We Can Have the Meaning Now, Right?

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This is down Lightman's point. We talked about in a previous episode and the metaphor he uses of the ant colony that somehow manages to learn how to create, write music and write literature. But then a big flood comes and wipes it out and it's over. And I love the idea that yes, I'm part of this great chain of activity, but if the chains get in and it's not inherently meaningful, what's the point? That would be your critique of Scheffler's argument, correct? Right.

Suppose all of humanity was infected by a virus that left us all infertile--no one will come along after us. How would you react to such a world? Agnes Callard of the University of Chicago says she would be filled with despair. But why does this seem worse than our own inevitable deaths? Callard speaks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the meaning of life, and what exactly about the end of humanity is so demoralizing. The conversation concludes with a discussion of whether humanity is making progress.