Abstract

What makes a life meaningful? I argue that a life is meaningful if it is unified, autonomous, and intelligible. However, we cannot rely on traditional analyses of these three notions because they ignore the fact that persons live their lives through time. I argue that only if we rigorously examine a life's temporal character can we account for its meaningfulness. ;By considering phenomenologically rich examples, such as the lives of St. Augustine, Gandhi, and Sisyphus, I show that our concern about meaningfulness embraces the whole of a life rather than this or that moment. This felt diachronic concern is essential to such everyday activities as planning and retrospective judgment. Understanding these activities leads us, for instance, to reject popular celebrations of the epiphanic moment and to criticize Frankfurt's second-order volitions as too episodic to ground an adequate account of autonomy. The shortcomings of such views also highlight the need to connect the temporal character of living with the creative aspects of forging a life, and I explore this connection by drawing a parallel with art and artistic activity. ;Attending to the temporal and creative character of leading a life helps us articulate a conception of a meaningful life as unified, autonomous, and intelligible. I conclude that a meaningful life exhibits a unified narrative, contains stable yet flexible commitments, and manifests a mature level of ongoing reflective self-understanding