Philosophy For Our Times God, science, and the natural world PART 2 | Philosopher Fiona Ellis
Nov 15, 2024
Fiona Ellis, a Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Roehampton and former president of the British Society for Philosophy of Religion, explores the interplay between the natural and supernatural realms. She discusses the metaphysics of naturalism, emphasizing love and desire in our search for meaning. The conversation contrasts transcendentalism and immanentism, proposing an expanded naturalism that values immediate human experiences. Using the myth of Sisyphus, Ellis highlights how personal desires infuse significance into life's inherent void.
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Two Approaches to Meaning
- Two approaches to life's meaning are transcendentalism (external purpose) and immanentism (internal meaning).
- These often align with supernaturalist (theist/Platonist) and naturalist (atheist/anti-Platonist) views, respectively.
Motivations Behind the Approaches
- Immanentists worry that focusing on a transcendent realm devalues this life.
- Transcendentalists argue that lacking an external standard undermines meaning in the present.
Sisyphus and Meaninglessness
- Richard Taylor uses the myth of Sisyphus to illustrate a meaningless existence.
- He argues that objective meaninglessness arises from repetitive actions with no outcome.
