Meaning in Life and Phoniness

Many people complain that phoniness causes, or contributes to causing, life to be insufficiently meaningful. In this chapter, the author explores the relation between phoniness and meaning in life, arguing that the former sometimes enhances rather than undermines the latter. After typifying phoniness and distinguishing it from neighbouring notions (e.g. lying, deceiving, being hypocritical), the author discusses the ways in which phoniness undermines life's meaning. He then discusses common reactions to phoniness and claims that two of them are preferable to others. He argues that the prevalence and degree of phoniness can be easily exaggerated, and that phoniness sometimes protects or even increases, rather than undermines, meaning in life. Hence, some of the efforts to combat phoniness are unhelpful. Occasionally, there is also reason to doubt their motivation. However, since in many cases phoniness does diminish life's meaning, there is need for a nuanced understanding of the relation between the two.