Abstract
One might expect philosophers to have a lot to say about the meaning of life, so it comes as something of a surprise to find how relatively quiet they have been on the topic in recent years.1 In that context, John Cottingham’s book On the Meaning of Life has particular philosophical significance, enhanced by the boldness, depth, and originality of its arguments.2 In this paper, I want to examine some of Cottingham’s central claims in that book about the role of morality and religion in the meaningful life.3 I shall disagree with much of what he says, but Cottingham will be well aware that philosophical criticism can constitute a form of the most sincere admiration and respect. That is certainly the spirit in which I write. Cottingham’s work strikes me as exceptional in contemporary analytic philosophy in its combining acuity and breadth with a grounding in deep historical understanding and an unusual profundity and seriousness of purpose.
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