What is Schlick's agrument for determining the meaning of life?

Answer 1

• Work- activity with a purpose (ie. activity aimed at the achievement of external goals, activity of instrumental value

• Play- activity without purpose, ie. activity aimed at nothing more than itself, activity of intrinsic value.

• On the first pass formulation, then Schlick's proposal can be captured as follows: The meaning of life consists of play.

• The more one's life includes play, the more meaningful it is the less it includes play (focuses on work), the less meaningful it is.

• The play theory of the meaning of life, for all its elegant simplicity, inspires an immediate objection.

• In the real world, we must engage in work- to meet the needs of ourselves and others to live up to our duties, etc. Most of the time to be responsible. On Schlick's play theory leading to a meaningful life would amount to shirking responsibility by avoiding such work.

Schlick's Reply:

• The needn't be conflict between play and responsibility.

• Although some types of play may be irresponsible, aren't there some types of play that actually turn out to meet the needs of ourselves and others, to live up to our duties, etc.

• This is because many types of play, although not valuable simply because they are aimed at the achievement of purposes, are nonetheless quite productive in terms of achieving these purposes.

• Schlick goes on to call these productive responsibilities compatible types of play, instances of creative play.

• Some paradigmatic examples of creative play:

  • Art

  • Science

• On a slightly more careful 2nd pass formulation, Schlick's play theory of the meaning of life can be put this way:

  • the meaning of life consists of creative play.

    • The more one's life includes creative play, the more meaningful it is, the less it includes creative play, the less meaningful it is.

• Schlick goes on to suggest that the secret to the meaning of life- the key to understanding how to make one's life meaningful- is to find ways to transform what otherwise might simply be instances of work in one's life into instances of creative play.

• Provided we can come to see even our everyday productive activities as valuable in and of themselves-intrinsically valuable- we will in other words be turning our lives into deeply meaningful lives. Learn to see activities of creative play as intrinsically valuable.

Answer 2

Schlick argued that the search for the meaning of life is a meaningless pursuit, as meaning is a subjective concept and cannot be objectively determined. He believed that individuals should focus on creating their own meaning in life through personal experiences and relationships, rather than seeking an overarching universal purpose.