Looking for The Meaning of Life
Steve Fuller
About the Course
The meaning of life is a mystery that remains elusive. Whether we place our faith in scientific progress, the afterlife, family, or personal well-being, we struggle to convince ourselves of a deeper purpose. Today’s world presents us with new challenges, whilst promising to offer answers to age-old questions. In this course, Professor Steve Fuller presents a radical account of how humanity has found meaning, and suggests the next ways in which we will look for the meaning of life. Where might we find it?
By the end of the course, you will have learned:
- How today’s cult of fame developed from the ancient’s search for meaning.
- What challenges Darwin’s theory of evolution presents to meaning.
- Why Plato thought that delusions were necessary for a prosperous society.
- The deeper message behind Hawking’s phrase ‘the mind of God’.
- The cyclical patterns in our search for life beyond death.
As part of the course, there are in-video quiz questions to consolidate your learning, suggested further content to explore topics further, discussion boards to have your say, and an end-of-course assessment set by Professor Fuller.
IAI Academy courses are designed to be challenging but accessible to the interested student. No specialist knowledge is required.
About the Instructor
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Steve Fuller
Steve Fuller is Auguste Comte Chair in Social Epistemology at the University of Warwick. He is the author of Post-Truth: Knowledge as a Power Game (Anthem, 2018) and most recently, Media and the Power of Knowledge (Bloomsbury 2025).
Course Syllabus
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Part One: More than a Zero Sum GameSome philosophers have endorsed suicide – but does the ‘good life’ tip the balance against despair?
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Part Two: Being and KnowingWhat can the experience of living teach us about ourselves and the nature of the world?
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Part Three: Beyond LifeWhat does life signify beyond itself? Can our impact on others give our lives value?
Suggested Further Readings
- Fuller, S., Humanity 2.0: What it Means to be Human Past, Present and Future, (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011).
- Taylor, R., Good and Evil, (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2000 [original 1970]).
- Nagel, T., What Does It All Mean? A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987).
- Frankl, V. E., Man’s Search for Meaning, (London: Rider, 2004 [original 1946]).
- Yalom, I. D., Existential Psychotherapy, (New York: Basic Books, 1980).
- Gray, J., Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals, (London: Granta, 2002).
- Dennett, D., Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, (New York: Penguin, 2006).
- de Botton, A., Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion, (London: Hamish Hamilton, 2012).
