Professor Joseph Keeping
keeping@yorku.ca

This introductory course explores a number of questions about the meaning of life, including: What is the meaning of (my) life? Where would such a meaning come from? Is meaning something we discover or create? Is there any meaning at all or is life absurd? If life is without meaning, is that necessarily a bad thing? What is happiness? Is there a difference between living a happy life and a good life? Does the fact of death and the temporary nature of existence render life futile or without meaning?

In exploring these questions, we will read selections from the works of classical and contemporary thinkers such as Epicurus, Arthur Schopenhauer, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, Robert Nozick, and Susan Wolf. 

Lectures will be remote and asynchronous (i.e. recorded). The lecture(s) for each week will be uploaded to eClass no later than midnight of the Sunday preceding that week. (For example, the first lecture will be available for viewing on eClass by Sunday, January 10.) Viewing the lecture recordings will require a computer and/or smart device and an internet connection.

Tutorials will be in-class, on campus. The schedule for each tutorial is listed above, on page 1 of the syllabus.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to eClass

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.

The Meaning of Life: A Reader, 4^th edition, E.D. Klemke and Steven M. Cahn, eds.

Online readings linked in the syllabus

Recommended: Carl Sagan’s 1980 documentary series Cosmos, viewable on YouTube here. If you watch one episode per week, including Reading Week, then you will reach the final episode (13) by Week 12, “We Are Stardust: Scientific Perspectives on the Meaning of Life,” in which we will be discussing it. But once you start watching the series, you will probably decide to binge it (it is that good).

Journal (weekly)                                              20% total

Tutorial Activities (weekly)                              20% total

Short Essay (due March 1)                                25%

Long Essay (due April 7)                                  35%

Tutorial activities will be based on work done during the weekly tutorials, including both free-form discussion and planned activities. Theyse will vary from week to week.

Journal: This isn’t just a course in academic philosophy, but one about what matters most to each one of us. Therefore, everyone has something to contribute. We want you to keep a journal of your thoughts and feelings on the lectures, readings, and tutorial discussions. We aren’t looking for rigorous philosophical analysis (although such is welcome), but how the topics discussed in the course resonate with you personally, and how they might apply to your life as you live it. Journal entries are due each Sunday, commencing the second week of class (making the first one due Jan 16) and submitted through eClass. Each weekly journal submission is worth 2.5%, and the total value of the journals is 20%. Your TA will read all of them and your grade will be based on your top 8 weekly journal entries. It’s best to open a file at the beginning of each week and jot down your thoughts as you go, rather than trying to come up with the whole thing at the end of the week. There is no target word length for the journal entries; instead, you will find that some weeks you have a lot to say, and some weeks only a little. You cannot submit journal entries late or catch up on missed weeks.

Essay #1 will be expository in nature and is due Tuesday, March 1. Topics and directions for the first essay will be posted to eClass February 14. The essay must be on one of the assigned topics and be 4-5 typed, double-spaced pages (1000-1300 words).

Essay #2 will be analytical and require you to argue for and defend a thesis. Topics and directions for the second essay will be posted to eClass March 10. Essays must be on one of the assigned topics and should be 5-6 typed, double-spaced pages (1200-1500 words). The second essay is due April 7.

Essays are to be submitted using the eClass link provided for this purpose. Unless otherwise indicated, they will be due at 11:59pm on the due date. However, we strongly advise that you do not wait until the last minute to submit your work. There are many things that can go wrong, on your end, on the eClass server, or in between. Give yourself plenty of lead time to avoid the risk of getting a late penalty because of some technical issue. Late essays are subject to a penalty of one-half grade (5%) per day, including weekends. Extensions will be granted only under exceptional circumstances. Please negotiate any extensions with the TA responsible for grading your work, keeping in mind that your TA is not obliged to grant extensions, and may require you to take the grade penalty instead. 5% or 10% off one assignment is not the end of the world, and probably not worth an argument.

SCHEDULE OF COURSE MEETINGS AND TOPICS

WEEK 1: JAN. 11 & 13

  The Question of the Meaning of Life

Readings:       Nozick, "Philosophy and the Meaning of Life"

WEEK 2: JAN. 18 & 20

  Meaning is Transcendent: Religious Views on the Meaning of Life

Readings:       Tolstoy, “My Confession” in The Meaning of Life: A Reader

Fackenheim, “Judaism and the Meaning of Life” in The Meaning of Life: A Reader

WEEK 3: JAN. 25 & 27

  Life and Death (or This Got Dark Quickly, Didn’t It?)

Reading:         Nagel, "Death"

  Philosophical Thinking and Writing

WEEK 4: FEB. 1 & 3

  Life is Meaningless: Nihilism and the Absurd

Readings:       Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus” in The Meaning of Life: A Reader

Nagel, “The Absurd” in The Meaning of Life: A Reader

WEEK 5: FEB. 8 & 10

  The Meaning of Happiness

  Readings:       Epicurus, "Principal Doctrines" & "Letter to Menoeceus"

Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Ch. 5: The Kinds of Pleasures and Pain

  Happiness and the Good Life

Readings:       Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics Book I, sections 1-10, 13.

WEEK 6: FEB. 15 & 17

  Zen and the Art of Essay Writing

  Pessimism: Life is Suffering

Readings:       Schopenhauer, "On the Vanity of Existence"

Schopenhauer, “On the Sufferings of the World” in The Meaning of Life: A Reader

WINTER READING WEEK: NO CLASSES

WEEK 7: MAR. 1 & 3

  Pessimism: The Buddhist Response to Suffering

Readings:       Gowans, “The Buddha's Message” The Meaning of Life: A Reader

  FIRST ESSAY DUE MAR. 1

WEEK: 8 MAR. 8 & 10

  The Science of Happiness

Reading:         Keseber & Diener, "In Pursuit of Happiness: Empirical Answers to Philosophical Questions"

WEEK 9: MAR 15 & 17

  Life is for Living: Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire

View film online BEFORE March 15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc2zl0fSj1U

WEEK 10: MAR. 22 & 24

  What About Love?

Reading:         Plato, The Symposium: Prologue, Aristophanes, Socrates, Alcibiades, Conclusion

WEEK 11: MAR 29 & 31

  Existentialism: Life is What You Make It

Reading:         Sartre, "Existentialism is a Humanism"

  Existentialism: The Meaning of Life is Freedom

Reading:         de Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity, "I. Ambiguity and Freedom"

WEEK 12: APR. 5 & 7

  We Are Stardust: Scientific Perspectives on the Meaning of Life

Readings:       Klenk, "Evolutionary Ethics"

LONG ESSAY DUE APRIL 7

Important Dates:

The last date to add the course without the course director’s permission is Jan. 23, 2022

The last date to add the course with permission of course director is Feb. 7, 2022

The last date to drop the course without receiving a grade is Mar. 18, 2022

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this course, if you apply yourself, do all the reading, attend all lectures and tutorials, and complete all assignments, activities, and quizzes, you can expect to see improvement in the following areas:

• To learn how to identify the main point (or thesis) and critically evaluate the arguments presented in short philosophical writing.
• To learn to write clear and engaging essays that present arguments supported with strong reasons.
• To learn about a variety of different philosophical approaches to life, death and meaning.
• To reflect on your own conception of what constitutes a good or meaningful life.

Email/message protocols:

• Communication with the instructor should be conducted via email, or by asking questions during tutorials or office hours. Do not use the message function on eClass.
• Please allow 2 days/48 hours for your instructor or TA to respond. We have other work duties besides teaching, and obligations outside of our jobs (family, etc.) that sometimes cannot be put off. Don’t panic if you do not get a reply right away!
• Do not expect your instructor or TA to answer email on weekends. They may choose to, but they are not obliged to.
• Please give your full name and the name and/or number of the course (PHIL 1100A The Meaning of Life) in all correspondence. Put the course title and/or number in the subject heading.
• Before you email us to ask a question, first consult the syllabus. Many questions (e.g. “Is there a final exam?” “When is the essay due?”) are answered in the syllabus. (That’s why we have a syllabus.) Likewise, if you have a question about an assignment, please see if it is answered in the assignment directions (which will be distributed via eClass) before contacting your instructor or TA.
• Do not send emails containing attachments without explaining what the attachments are. These emails and attachments will be deleted unread.
• Essays are to be submitted using the link provided for this purpose on eClass. Essays will not be accepted by email.
• If you require an extension on an essay or other assignment (and you have a good reason for the extension), do not wait until the due date to ask for it. Asking in advance will reduce unnecessary stress.

To be successful in this course:

• Do all of the required readings before lecture and review them after lecture. Even if you don’t understand a text when you read it in advance of the lecture, the initial reading will help you to follow the lecture and to comprehend it the second time you read it, after the lecture. Philosophical texts are normally more challenging than other kinds of texts, and will probably take more time to get through. The page length of readings will vary from week to week, and sometimes will be more than you expect.
• Complete all coursework by the deadlines posted.
• If you are accessing this course from a different time zone please be aware that all deadlines and launch times are Eastern Standard Time. You are responsible for meeting all deadlines even if you are in a different time zone.

• You should be taking notes when you review video lectures - always. The PowerPoint slides are a visual aid for the lectures, not a substitute for note-taking.

• You should be taking notes when you read the course material - always.
• Ask for help if you need help. Ask questions if you have questions.
• For an updated and helpful website with tips and tools, for writing, time management, and other necessary tools and skills for university success, see: http://www.yorku.ca/spark/
• Take care of yourself. Balancing the academic, professional, family, personal, and other aspects of your life can be challenging sometimes, but always aim to create some balance.

Assistance with Writing - http://www.yorku.ca/laps/writ/

It takes time and practice to become a better writer. Invest some time into your writing skills while you are enrolled in York courses. The Writing Centre is currently offering its services remotely. You might be interested in: (a) one-on-one online video chat with a writing instructor regarding an assignment you are working on (by appointment only, book online); (b) eTutors who will read over and comment on essays you submit to them; or (c) general online writing workshops. You are paying for these services through your tuition, so take advantage of them!

Assistance for ESL Learners - http://www.yorku.ca/eslolc/keele/default.asp!

At the ESL Open Learning Centre (OLC), students can ask for help in any aspect of learning English (e.g. writing, speaking, listening, etc.). There are group workshops and individual tutoring sessions available. There is a multimedia library, where you can review materials the OLC has that relate to supporting you in learning and practicing English. There is also a movie and discussion night - great practice for gaining confidence in speaking English. These services are available to any student who identifies themself as ESL (International or Canadian student) who is enrolled in courses at York University.

Assistance with Special Needs - http://www.yorku.ca/cds/

It is important that students with special learning needs, requiring accommodations of any sort in connection with their successful completion of a course, contact the appropriate office(s). Contact the Counselling and Disability Services (CDS) for specifics. Notify your instructor of any special needs on the first day of class. Often the CDS will provide a letter outlining your learning needs, and you should submit a copy to your instructor as soon as possible.

Academic Integrity:

You commit plagiarism when you use someone else’s ideas and present them as your own. This could take several forms: cheating on a test; letting someone copy from you during a test; having someone write your paper; copying parts or all of the paper off the internet; buying a paper; summarizing ideas from any source without properly citing this source. For further information on plagiarism see:  http://www.yorku.ca/academicintegrity/

It is also a violation of academic honesty to represent another's artistic or technical work or creation as one's own. Just as there are standards to which one must adhere in the preparation and publication of written works, there are standards to which one must adhere in the creation and presentation of music, drawings, designs, dance, photography and other artistic and technical works.

It is also a violation of academic honesty to forge another student’s signature on an attendance sheet, submit a fraudulent medical excuse, or collaborate on work with classmates or peers which is assigned individually.   

It is your responsibility as a student to be informed about academic integrity. No level or form of plagiarism or academic dishonesty will be tolerated. Penalties for academic dishonesty range from a grade of zero on the specific assignment, to failing the course, to having an official note of academic dishonesty on your university record.