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Overview"What does philosophy have to say on the question of the meaning of life? This is one of the founding questions of philosophy and has remained a central problem for philosophers from antiquity through to the Middle Ages and modern period. It may surprise some readers that there has, in fact, been a good deal of agreement on the answer to this question: the meaning of life is happiness. The Purpose of Life is a serious but engaging exploration and defense of this answer. The central idea that shapes The Purpose of Life is Augustine's assertion that ""It is the decided opinion of all who use their brains that all men desire to be happy."" In working through the ramifications of this answer, Stewart Goetz provides a survey of the debates surrounding life's meaning, from both theists and atheists alike." Full Product DetailsAuthor: Professor Stewart Goetz (Ursinus College, USA)Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Imprint: Bloomsbury Continuum Dimensions: Width: 13.80cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 21.60cm Weight: 0.245kg ISBN: 9781441180827ISBN 10: 1441180826 Pages: 192 Publication Date: 13 September 2012 Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , General , Undergraduate Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Manufactured on demand  We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier. Language: English Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1: Clarifying the Question What is the Meaning of Life? Clarifying Questions and Answers to Them Perfect Happiness A Plausible Understanding of What is the meaning of life? A Plausible Understanding of What makes life meaningful? Euthyphro's Objection A Plausible Understanding of Is life meaningful? This World, the Afterlife, and the Soul Conclusion Addendum Chapter 2: Perfect Happiness and Its Atheist Critics Perfect Happiness Is Not the Meaning of Life Perfect Happiness: Setting the Bar too High Why Should I Be Moral? A Section Not Strictly Necessary Why Should I Be Moral? again Chapter 3: Perfect Happiness and Its Theist Critics The Problem of Pleasure Pleasure Cannot Be Intrinsically Good: Religious Concerns Pleasure Cannot Be Intrinsically Good: Philosophical Concerns Is Pleasure Present in Everything We Enjoy? Conclusion Chapter 4: Purposeful Explanation and Naturalism A Brief Overview Looking Backward versus Looking Forward The Nature of Purposeful Explanation Naturalism The Causal Closure Principle Science Is Not the Problem Survival or Pleasure: What Explains What? Evolution versus Creation Addendum Chapter 5: The Problem of Evil Skeptical Theism, the Purpose of Life, and the Problem of Evil Choice and Life Plans Life Plans and Perfect Happiness A Theodicy The Plausibility of My Theodicy Not So Fast! A Skeptical Theist Turned Theodicist Justice as an Organic Unity Tying Together Some Loose Ends The Experience of Evil by Beasts Addendum Chapter 6: Conclusion Bibliography IndexReviewsA very stimulating and readable defence of a theistic hedonistic understanding of happiness as the purpose of life; it should be of interest to philosophers of religion and value theorists at every level, from the undergraduate upwards. -- T. J. Mawson, Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy, University of Oxford, UK Stewart Goetz’s remarkable book, The Purpose of Life: A Theistic Perspective, provides a rigorous analytic treatment of a theistic theory of the meaning of life that addresses the best arguments of its nontheistic detractors. Beyond that self-described goal, Goetz also mounts a direct assault on naturalism, defends his specific understanding of life’s meaning against the objections of his theistic friends, and presents a kind of free will theodicy. ... [P]acked full of insights and arguments that would benefit a readership that ranges from advanced undergraduates to the most learned theologian or philosopher. -- Jordan Wessling, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA * The Journal of Religion * The Purpose of Life: A Theistic Perspective makes an important contribution to the growing discussion within analytic philosophy over life’s meaning. Goetz covers a lot of interesting philosophical territory to make his case—value theory, naturalism, reductionism, the problem of evil, even heaven and hell. His choice of interlocutors is equally interesting: St. Augustine, Bertrand Russell, C.S. Lewis, Daniel Dennett, Thomas Nagel and Alvin Plantinga to name a few. Those interested in a monograph-length discussion of life’s meaning from a theistic perspective will want to read this book. I hope that Goetz’s contribution motivates others to work further (or for the first time) in this area. -- Joshua Seachris, University of Notre Dame * Faith and Philosophy, Vol. 31, No. 2, 2014 * A very stimulating and readable defence of a theistic hedonistic understanding of happiness as the purpose of life; it should be of interest to philosophers of religion and value theorists at every level, from the undergraduate upwards. -- T. J. Mawson, Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy, University of Oxford, UK Author InformationStewart Goetz is Ross Frederick Wicks Distinguished Professor in Philosophy and Religion at Ursinus College, PA, USA. He is co-author with Charles Taliaferro of Naturalism (2008) and A Brief History of the Soul (2011). He serves on the board of directors for Blackwell's Philosophy Compass. 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