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Happiness & Meaning

The Philosopher with a Thousand Faces

Alex Gooch on narrative, meaning, and the failure of philosophy.

What kind of life is the philosophical life? Is it, as Socrates proclaimed, the best life? Or is the philosophical life even capable of being a genuinely meaningful life? In this article, I will give an account of the philosophical life following two very disreputable guides: the popular scholar of mythology Joseph Campbell, and the controversial political philosopher Leo Strauss. I will argue that the philosophical project, eventually fails to bring meaning to the lives of those who practise it. This article has elements of intellectual autobiography, and is written in particular for others like myself who have struggled with the vocation of philosophy and the problems of meaning it presents. Many of the claims I make here are grounded in experience, and will be convincing only to the extent that they accord with the reader’s own experience or imaginative sympathy.

The Meaning of Life

A life without meaning will not be a good life.

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