Continuing briefly off of my last post, What to do Concerning Meaningless Lives, while it may be inappropriate to tell someone their life is meaningless, it is interesting to think in the point of view of the Blob. After reading, “The Importance of the Afterlife. Seriously.” by Samuel Scheffler, it is easily compared to “The Meaning of Lives” by Susan Wolf. Scheffler claims how the afterlife for an individual is more than just one’s personal death, but what is left of the human race afterwards. If humanity was doomed to end 30 days after you die, and everyone knew, what would prevent everyone from becoming the Blob described by Wolf? Is this the same view that people who are the Blob currently have, that humanity is doomed so why try?
Most everyone’s goals and aspirations would be gone since humanity could not continue, but it is horrible to think of humanity sitting around, drinking beer, watching sitcoms, and waiting for its impending doom.
I understand where you are coming from. I do think that the idea of all of humanity wouldn’t end up like a Blob. I think that most of us would just sit and not even try to do anything since the world is doomed regardless but I also think that some people would take this as a push to do what they’ve always desired to do and accomplish. I think that not everyone will end up as the Blob.
I don’t think the Blob has the idea that humanity is doomed and the “why try” attitude. I think someone who live the lifestyle of the blob is merely not motivated to even try to have meaning in his/her life, not because of the world’s impending doom, but because they think their time is better spent drinking beer and watching TV, because that’s what they enjoy most.
Your comparison between Wolf and Scheffler brings up an interesting point. Wolf describes the Blob’s life as meaningless but she also describes a case she names “Bankrupt” in which someone dedicates their life to a project that fails in the end. Wolf classifies a “Bankrupt” life as meaningless. Scheffler’s article may bring up a flaw in Wolf’s classification. For example, say an engineer comes up with a new style of bridge that is going to be safer, longer-lasting, more cost efficient, etc. Wolf would describe this as a meaningful life. Now say that the next day after the engineer’s discovery, humanity finds out that the world will end in 30 days, not enough time to build any new bridges. Would Wolf now describe this case as Bankrupt? Is the engineer’s life now meaningless? It seems like that the meaning of someone’s life shouldn’t be so disposable such as in the example above and instead should be defined by the individual’s own journey and growth.
Ivy, I like how you introduced a new thought to this discussion. I agree that it is an interesting question whether or not if Wolf would consider the engineer would have a “Bankrupt” meaningless life. Based off of her perspective in her paper, I would have to agree that the engineer’s life is now meaningless. He did not get to finish a project that he was striving for, due to circumstances that he could not control. While I do not personally agree with this view, because I believe it is about the journey of a life, not the destination, I can see how Wolf would think that the life of this individual is meaningless.