"A noted philosopher proposes a naturalistic (rather than supernaturalistic) way to solve the ""really hard problem""- how to live in a meaningful way-how to live a life that really matters-even as a finite material being living in a material world. If consciousness is ""the hard problem"" in mind science-explaining how the amazing private world of consciousness emerges from neuronal activity-then ""the really hard problem,"" writes Owen Flanagan in this provocative book, is explaining how meaning is possible in the material world. How can we make sense of the magic and mystery of life naturalistically, without an appeal to the supernatural? How do we say truthful and enchanting things about being human if we accept the fact that we are finite material beings living in a material world, or, in Flanagan's description, short-lived pieces of organized cells and tissue? Flanagan's answer is both naturalistic and enchanting. We all wish to live in a meaningful way, to live a life that really matters, to flourish, to achieve eudaimonia-to be a ""happy spirit."" Flanagan calls his ""empirical-normative"" inquiry into the nature, causes, and conditions of human flourishing eudaimonics. Eudaimonics, systematic philosophical investigation that is continuous with science, is the naturalist's response to those who say that science has robbed the world of the meaning that fantastical, wishful stories once provided. Flanagan draws on philosophy, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and psychology, as well as on transformative mindfulness and self-cultivation practices that come from such nontheistic spiritual traditions as Buddhism, Confucianism, Aristotelianism, and Stoicism, in his quest. He gathers from these disciplines knowledge that will help us understand the nature, causes, and constituents of well-being and advance human flourishing. Eudaimonics can help us find out how to make a difference, how to contribute to the accumulation of good effects-how to live a meaningful life."
By:
Owen Flanagan (Duke University)
Imprint: Massachusetts Inst of Tec
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 19mm
Weight: 431g
ISBN: 9780262512480
ISBN 10: 0262512483
Series: The Really Hard Problem
Publication Date: 13 February 2009
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
CONTENTS:Acknowledgments ix Introduction1 Meaningful and Enchanted LivesA Threat from the Human Sciences? 1 2 Finding Meaning in the Natural WorldThe Comparative Consensus 37 3 Science for MonksBuddhism and Science 63 4 Normative Mind Science?Psychology, Neuroscience, and the Good Life 107 5 Neuroscience, Happiness, and Positive Illusions 149 6 Spirituality Naturalized?''A Strong Cat without Claws'' 183 Notes 221 Bibliography 265 Index
Reviews for The Really Hard Problem: Meaning in a Material World
The book sparkles with thought and a likeable humour. - Steven Poole, The Guardian Owen Flanagan explores the questions that matter most to us - life's magic, mystery, and meaning - in the most engaging, even entertaining, style. - Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence
