Total Presentation - Anthropology - Semester 3 PDF

The religious world Most societies, in most times of history, are religious – belief in some kind of divine reality – belief in some kind of life after death A new phenomenon in Modernity in the Western Civilization: Disenchantment – the supposed condition of the world once science and the Enlighten...

The religious world Most societies, in most times of history, are religious – belief in some kind of divine reality – belief in some kind of life after death A new phenomenon in Modernity in the Western Civilization: Disenchantment – the supposed condition of the world once science and the Enlightenment have eroded the sway of religion and the religious worldview (cf. Max Weber) Disenchantment One consequence of Disenchantment: – the impression that Life is in fact Meaningless – everything that gave life its meaning have been proved to be illusions Disenchantment Albert Camus: Life is absurd « There is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Deciding whether or not life is worth living is to answer the fundamental question in philosophy » Disenchantment But is that true? Assuming that there is no God and no life after death, does it follow that Life is meaningless? And why? What is meant by « meaning of life »? Another experience of Meaninglessness… in the Bible Book of Ecclesiastes, ch.1: 2. “Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” 3. What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? 8. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. 9. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 11. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them. Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? the general question: – what is it about the religious worldview that is supposed to confer life its meaning? – what do we mean by « meaning of life »? – conversely, what does the experience of meaninglessness correspond to? Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 1: purpose of our actions – if everything stops with death, then there is no point in doing anything, – therefore all actions are meaningless Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 1: purpose of our actions – famous exemple of a meaningless action: – Sisyphus eternally pushing the same rock up the same mountain Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 1: purpose of our actions – an action that can never reach its purpose is meaningless – and the purpose of an action lies in its future – therefore, if death suppresses all future, it renders all actions ultimately meaningless Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 1: purpose of our actions – what is lost in Disenchantmen is Eternal Life – and Eternal Life is required for Ultimate Purpose of our actions Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 2: Purpose of all things – if there is no creator and no providence organizing everything, then things happen by mere chance, they have no purpose – therefore the grand scheme of things is without any purpose, and my life as well within the universe is without an objective purpose Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 2: Purpose of all things – cognitive sciences of religion: children in all cultures, and adults with little education, prefer explanations of the world in terms of purpose and intention, rather than explanations in terms of pure physical forces. Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 2: Purpose of all things – example of a test of preferred explanation: ‘Why do you think the rocks were pointy?’ a mechanistic/physical explanation (e.g. ‘They were pointy because little bits of stuff got piled up on top of one another for a long time’) a purposeful/functional explanation (e.g. ‘They were pointy so that animals wouldn’t sit on them and smash them’) the purposeful/functional explanation was preferred Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 2: Purpose of all things – cognitive sciences of religion: It is in the nature of Human Beings to initially prefer seeing objective purpose in the universe rather than blind forces or chance. – frustrating this preference might be part of the reason for the sense of meaninglessness – What is needed here for meaningfulness is an intentional Providence (or a Destiny) Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 3: I make no difference – typical experience of meaningfulness / meaninglessness of my life: – being loved / not being loved (or being abandoned) – why? – because when I am loved, I feel that I make a difference to someone Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 3: I make no difference – if there is no creator, then my existence may make a difference from the limited point of view of my relatives and friends – but my existence doesn’t make any difference from the general point of view of the Universe (cf. Thomas Nagel) Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 3: I make no difference – Source of the problem here: our need (or our desire) to be important, to count for something, to make a difference plus the idea that more general points of view are more relevant than more local or personal points of view therefore I want to make a difference for the most general point of view Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 3: I make no difference – What is needed here is that the universal point of view (God’s point of view) care for me That God loves me – and that’s important for my desire to make a difference Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 4: the sense of Injustice – another important experience of meaninglessness: – the Scandal of Injustice the experience that « the good suffer and the wicked prosper » that’s unjust if that’s all there is in the world, the world is absurd and shocking, not worth existing Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 4: the sense of Injustice – if there is nothing else than this earth and this life, in which « the good suffer and the wicked prosper », – if there is no just retribution after this life – then the Universe as a whole (and our lives within it) is meaningless, not worth existing BOTH PRESENT - AND FUTURE Why would life be meaningless in a disenchanted world? Theory 4: the sense of Injustice – what is needed here is a universal retribution, restoring Justice (perhaps with God as the judge, and immortal souls being judged) – and it is needed to satisfy our sense of a universe worth existing How is a life meaningful in a religious worldview? 1) our actions have an ultimate purpose because they can leave a trace in Eternal Life 2) everything in the universe has a purpose because there is a Providence guiding all things 3) I make a difference from the absolute point of view because God cares for us and loves us 4) Injustice will eventually be corrected and Justice restored at the time of universal Judgment Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 1: the Absurd – Life is meaningless and absurd… – … but accepting the meaningless of life, and continuing the struggle in spite of hopelessness, is the supreme courage – that’s what makes human life sublime and of great value Various reactions to Disenchantment The Myth of Sisyphus – the gods condemn him to desire and always be frustrated… – … but in fact he abandons any hope and continues by pure courage! – This is his ultimate victory against the gods – “one must imagine sisyphus happy” Camus Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 2: the freedom of Subjectivism (Sartre) – Life has no objective meaning… – … all the better! That means I can choose and invent the meaning of my life! Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 2: the freedom of Subjectivism (Sartre) – In fact, it was God who was incompatible with a real meaning of life – because His divine plan suppressed autonomy, the capacity to choose by myself the meaning of my life Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 3: objective meaning in a Godless world – maybe some forms of meaning of life are impossible in a Godless world… – maybe an infinite meaning is impossible (infinite future, infinite worth, infinite importance to my life)… – … but that doesn’t mean that a Godless life is devoid of any kind of limited meaning Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 3: objective meaning in a Godless world – argument by examples: Picasso, Einstein, mother Teresa: even if there is no God, their life is still worth a lot and meaningful! Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 3: objective meaning in a Godless world – (limited) meaning of my actions: some actions may have meaning in themselves, even if their effect and purpose will not last for eternity example: caring for children who are going to die in a hospital, making them laugh and enjoy their time Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 3: objective meaning in a Godless world – (limited) meaning of my actions: response to the « eternity » objection: the value of an action doesn’t always lie in the future, sometimes it lies in the present of the act itself maybe an eternal effect is also desirable, but it is not absolutely necessary for my actions to have a meaningful and worthwhile purpose Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 3: objective meaning in a Godless world – (limited) meaning of my existence in the world: if I am loved by someone, if someone in the world cares for me… … then maybe I don’t make a difference « for the point of view of the world » … but it is nevertheless true that my life has some meaning, that it makes a difference to someone Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 3: objective meaning in a Godless world – (limited) transcendance of my actions: if I love someone and sacrifice myself for him/her… … then this caring, this love, brings me out of myself, and gives meaning to my life, even if that person is just one person in the world and is going to die Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 3: objective meaning in a Godless world – (limited) transcendance of my actions: maybe a truly meaningful action needs to bring me out of myself (out of my egoism) but that’s possible by dedicating oneself to other human beings – that’s why the example of Mother Teresa works even if there is no God Various reactions to Disenchantment Reaction 3: objective meaning in a Godless world – (limited) transcendance of my actions: if I love someone and sacrifice myself for him/her then this love gives meaning to my life but doesn’t that, in itself, seem to indicate that the world is more than a chancy sum of matter? … i.e. that the world makes sense because of love?