Dissertation

My dissertation project is tentatively titled “How (Not) to Theorize Meaning”, and focuses critical attention on two areas: (1) a number of underlying assumptions shared by most contemporary philosophical work on meaning in life, which I try to excavate & make clear; and (2) the underlying philosophical methodology that drives the acceptance of the assumptions mentioned in (1). The positive part of the project involves arguing for a somewhat different methodology for theorizing about meaning, one that begins with experiences of meaninglessness (rather than a conceptual analysis aimed at giving a positive account of the nature of meaning). Based on this, and using examples involving grief, depression, and the case of Sisyphus, I argue that meaning in life has very important relational, social, & interpersonal dimensions that most contemporary work fail utterly to take seriously. I draw on a number of different resources here, including work in the phenomenological tradition (both classic figures such as Heidegger & Merleau-Ponty as well as contemporary work such as that of Matthew Ratcliffe); work on tradition & the collective afterlife by Sam Scheffler; Jonathan Lear’s work on cultural devastation and radical hope; Kimberley Brownlee’s work on social deprivation as well as others’ work on the notion of ‘social death’; and work on grief from Thomas Attig, among others). Here is a link to a longer description.

Other Research

In work related to this project, though not part of the dissertation proper, I hope to eventually explore the ethical & political dimensions of meaning, such as the possibility of meaning-based harms (harms aimed directly at what is meaningful in our lives, as well as our capacity to live meaningfully); connections with the Rawlsian tradition regarding resources such as time and their role of enabling meaningful living; the politics of equal opportunity as it relates to having opportunities to live meaningfully; and questions about technology, social media, content creators and their role in promoting or undermining meaningful living, especially as it relates to life under neoliberal, financial capitalism.