Consequentialism, Welfarism, and Meaning in Life

Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 105 (4):583-604 (2024)
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Abstract

What, if anything, makes a life meaningful? Consequentialist theories about meaning in life maintain that the consequences of that life confer meaning upon it. This article advances one such theory: welfarism about meaning in life. According to this view, a life is conferred meaning if, and only if, and then only insofar as, it promotes or protects the well‐being of other welfare subjects. The purpose of this article is to show why welfarism about meaning in life is the most plausible theory about meaning in life.

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Chad Stevenson
Australian National University

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References found in this work

Alienation, consequentialism, and the demands of morality.Peter Railton - 1984 - Philosophy and Public Affairs 13 (2):134-171.
Philosophical Explanations.Robert Nozick - 1981 - Mind 93 (371):450-455.
I and thou.Martin Buber - 1970 - New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons 57.
Happiness and Meaning: Two Aspects of the Good Life.Susan Wolf - 1997 - Social Philosophy and Policy 14 (1):207.
The Good Cause Account of the Meaning of Life.Aaron Smuts - 2013 - Southern Journal of Philosophy 51 (4):536-562.

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