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Meaning in life is increasingly being distinguished in contemporary philosophy as an autonomous category that complements discussions on moral rightness and subjective happiness. The aim of this doctoral thesis is to map and critically evaluate the understanding of meaning between two extremes: meaning as a purely subjective psychological state (a sense of fulfillment) and meaning as engagement with goals of objective value.

The candidate will select relevant representatives of contemporary ethical theories who theorize the concept of meaningfulness. He/she will map and critically assess their views on whether meaning is generated by an individual’s internal attitude or whether it requires external recognition. Based on a critical analysis of these approaches, the candidate will compare the strengths and weaknesses of the examined authors' positions on the issue. Particular attention will be paid to how the presence or absence of meaning affects the psychological integrity and moral motivation of the acting subject. Subsequently, the candidate will formulate and justify their own position, demonstrating which solutions proposed by the studied authors they support and where they disagree. The central thesis of the project is the assumption that meaning in life cannot be reduced to a psychological feeling, but represents an element that bridges an individual's subjective desires with the objective world of values.

The topic of the doctoral dissertation is a philosophical-anthropological and ethical reflection on the human being in the context of the emerging epoch of the cosmoanthropocene, in which human activity and technological development transcend the boundaries of the terrestrial environment and acquire a cosmic dimension. This situation entails the need to demonstrate that traditional philosophical-anthropological conceptions of the human being, which interpret the human solely as an Earth-bound entity, are no longer capable of adequately reflecting the changing conditions of human existence, characterized by scientific and technological progress, ambitions of space colonization, and reflection on the possibility of life beyond Earth. The aim of the dissertation is therefore to examine how the epoch of the cosmoanthropocene influences the philosophical understanding of human nature and what consequences this shift may have for the evaluation of transhumanist visions of human enhancement, which are often presented as a legitimate form of human adaptation to a new environment and thus as a necessary response to the extreme conditions of the cosmic environment. Particular attention is devoted to examining the ethical limits of technological interventions in the human being, their critical assessment, and the formulation of a normative framework for evaluating technological enhancement in order to preserve human identity, value, and the meaning of human existence under new cosmic conditions.