臺灣博碩士論文加值系統

本論文研究主題為生命的意義。在當代哲學的討論中，關於生命的意義的探討經常被忽略。許多哲學家認為關於生命意義的問題是「假問題」以及「在邏輯上是無法被回答的」。譬如，Ayer就認為此問題是無法被回答的，因為生命是否有意義此問題無法經由論證或觀察得到證成。許多哲學家接受Ayer的論點，認同生命是否有意義是個假問題。筆者在本論文採取不同的觀點，認為此問題是值得深入探討的。對西方哲學發展有極大影響的Socrates，從某方面來看，關心的就是此問題。他曾聲稱：「未檢驗過的人生是不值得活的。」生命的意義的探討，從此角度視之，不過就是Socrates的哲學的延續。
雖然生命意義的議題被當代哲學忽略許久，近幾年有越來越多的哲學家開始重新檢驗這個古老的問題。Kurt Baier、Richard Taylor、Susan Wolf以及John Cottingham等人都有與此議題相關的著作。對生命意義的議題的興趣的復甦，使我們對於哲學家在此方面的貢獻重新感到期望。或許，誠如某些人所聲稱般，人總是不可避免地會關心這些「終極問題」。本論文嘗試從哲學的觀點探討生命意義的議題。筆者亦期望本論文對於哲學在此議題方面的探討能有些微的貢獻。

對於生命的意義此議題有所著墨的當代哲學家大多是從自然主義與人文主義的觀點探討此議題。他們通常專注於以下幾點：分析問題的邏輯結構、探討生命意義的必要及充分條件以及檢驗「意義價值」的主觀性或客觀性。不同於這些哲學家對於生命意義的議題的關注，本論文著重於筆者所稱的「無意義的問題」(PoF)─一個雖然有被意識到卻比較少被深入討論的問題。「無意義的問題」指的是某種對於生命（自身生命以及生命本身）感到無意義的意識狀態，源自於對生命的有限性的覺察。在本論文，筆者將試圖論證「無意義的問題」是個源自於我們本性的真實問題─人性中有某種內在的動力渴望超越有限性。我將試圖論證「無意義的問題」無法被視為假問題或源自於我們不健全的精神狀態。
在經由檢視「無意義的問題」而顯露出人文主義的意義主張的不足之後，筆者將試圖論證靈性的概念可以作為「無意義的問題」的解答。在本篇論文，筆者將把「靈性」定義為一種以某種方式與超驗界合一的意識狀態。人可以經由與超驗界的合一以及對此時此刻的完全專注而超越有限性。但是靈性，終究而言，是一種體驗，不單單只是理論；它是某種與某些人所稱的「宇宙生命」或「真我」合一的存在狀態。基於此，靈性的論點無法被我們「日常生活的意識狀態」所證實—不論是我們的理智或感官都無法證實靈性的論點。許多靈性的專家告訴我們，要體驗靈性就必須在靈性的道路上成長。

This dissertation is a research into the topic of the meaning of life. The question about the meaning of life has too often been neglected by the contemporary philosophers. Many philosophers dismiss the question as "pseudo" or "logically unanswerable". Ayer, for example, argues that since whether life has meaning cannot be verified either through demonstration or observation, the question is therefore "unanswerable". Many philosophers, following Ayer, adopt this line of reasoning. I believe this is unfortunate. Socrates, the man who has had tremendous impact on the development of the western philosophy, can be seen as occupying himself with this very question when he claimed that: "The unexamined life is not worth living." An inquiry into the meaning of life can therefore be seen as nothing less than the continuity of this Socratic project of self-examination.
After the topic about the meaning of life has been neglected for so long, it is encouraging to see that in the recent years, more and more philosophers have become interested in the topic again. Kurt Baier, Richard Taylor, Susan Wolf and John Cottingham, just to name a few, have written on the topic. This resurgence of interest in the topic about the meaning of life among the philosophers makes us hopeful of the prospect that philosophy, the "mother of all sciences", may still have something constructive to offer in this field of study. Perhaps, as some have remarked, humanity has always had a deep need to raise the "ultimate" questions. This dissertation is an attempt to contribute to the topic of the meaning of life from the philosophical perspective.

Most contemporary philosophers writing on the topic of the meaning of life are naturalists and humanists, and they usually focus on analyzing the logical structure of the question, discovering the necessary and sufficient conditions for living meaningfully and examining the subjectivity or objectivity of "meaning values". This dissertation, however, focuses on an aspect of the question that is less commonly addressed in the literature—what I shall call the "Problem of Futility" (PoF). PoF refers to a state of consciousness in which one feels that—after contemplating the finitude of one''s existence—one''s existence (and the existence in general) lacks lasting significance and meaning. In this dissertation, I shall argue that PoF is a genuine problem that arises from our nature—that there is something deep within our nature that longs to transcend the finite; PoF, so I shall argue, cannot be simply dismissed as pseudo or as a problem arising from our mental instability.
After showing that a consideration of PoF reveals the inadequacy of the humanist thesis of meaning, I shall argue that the idea of spirituality is what provides a solution to PoF. Spirituality, as I shall define it in this dissertation, refers to a state of being in which one''s consciousness is identified with a transcendent reality in a certain way. By identifying with a transcendent reality and by being fully attentive to the present instant, it becomes possible for one to transcend the finitude of one''s existence. But spirituality, fundamentally, is about experience rather than theory—it is a mode of being in which one''s consciousness is attuned to what some call the "cosmic life" or the "universal self". As such, the spiritual view cannot be verified by our "ordinary consciousness"—either by our intellect or senses. One must, so the writers on spirituality tell us, embark on the path of spirituality in order to experience for oneself.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1

CHAPTER 1: THE PROBLEM OF FUTILITY............................................................8
1. The Question of the Meaning of Life and the Problem of Futility.....................9
(i) The "Charge of Pseudo-ness"..................................................................10
(ii) The Question of the Meaning of Life and PoF.......................................14
2. Tolstoy''s Torment.............................................................................................17
3. The Formulation of PoF....................................................................................20
(i) Reflections on Tolstoy''s Torment............................................................21
(ii) Ideas of Meaninglessness.......................................................................25
(iii) The Formulation of PoF.........................................................................31
4. Other Considerations........................................................................................36
(i) Not a Problem for Everyone....................................................................36
(ii) Death is Irrelevant..................................................................................37
(iii) The Conscious Rejection of the "Cosmic Perspective".........................39
5. Summary...........................................................................................................40

CHAPTER 2: THE HUMANIST THESIS ON THE MEANING OF LIFE AND POF...............................................................................................................................42
1. The Humanist Thesis on the Meaning of Life..................................................43
(i) The Humanist Thesis on the Meaning of Life.........................................44
(ii) Thesis A: Taylor''s Account of Meaning.................................................47
(iii) Thesis B: Wolf''s and Dworkin''s Accounts of Meaning.........................52
2. The Problem of Triviality and the Problem of Immorality...............................67
(i) The Problem of Triviality........................................................................67
(ii) The Problem of Immorality....................................................................70
(iii) An Assessment.......................................................................................73
3. The Problem of Futility and the Humanist Thesis of Meaning........................77
(i) PoF is not Genuine..................................................................................80
(ii) Death is Irrelevant..................................................................................82
(iii) Individual Lives can still be Meaningful...............................................85
4. Summary...........................................................................................................88

CHAPTER 3: THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION..........................................................93
1. The Two Beliefs Underlying PoF.....................................................................94
2. The Definition of Spirituality.........................................................................103
(i) Spirituality as Whatever Fills the Gap Left by Material Fulfillment....104
(ii) The Stoic Conception of Spirituality....................................................106
(iii) The Christian Conception of Spirituality.............................................117
(iv) The Buddhist Conception of Spirituality.............................................125
(v) A Recapitulation...................................................................................133
(vi) The Definition of Spirituality..............................................................135
3. Spirituality and PoF........................................................................................138
(i) Challenging the Two Beliefs.................................................................138
(ii) Attentiveness to the Present Instant......................................................145
4. Summary.........................................................................................................150

CHAPTER 4: SPIRITUALITY AS AN EXPERIENTIAL SCIENCE....................154
1. Neither the Intellect Nor the Senses...............................................................155
2. An Experiential Science.................................................................................157
3. Practices and Beliefs......................................................................................161
4. Summary.........................................................................................................167

CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................172

BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................176

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