Introduction:
Caricature Sketch by M.R.P.
Where is one left, after four weeks of discussing morality, if the conclusions reached are primarily that humans would do well to approach situations of moral choice with earnest, humble attention to nuance and detail? Well, some of the background assumptions which have led to this formulation are somewhat grander, such as that the apparent objectivity of some basic moral strictures may be an expected piece of a socially evolved mind, or that the justifications for trusting most proposed sources of moral knowledge are on equally dubious footing.
So, if by some chance you are willing to grant that I might be on the right track with both the grand propositions and the simple conclusions, then you might think that we are actually left in a somewhat sorry state, as moral actions then lack the special significance for which they are often revered. In responding to that charge, one can refer to some remarks of Thomas Nagel on the experience of absurdity, and on when mattering matters.
When Mattering Matters:
, a case-in-point of the populace’s penchant for fictionalized treatments of karmic justice, as directed by Danny Boyle. This concept of overarching justice can be understood by its relation to the philosophical topic of internal meaning. For a human life to have internal meaning, it must be good for the person who lives it and it must include worthwhile activities (for a more detailed account of meaning, see ![[Work: The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker, 1973] The Denial of Life: A Critique of Pessimism, Pathologization, and Structuralism in Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death](https://i0.wp.com/thegemsbok.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Ernest-Becker-Sketch-by-M.R.P.-Presentable-1.jpg?fit=254%2C415&ssl=1&resize=200%2C200)
![[Work: A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess, 1962] Burgess' Myopic Morality: Why Anthony Burgess' Infamous A Clockwork Orange is Stronger Without its Original Last Chapter](https://i0.wp.com/thegemsbok.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/A-Clockwork-Orange-book-cover.jpg?fit=257%2C377&ssl=1&resize=200%2C200)
![[Game: Mini Motorways, Dinosaur Polo Club, 2019] Mini Metrics: 5 Ways Mini Motorways Improves on the Studio's Earlier Release Mini Metro](https://i0.wp.com/thegemsbok.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mini-Motorways-screenshot-with-over-5000-trips-completed.png?fit=722%2C406&ssl=1&resize=200%2C200)
![[Game: Dark Souls, FromSoftware, 2011] Unchosen Undead: A Thorough Existentialist Philosophical Analysis of FromSoftware’s Original Dark Souls](https://i0.wp.com/thegemsbok.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Dark-Souls-screenshot-with-Darksign.png?fit=722%2C406&ssl=1&resize=200%2C200)