Meanings of Life

Roy F. Baumeister, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Florida State University and at the University of Queensland in Australia. Dr. Baumeister has written more than 600 professional publications and numerous books for professionals and the general public. His research on self-regulation addresses such topics as aggression, eating, sexuality, emotion, limited resources, addiction, free will, physiology, and task performance.

Roy Baumeister writes conceptually exact, richly factual, and continuously delightful books on deep subjects, and this is his best. --Roger Brown, Ph.D.The topic is, of course, tremendous. We feel giddily nervous on even entertaining it, and so usually take it for granted or leave it to Monty Python. Fortunately, this volume has now arrived, bringing with it a far-reaching analysis of how life's meaning impinges on social life. It is rare to find such a broad array of intriguing and subtle hypotheses derived from a single theme, and even more rare to find such wide-ranging awareness of history and culture in contemporary social psychology. --Daniel M. Wegner, Ph.D.The book encourages the reader to struggle with hard questions that have no objective answers. --Jerry Bruce, Sam Houston State, Huntsville, Texas - A scholarly and intriguing review of research and thought on finding meaningfulness in life. Laypeople and psychologists alike will find it a fascinating read. --Contemporary Psychology, 9/27/1992

• Part 1 Basic Patterns of Life and Meaning 1 Who Says Life has no Meaning? 2 Coming to Terms with Meaning 3 The Four Needs for Meaning: An Existential Shopping List 4 The Myth of Higher Meaning Part II Looking for Answers 5 Self-Identity and the Value Gap 6 Work, Work, Work, Work 7 Passionate Love, Domestic Bliss 8 Religion Part III Adjustment, Well-being and Threat 9 Happiness 10 Suffering and happiness 11 Meanings of Death Part IV Changes in Meaning 12 Life Change: adding and subtracting meanings 13 Why Woman Once Disliked Sex, Epilogue