Does “A Well-Lived Life” Have Meaning?

_{Barry Arrington

March 16, 2009

Intelligent Design}

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Charles Murray recently recounted an experience in Europe:

Last April I had occasion to speak in Zurich, where I made some of these same points. After the speech, a few of the twenty-something members of the audience approached and said plainly that the phrase “a life well-lived” did not have meaning for them. They were having a great time with their current sex partner and new BMW and the vacation home in Majorca, and saw no voids in their lives that needed filling.

It was fascinating to hear it said to my face, but not surprising. It conformed to both journalistic and scholarly accounts of a spreading European mentality. Let me emphasize “spreading.” I’m not talking about all Europeans, by any means. That mentality goes something like this: Human beings are a collection of chemicals that activate and, after a period of time, deactivate. The purpose of life is to while away the intervening time as pleasantly as possible.

Today’s class assignment: Comments should start with one of two statements, either: (1) “The mentality Murray describes is true, because . . .” or (2) “The mentality Murray describes is false, because . . .” Obviously, what you write after “because” will the only interesting part of your comment.

Comments

(1) “The mentality Murray describes is true, because . . .”
...having great sex, driving one of the best cars in the world in one of the best climates in the world has a lot more going for it than most religions - and there are some televangelical so-called Christians who seem to agree, as well.Seversky_{March 16, 2009
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I googled the phrase "well lived life" in an attempt to answer the question. I got a book from House and Garden, Tuscan recipes, hynobirthing, great pastrami, gestalt therapy, and this post. So I'm going to have to ask for a little more clarity on what Murray thinks a well lived life is. (But I'm sure great pastrami is part of it!)Pendulum_{March 16, 2009
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Domoman, you added an "if" to the described "mentality" that isn't there. The statement does not ask IF the second statement follows from the first. It asks if the two statements are true. And, as both DanSLO and I have pointed out, it is not clear at all what kind of "truth" the two statements are asking about. How do you go about determining whether someone's "purpose" is true or not? If someone say this is what I believe my purpose is, in what way can you say that isn't? You can say that you don't think that they have a good purpose, which is a value judgment; or you might say you don't think they really know what their purpose is, in which case you have a psychological issue about the person's self awareness. So I still think that Barry's issue, as stated, is unclear.hazel_{March 16, 2009
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That would include deleting yourself, Clive.David Kellogg_{March 16, 2009
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Barry, would you like me to delete every comment that doesn't start with your introductory directive?Clive Hayden_{March 16, 2009
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.. or does it mean that if you lost your faith, you think that you'd lose your morals, and act completely differently?On The Rock_{March 16, 2009
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Domoman, by your reasoning, a good person who is moral and cares, cannot be an atheist, and is actually lying if they say that they are. Is this what you think?On The Rock_{March 16, 2009
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Why is this being referred to as a "European" mentality? Epicureanism, which seems to be what the author is referring to, dates back to ancient Greece. Also, the question posed at the end is rather silly. I couldn't tell if the author is talking about whether or not this mentality is prevalent or whether it has merit. If the latter, isn't it an individual's choice what the meaning of their life is, so what is the point of asking whether or not this philosophy is valid in a universal sense?DanSLO_{March 16, 2009
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“The mentality Murray describes is true, because . . .” if life is only chemicals simply activating and then deactivating, then life serves no true purpose. If this is all there is, whatever enjoyment we might get out of life, whether by helping the poor or molesting little children, is all pointless. And yes, you did read that right. I believe that, if atheism is true, then whether you get enjoyment out of, say, giving money to the poor, or raping somebody, both actions are of equal worthlessness and thus have no moral value. In fact, I believe that if atheism is true, then nothing matters at all and there can be no such thing as morals. All life, all human beings, will end in death, so everything is equal to just that: death. So all actions equal the same thing. There is no better, or higher way of life. Perhaps there is a way that prolongs life (the things that most consider "good"), but death is still inevitable, so nothing matters. So, "good" = death, and "bad" = death. You might as well do what you want, whether its deemed by society to be "good" or "bad". This of course, does ultimately lead to the conclusion that such actions, such as those of Hitler, were not really bad or good, they simply just were. They were amoral. And yes, I absolutely believe, and have felt myself, that when life is looked upon as a mere fluke or accident, just about all of my joy is literally sucked away. So, if those Europeans happen to find themselves privileged, as far as their general life goes, but can find no justification for existing in the first place (that is, they view life as the result of an accident), I can surely see how they are not satisfied. Nihilism is lame. lolDomoman_{March 16, 2009
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I also find it hard to use your starting phraise. Is "the mentality Murray describes" that of "who cares", or of "a need for meaning?" Alas, I have studied Victor Frankel, author of "Logo Therapy". He, a psychiatrist, was stuck in the Nazi consentration camps. In this environment, he chose to notice those who were able to survive the horror, and those who withered under its pressure. He found that those who found ways to be altruistic within that environment were best protected from the emotional damage of the event. He saw some prisoners even give up their scrap of daily bread to give to someone that they had grown to care about. The one who loved seemed to respond better than those who ate the food. I find the topic of altruism to be quite intriguing from an evolutionary standpoint. How, why, would a neo-Darwinian model ever develop true altruism. If true altruism exists, I think that it deeply challenges the Darwinian model. I find it very clear that altruism exists in humanity. I have heard of stories of altruism in the animal kingdom as well -- porpoises guiding ships, human babies raised by wolves, etc. I also personally seek, and feel rewarded, to live a life of meaning, of altruism.bFast_{March 16, 2009
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There are two problems here:
The purpose of life is to while away the intervening time as pleasantly as possible.
I think the statement is poorly constructed. "While away...pleasantly" is constructed to give the impression of laziness or nihilism. I think it would be better worded as "The purpose of life is to go about our lives as peacefully as possible." Constructed like that, I think it is a statement that doesn't lead the listener to a particular judgement and would garner almost universal support. The second problem is that Murray was talking to 20-somethings. For all their pretensions, very few 20-somethings are really mature adults. Catch up with those same kids 20 years from now and ask them again. Life, in all it's pain and glory, has a way of making you realize what really is important and it isn't German engineering.specs_{March 16, 2009
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Barry writes, “Today’s class assignment: Comments should start with one of two statements, either: (1) “The mentality Murray describes is true, because . . .” or (2) “The mentality Murray describes is false, because . . .” “ As a teacher, I have to say this is a poorly worded question. The phrase in question contains a number of points - what if one thinks that part of it is true and part is not? And what do you mean by true? The truth of the first sentence can be investigated somewhat objectively, but the second is a value judgment. We might investigate whether it is true whether lots of people actually agree with that statement, but that is very different from investigating whether it is actually true that the “purpose of life is to while away the intervening time as pleasantly as possible.”hazel_{March 16, 2009
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Four extra-credit questions, class: Are "while away" and "pleasantly" a little bit contradictory? What ever happened to, "This life rocks; let's make the most of it!" Do we "while away the time" on a roller coaster? Or in a movie theater? Or while playing a video game? Could Charles Murray just be depressed?DarelRex_{March 16, 2009
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(3) The mentality of this exercise needs some improvement. Please define "Well-Lived". I would expect residents of different parts of the world to have different mentalities, behaviours and lifestyles. All matter is a collection of chemicals. The only purpose of any form of life, is to exist and then to not exist. Some will pass genetic information along in the form of offspring. Meaning or purpose is irrelevant, it is a human construct. Does a "Not so well-lived" life have less meaning or purpose? It existed, then it didn't, and may or may not have passed on its genetic information.On The Rock_{March 16, 2009
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