Article Title：The possibility of meaning in human evolution
Abstract：
Science undermines the certitude of non-naturalistic answers to the question of whether human life has meaning. I explore whether evolution can provide a naturalistic basis for existential meaning. Using the work of philosopher Daniel Dennett and scientist Ursula Goodenough, I argue that evolution is the locus of the possibility of meaning because it has produced intentionality, the matrix of consciousness. I conclude that the question of the meaning of human life is an existentialist one: existential meaning is a product of the individual and collective tasks human beings undertake.
Keywords: biology; consciousness; emergence; emergent functions; evolution; existence; existentialism; intentionality; language; life; life forms; meaning; naturalism; organisms; philosophy; purpose; reductionism; religion; science; self-consciousness; significance; species; symbol; value; worldview
DOI: 10.1111/1467-9744.00317
Source：ZYGON
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