The Quest for Meaning: A Journey Through Philosophy, the Arts, and Creative Genius

by Cooney, William

• ISBN13: 9780761815266
• ISBN10: 0761815260
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-08
• Publisher: UPA

Summary

The Quest for Meaning explores the deep-seated human need to create a life that is meaningful. In an effort to understand this need, author William Cooney examines the works of philosophers from Plato to Sartre as well as the insights of artists, poets, writers, psychologists, and film-makers. He discusses the nature of humanness, creation, freedom, and choice, all of which are facets of a meaningful life. Cooney also addresses postmodernism, arguing that it does not offer real guidance for those seeking a life of significance. Maintaining that some ways of creating meaning are preferable to others, he concludes that it is up to each individual to craft a meaningful life and that this process must take place within a context of giving and receiving.

Author Biography

Dr. William Cooney is professor of philosophy at Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
PART ONE: Philosophy and the Arts
Introduction: The Philosophical Attitude and The Gift of Existence	1	(20)
The Nature, Tasks, and Branches of Philosophy	21	(12)
Plato: Philosophy and the Arts, and the Need for Control	33	(20)
Aristotle: The Arts and the Human Person	53	(16)
From Augustine and Aquinas to Leonardo and Michelangelo: Coming out of the Aesthetic Dark Ages	69	(18)
Rousseau and the Romantics: The Role of Feeling in the Arts	87	(20)
Kierkegaard and Nietzsche: The Art of Creating the Individual	107	(24)
Marcel and Sartre: On the Nature of Creation, Human and Divine	131	(30)
The Challenge of Postmodernism	161	(14)
PART TWO: Profiles of Creative Genius
Mozart and Beethoven: Two Faces of Creative Genius	175	(16)
Emily Dickinson: A Poetic Genius Looks at Death	191	(16)
Vincent Van Gogh: Risking My Life for My Art	207	(10)
Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray	217	(20)
Frank Lloyd Wright: Creative Force of Nature	237	(14)
Carl Jung: On Psychology and Art	251	(12)
Conclusion: The Quest for Meaning as an End-in-Itself	263