Rivka Weinberg, "The Meaning of It All: Ultimate Meaning, Everyday Meaning, Cosmic Meaning, Death, and Time" (Oxford UP, 2026)
About this episode
Rivka Weinberg discusses different kinds of meaning in life and how they relate to time and death.
You can stock your life with important work, relationships, activities, and art, and yet, you can still ask: what's the point of it all? Almost every thinking person has had that question—many more than once. Granted, you're more likely to worry about the point of life when things are not going well, but you're also likely to still ask this question when you've finally received that promotion, achieved a goal, or raised your children—exactly when it seems like the question shouldn't arise. In The Meaning of It All: Ultimate Meaning, Everyday Meaning, Cosmic Meaning, Death, and Time (Oxford University Press, 2026), Rivka Weinberg argues this is because there are different kinds of meaning, and some of them, sadly, are impossible to achieve. She explains what they are, illuminates which types of meaning are possible, which are impossible, and shows us how we might orient our lives in light of these bittersweet truths. Although we all die in the end, Weinberg explains why death doesn't make life more or less meaningful. Instead, it is time that is necessary for meaning, even as it also undermines it by wearing away the fruits of our efforts and commitments. Weinberg shows that most…
People in this episode
Guest: Rivka Weinberg
Topics covered
- meaning of life
- philosophy
- death
- time
- existential questions
Keywords
- meaning
- life
- death
- time
- philosophy
- existentialism
- Rivka Weinberg
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Oxford University Press
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