I HAVE BEEN THINKING, talking, and writing about topics related to these lectures for many years and have benefited from discussions with more friends, colleagues, and students than I can mention. In addition to the Tanner Foundation and Princeton University, though, I owe special debts of gratitude to several institutions, which I would like to acknowledge here. The Guggenheim Foundation and the Australian National University sponsored a year of research in which I began developing my ideas on meaningfulness. The Mellon Foundation sponsored a second trip to the ANU as well as providing resources that have made my last few years of teaching and research especially pleasant and rewarding. Finally, I thank the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and especially the philosophy department, for providing as stimulating and supportive an academic community as anyone could wish for.
Susan Wolf
July 21, 2009