objectivism

1
objectivism

• 7.05.06

2
naturalism

• it is not the case that Ss life is meaningful
  only if S has a certain relation with some purely
  spiritual realm
• Ss life is meaningful if S is or acts in the
  natural world in a certain way
• subjectivism
• Ss life is meaningful if Ss life is (or certain
  of its parts are) the object of a proattitude or
  another mental state
• objectivism
• Ss life is meaningful if Ss life has (or
  certain of its parts have) feature F, where F is
  not merely the feature of being the object of a
  certain sort of proattitude or another mental
  state

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objectivism

• OBJ Ss life is meaningful if Ss life has (or
  certain of its parts have) feature F, where F is
  not merely the feature of being the object of a
  certain mental state
• OBJ does not entail that life is meaningful
• OBJ does not say that having F is necessary for a
  meaningful life, only that it is sufficient.
• OBJ does not say that there is only one way to
  live a meaningful life
• OBJ is consistent with there being a variety of
  very different sorts of lives that are all
  equally meaningful.

4
objectivism, cont.

• OBJ is consistent with different conceptions of F
• moderate objectivism
• F includes the feature of being the object of a
  certain mental state
• pure objectivism
• F does not include the feature of being the
  object of a certain mental state

5
moderate objectivism

• F includes the feature of being the object of a
  certain mental state
• meaning is partly mind-independent
• mind-independent values are not alone sufficient
  for a meaningful life
• certain mental states plus certain
  mind-independent values are together sufficient
• Wolf, Parfit (241-242), etc.

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pure objectivism

• F does not include the feature of being the
  object of a certain mental state
• meaning is wholly mind-independent
• mind-independent values are alone sufficient
• so, certain mental states are never necessary for
  a meaningful life
• Buddha, Aristotle, Kant, Taylor, etc.

7
parfits 3 theories

• a meaningful life for S the best life for S
• hedonism
• subjectivism
• desire-fulfillment
• subjectivism
• objective lists
• objectivism

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hedonism

• the best life for S the life in which S is
  happiest (where happiness pleasure)
• problem
• first, suppose that a (fully informed) person
  received the most pleasure from causing as much
  pain as she can to other people. then, according
  to hedonism, her life would be best if she caused
  as much pain as she could to others that would
  be better than if, for instance, she saved the
  world.
• second, many people dont regard their own
  happiness as the exclusive element of their own
  good, indicating that hedonism is too simplistic.

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desire-fulfillment

• the best life for S the life in which all/most
  of Ss desires are fulfilled
• problem
• first, suppose that a (fully informed) person
  desired only one thing to cause as much pain as
  she could to other people. then, according to
  desire-fulfillment theories, her life would be
  best if she caused as much pain as she could to
  others again, that would be better than if, for
  instance, she saved the world.
• second, certain things may be good for a person
  whether the person desires them or not.

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going astray

• it seems that even if someone knew all the facts
  (or took an impersonal perspective on her life),
  her pleasure, desires, or interests might still
  go astray, and fail to correspond to what would
  be best for her.
• if so, then the best life for S is not the life
  in which S is happiest (where happiness
  pleasure), nor is it the life in which all/most
  of Ss desires are fulfilled
• if this is right, then subjectivism must be false
  and some form of objectivism must be true

11
objective lists

• the best life for S the life in which S has the
  good things and avoids the bad things (where
  something is good or bad for S independently of
  what brings S pleasure or what S desires)
• since it makes no mention of any mental states,
  this is pure objectivism
• on this view, F a relation to certain
  mind-independent values
• but what are those?

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mind-independent values

• a mind-independent value does not depend on us
  for its value the source of its value lies
  elsewhere
• is x valuable, worthwhile, or important?
• if so, why is x valuable, worthwhile, or
  important?
• because of something about me/us (mind-dependent)
• because of something about x (mind-independent)
• to determine whether or not a given value is
  mind-independent, we can ask ourselves questions
  like
• if nobody knew or cared about x, would x still
  have the value it does?
• can we change the value of x?

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common examples of mind-independent values

• goods
• promoting moral goodness
• engaging in rational activity
• developing ones abilities/talents
• having children and being a good parent
• having and acquiring knowledge
• being aware of true beauty
• bads
• being betrayed, manipulated, slandered, or
  deceived
• being deprived of freedom or dignity
• getting pleasure from doing wrong
• killing innocent children for fun

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two questions

• objectivism vs. subjectivism
• why must we invoke mind-independent values?
• pure vs. moderate objectivism
• why must we invoke mental states?

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2 facts about meaning (wolf)

• a meaningful life is one that is able to answer
  the need or longing for genuine worth, value, or
  importance.
• a meaningful life is one that is not a waste of
  time, which implies that there is a distinction
  between less and more worthwhile ways to spend
  ones time.
• Wolf argues that we must invoke mind-independent
  values (MIVs), or projects of worth, in order
  to construct a theory of the meaning of life that
  adequately handles these 2 facts.

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the need for MIVs, I

• a meaningful life is one that is able to answer
  the need or longing for genuine worth, value, or
  importance.
• first, this means meaning ? fulfillment
  (satisfaction)
• Sometimes people have concerns about meaning
  despite their knowledge that their lives to date
  have been satisfying (210).
• second, one cannot answer this need or longing
  unless ones life involved activities and things
  which really did have worth, value, or
  importance.
• but this means that those activities and things
  must have mind-independent value.

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the need for MIVs, II

• a meaningful life is one that is not a waste of
  time, which implies that there is a distinction
  between less and more worthwhile ways to spend
  ones time
• certain sorts of activities and things come to
  mind as contributors to meaningfulness while
  others seem intuitively inappropriate (210).
• first, this means meaning ? fulfillment
  (satisfaction)
• people are sometimes mistaken and their
  finding something fulfilling can be wrongly
  induced (218).
• second, the best explanation for this distinction
  is that certain activities and things are a waste
  of time while others are genuinely worthwhile.
• but this means that certain activities and things
  must have mind-independent value.

18
wolf

• Why do we respect people who devote themselves
  to chess more than those who become champions at
  pinball? Why do we admire basketball stars more
  than jump-rope champions? What is more worthwhile
  about writing a book on the philosophy of
  language than writing one on Nicole Brown
  Simpsons sex life? (212)
• That we do, most of us, believe that some
  activities and things are more worthwhile than
  others, that we regard certain activities and
  things as wastes of time (or near wastes of
  time) and others as inherently valuable, seems
  undeniable (213).

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summary

• Wolf is arguing that we must invoke MIVs
• we are not the sole source of value of the
  activities or things which contribute to a
  meaningful life.
• why? because the only way to make sense of the
  fact that those activities or things (1) have
  genuine worth, value, or importance and (2) are
  not a waste of ones time is that there are MIVs.
• recall
• why is x valuable, worthwhile, or important?
• because of something about me/us (mind-dependent)
• because of something about x (mind-independent)

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vs. pure objectivism

• Wolf thinks that we need MIVs, but those alone
  arent enough for a meaningful life
• we must invoke mental states as well
• Parfit seems to agree
• if the good things are entirely devoid of
  pleasure or interest for S, then they alone
  cannot make for the best life for S
• What is best for someone, is to be engaged in
  good activities, and to be strongly wanting to
  be so engaged (242).

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wolfs moderate objectivism

• When someone looks for ways to add meaning to
  her life, she is lookingfor worthwhile projects
  about which she can get enthusedMeaning arises
  when subjective attraction meets objective
  attractiveness (210, 211).
• WOLF Ss life is meaningful if Ss life is
  (or parts of it are) spent in active engagement
  in projects of worth
• active engagement
• being gripped or excited by something
• needed to rule out a life of pure boredom or
  alienation
• a test one often feels especially alive
• projects of worth
• activities or things with mind-independent value
  (good)
• needed to rule out a life spent collecting rubber
  bands, etc.
• a test Nozicks machines

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meaning and fulfillment (wolf)

• meaning ? fulfillment
• see the reasons given above
• nevertheless, the two are closely linked
• just as it is a conceptual truth that bachelors
  are unmarried males, it is a conceptual truth
  that meaningful activity is at least partly
  fulfilling
• consider although we cannot identify bachelors
  with unmarried males, we can still say that
  bachelors are unmarried males
• likewise, although we cannot identify a
  meaningful life with a happy life, we can still
  say that a meaningful life is a happy life (all
  things being equal)

23
today

• OBJ
• Parfits 3 theories
• hedonism
• desire-fulfillment
• objective lists
• two questions
• objectivism vs. subjectivism
• why must we invoke mind-independent values?
  (wolf)
• pure vs. moderate objectivism
• why must we invoke mental states? (wolf)

24
for tomorrow

• read
• (CP) Plato, The Ring of Gyges
• (CP) Metz, 796-801 in Recent Work on the Meaning
  of Life