Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World feat. Iddo Landau

We've covered a lot of ground in 163 episodes of unSILOed. We’ve dug into topics like economics, psychology, biology, and many many more. So today we're going to tackle the meaning of life. It's about time, right?!

Iddo Landau, Ph.D., is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Haifa. He has written extensively on the meaning of life. His latest book is “Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World.” 

So let's dive into the meaning of life here. Within that, Greg & Iddo discuss perfectionism, subjective happiness, mediocrity as a virtue, “good enough mothers,” and finding meaning in doing the dishes.

Episode Quotes:

On the meaning of life

I think in general, we should remember that life is terrible and life is wonderful. It includes horrific things and it includes very good and wonderful things. And many people, not all people, but many people, have quite a lot of power to live their lives in ways in which there is more meaningfulness or good than meaninglessness or bad.

The business of philosophy

The business of philosophy is the pursuit of truth. So we should not try to cheat ourselves or delude ourselves.

On happiness

I think that happiness can be seen as of intrinsic value. I mean, there is good reason to be happy just for the sake of happiness. However, that does not mean that happiness and meaningfulness always come together.

On perfectionism

The general thrust of perfectionism is the view or the sensation that if things are not excellent or perfect, of extremely high quality, then they're not worth anything. It's a bit like a person who looks into the sun and then is blinded because he cannot see anything that is in regular light. 

Show Links:

Resources:

• Viktor Frankl - Wikipedia
• What Is a "Good Enough Mother"? | Psychology Today
• Donald Winnicott - Wikipedia

Guest Profile:

• Professional Profile at University of Haifa
• Professional Profile at Psychology Today

His Work:

• Iddo Landau on Google Scholar
• The Oxford Handbook of Meaning in Life
• Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World
• Is Philosophy Androcentric?

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