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Review of Thaddeus Metz’s Meaning in Life

Minao Kukita

Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.5, No.3 (October 2015):208-214

Abstract

In this review, we examine Thaddeus Metz’s theory of meaning in life proposed in Meaning in Life. After providing an overview of the book, we critically assess how successful his theory is. In specific, we argue that the key concept of fundamentality does not work as well as Metz claims it. Either the concept is not free from arbitrariness or ambiguity, or Metz is wrong in claiming that fundamentality is essential for a work of art to confer meaning to the artist’s life. Finally, we raise some questions about basic intuitions and assumptions in Metz’s theory.

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