Meaning of life as a mental concept

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2010

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Aydoğan, Cevriye Arzu

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What is the meaning of life? This has been one of the major questions of philosophy for centuries; from Socrates to Nietzsche and from Tolstoy to the famous comedy writers’ group Monty Python. People from diverse intellectual backgrounds asked what the meaning of life is. Although there are doubts that this question is now outdated, meaning of life seems to me still an intriguing subject. In this thesis I argue that life’s meaning must be discussed according to two different notions. One of these notions is the content of life where life’s meaning can be analyzed according to its coherence with a value system, its achievements or its influence on others. The other is the notion of life’s meaning as a mental concept, as an experience. I provide reasons to think life’s meaning as a composite mental state and propose its components. My point of view carries subjectivist implications, however by introducing necessary conditions of the formation of the composite mental state that provides a life with meaning I argue that such a mental state attains objectivity.

Subject Keywords

Philosophy.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612511/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/19987

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

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Citation Formats

C. A. Aydoğan, “Meaning of life as a mental concept,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2010.