The Search for Meaning

This course explores the question of meaning in modern life. The breakdown of given meanings and the proposition of a universe without objective value poses several questions: Where is meaning found? Is it merely subjective? What role does God, religion, spirituality, nature, science, culture, society, and relationships play? We first explore the philosophical context that structures the question of modern meaning, then examine diverse solutions. Sources include Marx, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Tolstoy, Camus, Sartre, Freud, Jung, Frankl, Russell, and Eastern, Indigenous Peoples’, and Feminist perspectives.