PHIL 261 – The Meaning of Life

Four credits, FDR - HU, EXP
Four weeks in France
Professors Angela Sun and Paul Gregory

Thinkers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus contemplated life's meaning against the backdrop of World War II, death camps, and the development of the atomic bomb. What were they to make of the human condition in such a world? In this course, we will spend four weeks following in the footsteps of Parisian existentialists contemplating the same questions they did. Is life absurd? Is meaning possible in a world without God? Is meaning possible under a materialist scientific world view? What reasons, if any, do we have to fear death? To answer these questions, we will pair our readings and discussions with locations and experiences in which people throughout history have found and questioned meaning, and we will question and try to find meaning ourselves.

Program fee (paid to W&L): $4,255
Includes programming, room, some meals (~4 lunches and ~4 dinners), most in-country transportation.

Additional costs: airfare, most meals, cell phone, spending money, passport, and visa fees (if applicable).

For further details, please contact Professor Angela Sun (asun@wlu.edu) or Professor Paul Gregory (gregoryp@wlu.edu)

The information session for this course will take place on October 6th at 7:00 pm on Zoom: https://wlu.zoom.us/j/93581706036

Start New Application OR Resume Application

Applications open October 7th, 2025.