PY113-4-FY: DEATH, GOD AND THE MEANING OF LIFE

Year: 2013/14
Department: Philosophy
Essex credit: 30
ECTS credit: 15
Available to Study Abroad / Exchange Students: Yes
Comments: Available as an outside option to students from other departments.

Module Description

Module Outline (updated March 2013)

In the first part of this module, we shall consider some of life`s big questions, the problems we each of us face as human beings. What, if anything, is the meaning of our lives? How can we become wise? Do we stand in need of salvation? Can we make sense of human suffering? How should we think about our own deaths? We shall approach these questions by taking a fresh look at some of the most powerful stories, myths and allegories in the history of reflection on the human condition. Drawing from both Greek and Judeo-Christian sources, we shall examine the following, from a philosophical point of view:

The Trial of Socrates

Plato`s Cave

Eden and the Fall

The Myth of Sisyphus

The Sufferings of Job

The Tragedy of Antigone

The Binding of Isaac

In the second part of the module we take up the problem of nihilism as experienced in modernity. We begin with Nietzsche`s account of the problem of nihilism as it emerges in the wake of the `death of god`, before turning to Weber`s account of processes of disenchantment and rationalisation, and Freud`s analysis of the repressive forces of civilization. We then examine responses to this `malaise of modernity` that emphasise the role of art, an authentic relation to one`s own death, the radical choosing of oneself and collective political struggle. Topics we will focus on include:

The Death of God (Nietzsche)

The Iron Cage of Modernity (Weber)

Civilization and its Discontents (Freud)

Art as a Saving Sorceress (Nietzsche)

The Antinomy of Life and Art (Thomas Mann)

Confronting One`s Own Death (Tolstoy)

Choosing Oneself (Sartre)

Collective Emancipation of Humanity (Marx)

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module students should to be able to:

display detailed knowledge of the texts covered in the module;

display some knowledge of the ways in which these texts have been variously interpreted and developed by different philosophers;

engage orally and in writing with these texts in a philosophical way, considering arguments and ideas carefully and critically;

display an understanding of the presuppositions of the question of the meaning of life in a `modern` context;

recognise the variety of forms of philosophical inquiry and expression, and be able to assess their significance for the philosophical content.

Learning & Teaching Methods

1 x one-hour lecture each week followed by a one-hour discussion class at which issues covered in the lecture will be discussed in smaller class groups. Weeks 8 and 21 are Reading Weeks.

Assessment

50 per cent Coursework Mark, 50 per cent Exam Mark

Coursework:
2 x 2-3,000 word essays each worth 50% of the final coursework mark. There will also be a formative early assessment exercise in the autumn term.

Other details:
Students must achieve a minimum mark of 40% overall to pass this module.

Exam Duration and Period

3:00 hour exam during Summer Examination period.

Other information

Recommended for students on a philosophy course, either single or joint honours.

Bibliography

• Brief Bibliography and Preparatory Reading (updated March 2013):
• Bibliography
• Autumn term
• There will be an opportunity to buy a module pack which will include the basic texts required. The following texts are recommended for further reading:
• Adams, R. M. Finite and Infinite Goods: A Framework for Ethics (Oxford: OUP, 1999)
• Cooper, J. M (ed) Plato: Complete Works (Cambridge: Hackett, 1997)
• Camus, A. The Myth of Sisyphus, trans. J. O`Brien (Penguin, 1975)
• Cottingham, J. On the Meaning of Life (London: Routledge, 2003)
• Eagleton, T. The Meaning of Life (Oxford: OUP, 2007)
• Kahn, P.W. Out of Eden: Adam and Eve and the Problem of Evil (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007)
• Kierkegaard, S. Fear and Trembling trans. H. V & E.H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983)
• Klemke, E.D. & Cahn, S. M. (eds.) The Meaning of Life: A Reader (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008)
• Meineck, P. & Woodruff, P. (trans.). Sophocles: Theban Plays (Cambridge: Hackett, 2003)
• Tolstoy, L. A Confession (London: OUP, 1961)
• Velleman, D. `The Genesis of Shame` Philosophy and Public Affairs 30.1 (2001) 27-52
• Wolf, S. Meaning in Life and Why it Matters (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012)
• Young, J. The Death of God and the Meaning of Life (London: Routledge, 2003)
• Spring term (updated March 2013)
• Ansell Pearson, K. How to Read Nietzsche (London: Granta, 2005)
• Freud, S. Civilization, Society and Religion (London: Penguin, 1991)
• Mann, T. Death in Venice and Other Stories (London: Vintage, 2001)
• Marx, K., The German Ideology (ed.) C.J. Arthur (Lawrence & Wishart Limited, 1999)
• Nietzsche, F. The Birth of Tragedy, trans. Ronald Speirs (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999)
• Nietzsche, F. The Gay Science, trans. Walter Kaufmann (New York: Vintage, 1974)
• Sartre, J. P. Existentialism and Humanism, trans. Philip Mairet (London: Metheun, 1989)
• Taylor, C. Ethics of Authenticity (Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1991)
• Tolstoy, L. The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories (Wordsworth Classics, 2004)
• Warnock, M. Existentialism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992)
• Young, J. The Death of God and the Meaning of Life (London: Routledge, 2003)