viewpoints: subjective and objective perspectives -Subjective: occupy most of time immersed in daily lives -Objective: all eternity (God's eye) *these two viewpoints collide within us and that's what makes life absurd. It is absurd that we ignore doubts that we know cannot be settled.

According to Lucretius, does death rob life of meaning?

No, because if we didn't worry about it during our preexistence, then why would we worry it in our post existence?

Two kinds of meaning: Objective and Subjective

Objective -meaning comes from outside the individual -universal Subjective -meaning comes from individual -may differ between people

Can there be objective meaning in a Godless universe?

Plato's moral question: Are morals good because God commands them or does he command them because they are good? Response: If they are good because he commands them, then they are arbitrary. If he commands them because they are good, then God's commands are irrelevant

Evaluating Camus' theory of meaning:

Positive -it is life affirming -self-empowering and existentialism Negative -The idea that life is only worthwhile if it is tragic seems bleak, pessimistic, and overly romanticized -He claims we should be defiant, but what if there is no God? Whom should we defy? -Ethics of Absurdity is very general and doesn't tell one how they should live

Precept vs Proposition

Precept- rule or command for how one should act Proposition- statement of fact (not necessarily true)

Which faith does Tolstoy adopt?

Preceptual-precepts he adopts are associated with many religions (especially Christianity)- Be humble, be kind, be charitable, love thy neighbor, live for others

Propositional Faith vs Preceptual Faith

Propositional Faith -what is crucial to faith is a set of propositions about the existence of God, heaven, an afterlife, etc. Perceptual Faith -what is crucial to faith is a set of moral precepts or values

Name the characters in American Beauty

Ricky Fitts Frank Fitts Angela Hayes Jane Burnham Carolyn Burnham Lester Burnham (the everyman)

How does Tolstoy interpret the fable of the dragon in the well?

Sees death coming, but he can no longer enjoy the enjoyable things in life

Can one "live without appeal"?

Self-deception; think deserve a better life (religious faith)--> afterlife; life should be lived for own sake or not at all. Religion negates or devalues the life you have.

Compare and contrast Camus and Taylor's theories of meaning

Similarities -both think life is objectively meaningless Differences -Camus thinks that the fact that life lacks objective meaning is a cause for despair -Taylor disagrees. He thinks that it is a blessing that subjective meaning comes from the individual

When Lester dies, what does he say he remembered the most?

Simple things in life are beautiful. Meaning comes from the individual.

How does Lester's awakening compare to that of Tolstoy's "arrest of life"?

Step 1: Progresses to adolescence (working at fast food, driving red car) events that led to step one: meeting Angela and Ricky and losing job Step 2: Discovers the meaning in life and moral responsibilities events that led to step two: looking at photo of family and Angela telling him she is a virgin

What was Camus' mistake with absurdity?

The world does not meet our demands/expectations. Nagel believes in ourselves, not the world.

Why does Tolstoy think that faith is irrational?

There is no proof, it is just a belief. He thinks religion is just soothing.

Tolstoy's dilemma:

accept reason and deny life's meaning OR embrace faith and deny reason *Came to realize that faith and reason are not necessarily incompatible*

Evaluating Taylor's theory

attractive features -gives individual freedom to determine their life's meaning AND this can change over time Problem -it makes nonsense of our value judgments. We tend to think some lives are more objectively meaningful than others. (Ex. Mother Theresa vs serial killer)

Has Ricky discovered the true meaning of life?

his meaning is the beauty he observes

Evaluating Tolstoy's theory:

it seems to describe how many people live: they believe in God but still try to adhere to a moral code which they regard as objective

Taylor's Radical Subjectivism

person can make own meaning of life. Life is objectively meaningless but there is no need for despair because objective meaning is irrelevent.

name some examples of hidden beauty in the film

plastic bag video Jane Lester's death relationship between Ricky and Frank

Compare and Contrast Tolstoy and Camus' theories

similarities 1. Both stress theme of self-deception 2. both appeal to ethical code (Tolstoy-moral precepts related to christianity and Camus- ethics of absurdity) 3. they both worry that life lacks objective meaning in absence of God Differences -Camus thinks that human existence is both meaningless and absurd -Camus would criticize Tolstoy's appeal to faith-form of self-deception -Tolstoy would criticize Camus' ethics of absurdity because it does not survive death

How could we modify Sisyphus' life to make it meaningful?

suppose the gods made Sisyphus desire rolling the stone. From our perspective, nothing has changed because only his attitude (subjective perspective) has changes. But from his perspective, his life is now filled with meaning.

What makes Sisyphus' life meaningful?

tragedy, transforms life into something greater

What is the negative aspectof Ricky taping everything?

voyeuristic-not living life for himself, but watching other lives and treating them as objects