[MD] The Meanings of Life

[Steven Peterson]

Hi dmb,


> Steve said:
> I think another worthy consideration regarding ZAMM and the meaning of life is Pirsig's list of questions typifying philosophical inquiry. When it is said that something means something, just what exactly is that supposed to even mean? Before people ask, "what is the meaning of life?" they may do well to consider what they mean by "meaning" in order to pose the question in a way that could ever possibly elicit satisfying answers.
>
>
> dmb says:
> I think you're confusing or conflating two different senses of the term. When we ask what the term "means" we're asking for some precision as to what the content of the idea is supposed to indicate, convey or refer to. When we ask about the "meaning" of life, on the other hand, we're asking about it's significance, import, point and purpose. We are not asking what the content IS but rather asking about what's valuable and worthwhile about it.


Steve:
The reason I raised the issue in this context is precisely because any
pragmatist as well as any Pirsigian ought to want to fuzzy-up the
common sense distinction you are defending here i.e., a dichotomy
between "what the content IS" and its worth. Pirsig does his fuzzying
by saying it all values all the way down. Pragmatists do it by taking
meaning to be a question of utility. "What does this mean?" cashes out
as "how is this used?" The same applies to life or the meaning of a
term. Purpose and meaning and significance and import for the
pragmatists are questions of use.

Asking "what is the purpose of life?" is to ask, "how is life used?"
or the normative version, "how ought life be used so as to be a good
life?"

Best,
Steve