Work
This theme runs through several big questions. Here are the ones where it plays out.
The questions that illuminate it
Relation to the worldRelation to technology
Does technological progress improve the human condition?
Each new tool frees us from old burdens, but breeds dependencies and powers we barely control; does technology serve our ends, or silently transform our desires and even who we are? To take a position is to say whether technical progress is a promise to seize or a hold to keep watch over.
Relation to the worldMeaning of work
Does work fulfill us, alienate us, or is it merely a necessity?
Is work the place where we realize ourselves and find our place among others, or what wears us down and dispossesses us, time taken from the rest of our existence? Seeing it as fulfilment can reduce us to our jobs; seeing it as mere drudgery can drain a huge part of our days of meaning. To take a position is to say what place work deserves in a good life.