Chapter 9 Self-Assessment

. After his crisis of meaning, Tolstoy

. Before Tolstoy's Christian conversion, his perspective on the meaning of life was

. Schopenhauer's attitude toward life was that

. Regarding the meaning of life, Clarence Darrow believed life was

. Baggini accuses pessimists of mixing up the two senses of

. Most of those who take the externalist approach to meaning view the matter from a __________ standpoint.

. Baggini argues that the notion of a God assigning a purpose to humans should be __________ to believers and nonbelievers alike.

. Baggini asks, What could seem more unlikely than that a supreme being would need to create human beings solely so that it can

. Internalists believe they can have meaningful lives without relying on

. Many philosophers argue that the fact of death and the ephemeral nature of human endeavors are __________ to the meaningfulness or meaningless of a person's existence.

. Life's value or meaning must be distinguished from

. Pessimists regarding life's meaning believe that life can have no meaning if

. __________ said, "I saw that [the life of the working masses] was life itself and that the meaning given to this life was truth, and I accepted it."

. According to a recent poll, __________of secular, nonreligious, or atheistic people thought their lives had an important meaning or purpose.

. __________ said, "Most of us would say without hesitation that a person's life had meaning if we knew that he devoted himself to a cause."

. Is it the case that the prospect of death and the eventual obliteration of all human creations rob our lives of meaning?

. True or False? The concept of "the meaning of life" is, in common usage, vague and slippery.

. True or False? There are many people who seem to lead meaningful lives without relying on belief in an external being or force to confer meaning.

. True or False? Edwards says that if life is meaningful, then it is meaningful no matter how long or short it is.

. True or False? For many people, life can be meaningful if they come to see their goals or purposes as inherently valuable or worthwhile.

. True or False? For most people, the phrase "the meaning of life" refers to internal meaning.

. True or False? Baggini thinks Tolstoy (at one point in his life), Schopenhauer, and Darrow mixed up internal and external meaning.

. True or False? Many believe that unless a divine entity or transcendent reality has provided the world with ultimate purpose or value, life is meaningless.

. True or False? Internalists say that no one can have a meaningful life without relying on the concepts of God or transcendent realms.

. True or False? The main impediment to clear thinking about life's meaning is confusion about what meaning refers to.

. True or False? The process of examining the question of life’s meaning is a task for one’s community.

. True or False? The process of examining the question of life's meaning is a task for one's community.

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