The Road Traveled and Other Essays

Steven M. Cahn

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781532664526
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Philosophy of Religion

The Road Traveled and Other Essays presents the recent work of philosopher and educator Steven M. Cahn. This book offers his latest reflections on the nature of well-being, the rationality of religious belief, and the aims of higher education. Also included are a selection of his challenging philosophical puzzles. The work concludes with a detailed account of his career as a faculty member, foundation executive, and university administrator.

Part I

Well-Being

1

Living Well

co-authored with Christine Vitrano

In Ronald Dworkin’s posthumously published Religion Without God, he argues that an atheist can be religious. While this claim would come as no surprise to adherents of Jainism, Theravada Buddhism, or Mimamsa Hinduism, Dworkin has in mind not these Asian religious traditions but a viewpoint common to many Western thinkers denying theism yet recognizing “nature’s intrinsic beauty” and the “inescapable responsibility” of each person to “live well.”1 Dworkin considers such an outlook religious.

Leaving aside his curious line of thought that finds support for religious belief in such disparate phenomena as the Grand Canyon, the prowling of jaguars, and the discovery by physicists of the Higgs boson, let us concentrate instead on his view that we should all seek to live well so as to achieve “successful” lives and avoid “wasted” ones.2

Does one model fit all? On this important point Dworkin wavers. He maintains that “there is, independently and objectively, a right way to live.” Yet he also recognizes “the responsibility of each person to decide for himself ethical questions about which kinds of lives are appropriate and which would be degrading for him.”3

What sort of life did Dworkin find degrading? We are not told but suspect that for such a successful academic, a degrading life might have been one without intellectual striving, just as a famed athlete might find to be degrading a life as a couch potato.

But what sorts of lives are worthy? To help answer the question, consider the following two fictional, though realistic, cases.

I. Pat received a bachelor’s degree from a prestigious college, earned a PhD in philosophy from a leading university, was awarded an academic position at a first-rate school, and eventually earned tenure there. Pat is the author of numerous books, articles, and reviews, is widely regarded as a leading scholar and teacher, and is admired by colleagues and students for fairness and helpfulness. Pat is happily married, has two children, enjoys playing bridge and the cello, and vacations each summer in a modest house on Cape Cod. Physically and mentally healthy, Pat is in good spirits, looking forward to years of continued happiness.

II. Lee did not attend college. After graduation from high school, Lee moved to a beach community in California and is devoted to sunbathing, swimming, and surfing. Lee has never married but has experienced numerous romances. Having inherited wealth from deceased parents, Lee has no financial needs but, while donating generously to worthy causes, spends money freely on magnificent homes, luxury cars, the latest in electronic equipment, designer clothes, meals in fine restaurants, golfing holidays, and trips to far-flung locations. Lee has many friends and is admired for honesty and kindness. Physically and mentally healthy, Lee is in good spirits, looking forward to years of continued happiness.

Both Pat and Lee live in ways that appear to suit them. Both enjoy prosperity, treat others with respect, engage in activities they find fulfilling, and report they are happy. So are both living well? Are both pursuing equally successful lives? Is either life being wasted?

Dworkin offers little guidance to help answer these questions. He urges that we “make our lives into works of art,”4 but works of art typically contain complexities and conflicts not found in the lives of Pat or Lee. The story of each might be told in the form of a play or novel, but neither individual appears to have the makings of a Medea, Hamlet, or Raskolnikov.

Dworkin remarks that “Someone creates a work of art from his life if he lives and loves well in family or community with no fame or artistic achievement at all.”5 Here Dworkin, having urged us to live well by making our lives into works of art, unhelpfully explains that works of art are those made by living well. This circular explanation sheds no light on how to live well, so Dworkin’s appeal to works of art does not help us choose between the lives of Pat and Lee.

Many other philosophers, however, have provided reasons for believing that Pat’s life is superior to Lee’s. They rate the pursuit of philosophical inquiry, playing the cello, or raising a family more highly than surfing, having a series of romances, or living in a luxurious home.

Yet not all philosophers agree with this assessment. Two who do not are Richard Taylor and Harry Frankfurt, each of whom would maintain that Pat and Lee are living equally well.

Consider first Taylor’s approach. He discusses the case of Sisyphus, who, according to Greek myth, was condemned for his misdeeds to the eternal task of rolling a huge stone to the top of a hill, only each time to have it roll down to the bottom again. Is the activity of Sisyphus meaningless? Taylor concludes that the answer depends on whether Sisyphus has a desire to roll stones up hills. Most of us don’t, but if Sisyphus does, then he has found “mission and meaning.”6 So, according to Taylor, living well is living in accord with your desires. If your activities match your wishes, then your life is successful. Whether the activity is teaching philosophy, driving luxury cars, or rolling stones up hills makes no difference.

Frankfurt reaches a similar conclusion. He maintains that we infuse our lives with meaning by loving certain intrinsic ends and caring about the means to achieve them. Need they be of a particular sort? Not according to Frankfurt. As he writes, “Devoting oneself to what one loves suffices to make one’s life meaningful, regardless of the inherent or objective character of the objects that are loved.”7 Therefore while Pat loves discussing philosophy, playing bridge, and spending time with family, Lee loves surfing, golfing, and engaging in romantic adventures. Thus, according to Frankfurt, both possess the essentials of a meaningful life.

As we noted, however, most philosophers reject this view of what makes a life significant.8 Susan Wolf, for instance, argues that if your life is to have meaning, you need to be engaged with projects of worth, i.e., those with objective value.9 What are these? Unfortunately, Wolf offers no theory of objective value to guide us, but she does provide examples of activities that are worthwhile and others that are not. For example, she maintains that caring for an ailing friend gives life meaning but providing financial support for a sick stranger doe...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Part I: Well-Being
• Part II: Religious Belief
• Part III: Academic Life
• Part IV: Doctoral Education
• Part V: Puzzles
• Part VI: Reminiscences
• Bibliography
• About the Author