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Meaning of life

About: Meaning of life is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1377 publications have been published within this topic receiving 23830 citations. The topic is also known as: answer to the question "What is the meaning of life?".


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Book
01 Jan 1997
TL;DR: Standard equipment thinking machines revenge of the nerds the mind's eye good ideas hotheads family values the meaning of life.
Abstract: Standard equipment thinking machines revenge of the nerds the mind's eye good ideas hotheads family values the meaning of life.

3,799 citations

Book
01 Jan 1986
TL;DR: Nagel as mentioned in this paper argues that our divided nature is the root of a whole range of philosophical problems, touching, as it does, every aspect of human life, and deals with its manifestations in such fields of philosophy as: the mind-body problem, personal identity, knowledge and skepticism, thought and reality, free will, ethics, the relation between moral and other values, the meaning of life and death.
Abstract: Human beings have the unique ability to view the world in a detached way: We can think about the world in terms that transcend our own experience or interest, and consider the world from a vantage point that is, in Nagel's words, "nowhere in particular." At the same time, each of us is a particular person in a particular place, each with his own "personal" view of the world, a view that we can recognize as just one aspect of the whole. How do we reconcile these two standpoints--intellectually, morally, and practically? To what extent are they irreconcilable and to what extent can they be integrated? Thomas Nagel's ambitious and lively book tackles this fundamental issue, arguing that our divided nature is the root of a whole range of philosophical problems, touching, as it does, every aspect of human life. He deals with its manifestations in such fields of philosophy as: the mind-body problem, personal identity, knowledge and skepticism, thought and reality, free will, ethics, the relation between moral and other values, the meaning of life, and death. Excessive objectification has been a malady of recent analytic philosophy, claims Nagel, it has led to implausible forms of reductionism in the philosophy of mind and elsewhere. The solution is not to inhibit the objectifying impulse, but to insist that it learn to live alongside the internal perspectives that cannot be either discarded or objectified. Reconciliation between the two standpoints, in the end, is not always possible.

2,853 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 1990-Nature
TL;DR: A great deal of ambiguity attaches to the question as to the meaning of the term 'Hfe' as mentioned in this paper, which has usually been confined to biological phenomena; the initial question of Biology is the nature and characteristics of living matter, the determination of that wherein 'livingness' consists.
Abstract: EY PROF. J. K. MAJUMDAR, M. A., PH. D, A deal of ambiguity attaches to the question as to the meaning of the term 'Hfe\". The term \"Hfe\" has usually been confined to biological phenomena ; \"the initial question of Biology\", we are told, \"is the nature and characteristics of living matter—the determination of that wherein 'livingness' consists.\"^ The term \"life\" has been taken to be the characteristic quality which is common to plants, animals and man and which distinguishes them from all other things in nature. \"Life\", Prof. J. A. Thomson warns us, is distinctively a biological concept and there is always a risk in transferring it to other fields.In its widest sense, \"life\" may be defined from the biological point of view as the manifestation of

686 citations

Book
01 Jan 1998
TL;DR: Theoretical Approaches to personal meaning are discussed in this article, with a focus on the role of personal meaning in counseling and psychotherapy in the development of a personal meaning profile.
Abstract: Contents: R.C. Barnes, Foreword. Introduction. Part I:Theoretical Approaches to Personal Meaning. S.R. Maddi, Creating Meaning Through Making Decisions. E. Klinger, The Search for Meaning in Evolutionary Perspective and Its Clinical Implications. D. Korotkov, The Sense of Coherence: Making Sense Out of Chaos. D.R. Beike, P.M. Niedenthal, The Process of Temporal Self-Comparison in Self-Evaluation and Life Satisfaction. P.S. Fry, The Development of Personal Meaning and Wisdom in Adolescence: A Reexamination of Moderating and Consolidating Factors and Influences. P.T.P. Wong, Implicit Theories of Meaningful Life and the Development of the Personal Meaning Profile. Part II:Research in Personal Meaning. K.L. Sommer, R.F. Baumeister, The Construction of Meaning From Life Events: Empirical Studies of Personal Narratives. R.A. Emmons, P.M. Colby, H.A. Kaiser, When Losses Lead to Gains: Personal Goals and the Recovery of Meaning. P. Ebersole, Types and Depth of Written Life Meaning. B.R. Little, Personal Project Pursuit: Dimensions and Dynamic of Personal Meaning. C.D. Ryff, B. Singer, The Role of Purpose in Life and Personal Growth in Positive Human Health. D.L. Debats, Measurement of Personal Meaning: The Psychometric Properties of the Life Regard Index. P.T.P. Wong, Academic Values and Achievement Motivation. Part III:The Role of Personal Meaning in Counseling and Psychotherapy. J. Fabry, The Calls of Meaning. E. Lukas, The Meaning of Life and the Goals in Life for Chronically Ill People. H.J.M. Hermans, Meaning as an Organized Process of Valuation: A Self-Confrontational Approach. C.J. Farran, D.R. Kuhn, Finding Meaning Through Caring for Persons With Alzheimer's Disease: Assessment and Intervention. P.T.P. Wong, Spirituality, Meaning, and Successful Aging. P.T.P. Wong, Meaning-Centered Counseling.

568 citations

Book
01 Jan 1997
TL;DR: The first book to examine disruption in American life from a cultural rather than a psychological perspective, Gay Becker follows hundreds of people to find out what they do after something unexpected occurs as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Our lives are full of disruptions, from the minor - a flat tire, an unexpected phone call - to the fateful - a diagnosis of infertility, an illness, the death of a loved one. In the first book to examine disruption in American life from a cultural rather than a psychological perspective, Gay Becker follows hundreds of people to find out what they do after something unexpected occurs. Starting with bodily distress, she shows how individuals recount experiences of disruption metaphorically, drawing on important cultural themes to help them reestablish order and continuity in their lives. Through vivid and poignant stories of people from different walks of life who experience different types of disruptions, Becker examines how people rework their ideas about themselves and their worlds, from the meaning of disruption to the meaning of life itself. Becker maintains that to understand disruption, we must also understand cultural definitions of normalcy. She questions what is normal for a family, for health, for womanhood and manhood, and for growing older. In the United States, where life is expected to be orderly and predictable, disruptions are particularly unsettling, she contends. And, while continuity in life is an illusion, it is an effective one because it organizes people's plans and expectations. Becker's phenomenological approach yields a rich, compelling, and entirely original narrative. "Disrupted Lives" acknowledges the central place of discontinuity in our existence at the same time as it breaks new ground in understanding the cultural dynamics that underpin life in the United States. From the book: 'The doctor was blunt. He does not mince words. He did a [semen] analysis and he came back and said, 'This is devastatingly poor.' I didn't expect to hear that. It had never occurred to me. It was such a shock to my sense of self and to all these preconceptions of my manliness and virility and all of that. That was a very, very devastating moment and I was dumbfounded...In that moment it totally changed the way that I thought of myself'.

512 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202328
202282
202159
202061
201962
201872