This chapter is meant to give an interpretation of humanism and to indicate what this implies for the hopes one might have for the future. A meaning frame is a set of assumptions, principles, and values embedded in a cultural environment, in groups and organizations, social institutions, and, last but not least, in (memories of) important life experiences and a network of relatives, friends, exemplary figures. A meaning frame provides orientation with a sense of direction, stability, identity, continuity, and with (...) the criteria to evaluate situations and life course. Interpreting humanism as a meaning frame implies that it is more than a moral, ethical, and political position. The ethical aspect of a meaning frame is often a very important one, but the meaning frame is not an ethical frame only. In principle there are as many meaning frames as there are human beings. (shrink)

Most people, including philosophers, tend to classify human motives as falling into one of two categories: the egoistic or the altruistic, the self-interested or the moral. According to Susan Wolf, however, much of what motivates us does not comfortably fit into this scheme. Often we act neither for our own sake nor out of duty or an impersonal concern for the world. Rather, we act out of love for objects that we rightly perceive as worthy of love--and it is these (...) actions that give meaning to our lives. Wolf makes a compelling case that, along with happiness and morality, this kind of meaningfulness constitutes a distinctive dimension of a good life. Written in a lively and engaging style, and full of provocative examples, Meaning in Life and Why It Matters is a profound and original reflection on a subject of permanent human concern. (shrink)