The Romantic Cosmic Meaning of Life

Abstract The idea of a cosmic meaning of life refers to an evaluation of human life as part of the world. It does not require a view of the world “from nowhere within it”, nor does it involve a search for some cosmic purpose. While meaning and purpose were often conflated in later philosophy, they were separate (yet linked) in early German Romanticism, where the concept of the meaning of life originated. The Romantics saw the cosmic meaning of life in the fact that we belong to a world that is beautiful and sublime, and that evokes attitudes of awe and reverence. In this paper it is argued that a romantic conception of meaning is compatible with both subjectivism and objectivism, but that the subjective component – the experience of meaning – must be present. While the traditional source of cosmic meaning is religion, the example of John Dewey shows that a romantic worldview can appeal to naturalists as well. When we see ourselves as part of the world, we realise that we need to cooperate with nature. This could mean that nature is used as an instrument for human purposes or that it is considered to be intrinsically valuable.