The Dynamics of Meaning By Toby Fadida

The Dynamics of Meaning By Toby Fadida Copyright 2012 Toby Fadida Smashwords Edition Smashwords Edition, Licence Notes Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support. ISBN: 9781476102641 Table of Contents 1. Meaning in context 2. Rational interpretation 3. Logically and reasonably discussing so perplexing 4. The meaning of the meaning question 5. A rather modest perspective - the whole picture – the complete meaning 6. The belonging of meaning in our minds and in our hearts 7. Contextual backdrop – the triangle of meaning 8. God and Human meaning 9. An attempt to find enlightenment 10. Acknowledgments Meaning in context Many people will wonder at some point in their lives what it’s all about. How is it meant to be? Why am I? Did something make us come to be? What is being about? Is there a purpose behind it? Is purpose real or made up? Do we really exist or is everything a dream? What is value? Does anything even have any value? If I don’t know what the meaning of life is, will I die unfulfilled? What is the meaning of life? Does it even have a “meaning”? Is that question asked about one’s own life or about all human life? Is it even possible to ask such a question about all human life? People have interpreted the need for meaning in varying contexts. Some seek the “ultimate” meaning; that of the creation of the universe, others the meaning of their religion and others the meaning of themselves in relation to their surroundings and so on. The search for the meaning of life is perhaps one of the deepest searches that a human can embark on pursuing. Perhaps for this reason many have decided that they would be better off not searching for it at all. Searching for the meaning of life mainly comes into the category of an ideological meaning that we maintain as our belief as well as a sense of meaning that we sentimentally experience. The two pursuits differ vastly. Many defer the need for ideological meaning by finding an answer to a slightly different question creating a sense of ideological meaning. Too often is the question derailed or concluded without being tended to logically, or tended to at all. Following the question “what is it all about, what is the meaning of life?” the question “what is such a question asking and how do I go about reaching an all-encompassing conclusion?” should be asked. In such a perplexing existence, meaning is truly a dynamic matter and a very worthy search. Rational Interpretation The experience of life is almost like being dropped off somewhere random; not knowing where you are or why you are there. You know that you will one day depart, so you want to make the most of the time that you are there, before your departure to the unknowable. There is perhaps nothing more deducible from our incomplete understanding of human nature than the inevitable need for meaning, for a cause to do the things that we obliged to do and those which we want to do. For the majority of human history, people from all parts of the earth have been pondering the meaning of their existence, Epicurus (341-270 98BCE) like many others believed that the goal of life is happiness, Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679) believed that man is nothing more than a mere physical machine. Modern society, at a superficial level, appears to have taken very little from this vast ocean of recorded thought. If a form of somewhat intelligent life were to visit a modern city, would they be surprised if they were to uncover how vigorously man has searched for meaning, or would they be expecting it? A 2006 You Tube clip “The Meaning of Life Documentary - Part 1-2” produced by Jon Cortelyou asked American pedestrians “What is your personal meaning of life?” Many participants immediately interpreted the question as “What do you think are important things to do while you are alive?” Such responses assume that the meaning of life is about experiences, choices and actions that one should fulfil while living; what the objectives of life are. Other participants responded with why they think their lives are worthwhile. Is that really all it means to live as a human? It seems as though the search for the meaning of life is not one mere question, but rather a provoking trail of thought that uncovers many others. This is why the search for meaning is as deep as it is, but this depth will drown us unless we have clarity and rules for digging deep (the deeper - the closer to the fundamental regions of thought that underlie our perception of life). Think of the meaning as gold and inquiring as the process of mining. When miners begin mining they discover other possible hotspots around what they have already found. They just need to continue digging in other directions until they find more. They may at some point decide that it would be wrong to take any more gold and that they have enough for their livelihood. Logically and reasonably discussing something so perplexing Aristotle (384-322 BC) influentially concluded that logic is essentially the link between premises, arguments and what is concluded. For example: Socrates is a human. Humans require water. Socrates requires water. For something to be logical the conclusion must maintain integrity to the arguments. Aristotle also discusses what he calls the "three types of sentences” and they are Singular: Moses is a man, Universal: Every man is religious, Particular: Some men are religious. Aristotle’s inquiries into logic are credited with shaping western philosophy, and thought in general. Whether or not such cognition was used prior to Aristotle will probably continue to remain unknown. Regardless, humans use such logic in every field of life whether they are conscious of it or not. Logic is such a fundamental part of human life; it simply cannot be deferred or ignored when discussing the meaning of life. The “three sentence type” theory is also applicable to the context of the question. For example “what is the meaning of life?” could be discussing the entire human race to ever live (universal), modern day humans in the western world (particular) or about one’s self (singular). One will probably struggle when trying to use strong evidence to justify how and why the meaning that they attribute to their lives has logically strong foundations. For example, if I claim that the meaning of my life is to enjoy myself, a critic might ask me to provide further justification to support my statement. The justification would presumably be: “I am able to enjoy my time alive therefore the significance, importance, purpose and higher value of my life is to do so”. Nevertheless a critic could find many flaws in somebody else’s meaning. One could harshly refute my meaning on the ground that “enjoyment as such does not meet the demanded criteria of the question. Meaning is defined as significance, worth or importance and merely enjoying yourself does not satisfy any of the above.” A more applicable example of meanings that are difficult to justify would be a sceptic criticizing people who centralize the meaning of their life to a supernatural deity, which they have hardly any compelling empirical reason to believe actually exist. Often people are “thrown-off” or simply agitated by being asked questions like “what is the meaning of life?” probably because the sudden asking of such a question immediately challenges some people’s prior ideas, making them feel like there is no conventional answer and even if there were, it would be out of their reach. It is that sudden slightly undermining self-conscious feeling that probably causes some people to swear and groan when they are asked the meaning question. If I for instance am not a believer in “abstract” or “reality divorced” philosophical conclusions, enjoyment is a fine answer. Questions regarding the meaning of life are often of a personal nature and hence are subjective. Realistically, in busy times people simply do not have the time or headspace to be able to be entirely consumed by pursuing a meaning. At some point people may be forced to compromise and find a meaning that is not too distracting to pursue in a demanding fast pace way of life. This means that ultimately the value of an answer cannot always be determined solely by the logical foundation of the meaning but rather the satisfaction it gives to the question asker (although the two are not mutually exclusive). The meaning of the meaning question Often grammatical misunderstandings can lead to the distortion of the intentions behind the questions of meaning. Some of the meaning series questions need to be defined and directed more transparently, before even attempting to make a conclusion. The best example of a question that requires such transparent directions and definitions is the age-old innate question “Why are we here?” Volumes of scientific investigation discuss, at length, the creation story of humans and the exhilaratingly vast cosmos. We know that our existence, as individuals, came to be from merely one of our biological father’s sperms that made it! Perhaps when people wonder why they exist, they are searching for a reason slightly more compassionate or transcendent, or for a reason beyond the realm of proper human comprehension such a deity bringing them into existence. Or perhaps they are looking for a cause to their future. Perhaps they are really saying “what is my duty here, what do I need to do here – why am I here?” In the bible, prophets were individuals who found divine cause to make ‘right’ what they saw as, incorrect, barbaric and immoral circumstances surrounding them. Beliefs vary about the author and origin of the bible, but it is still nevertheless textually rational that one could recognize the metaphor of prophecy in the bible, as finding higher purpose in oceans of what can be a mundane depressing circumstance. If the question “why are we here?” was given some definition and direction then perhaps all of those controversial possibilities of what the question is really asking could have been more directed towards forming a conclusion. Obviously all answers to “why we are here?” are subjective to different people in different times, places and backgrounds. This region of inquiry is personal and is hence difficult to speak about with universal arguments or conclusions. When pondering what the meaning of life is, it is crucial to sufficiently define the key words in the question and have a clear logical direction for seeking the conclusions. This allows for universal and particular thinking about the meaning of human life. As discourse deepens, there becomes a need to question whether or not one’s conclusions are only possible to attribute to one’s self or particular circumstance. It helps to know what one wishes to achieve before the inquiry begins. A rather modest perspective - the whole picture – the complete meaning When discussing what the meaning of something is, it is ideal to review the subject from both external (perhaps similar to a bird’s eye) and internal (or first person) standpoints, allowing for a more neutral insightful attitude. That is perhaps the way `absolute` meaning of something can be best known. While humans can review the meaning matter from a first person standpoint, no human could possibly ever properly review human life from an external standpoint without an impairing bias. This makes dealing with reviewing human life from the external standpoint almost a matter of metaphysics. Many belief systems which have a deity involved, often attempt to deal with the metaphysical side of the meaning of human life. A peculiar example that puts this idea into perspective would be the question: “what is the meaning of a bee hive to bees?” A bee couldn’t possibly answer that question properly without reflecting on bee life from a third `person` viewpoint, and more intelligence than they currently have! Because of its size, intellectual capability and other factors it would never be able to see the whole picture, to be able to properly answer the question. Humans could answer that question from an external metaphysical (metaphysical to the bees) perspective, but we couldn’t answer the entire question because we don’t know about bee hives from a bee’s perspective. Hence any answer we or they conclude would remain somewhat incomplete. This provokes the question: is the answer to the meaning of human life the most plausible answer that our perspective allows us to plausibly conclude, or the whole picture answer (which considers the metaphysical unintelligible perspective which we would never to be able to know)? The truth of an answer is subject to the perspective of the inquirer. As far as the capabilities of the bees are concerned, the bee hive has infinite value for their survival and flourishing, but, they cannot review it adequately to be able to assess the `complete` meaning of it. Likewise humans will have to acknowledge that they will never be able to properly assess the complete meaning of their lives, perhaps until their demise. The answers that we come up with are “as good as they get”. We must acknowledge that they are incomplete, but at the same time as complete as is possible within our confinements. The belonging of meaning in our minds and in our hearts In a Psychology Today article, Michael Steger writes “Psychologists don`t have any authoritative answers (about the meaning of life). We aren`t philosophers or theologians. We did not get into our line of work because we are obsessed with answering these questions. Instead, we got into this line of work because we are fascinated by how people strive to answer these questions, and what the implications are of the types of answers they come up with. What is the meaning of life? I don`t know. But I do know that if you think that your life has meaning, you are much more likely to be happy, healthy, and enjoy your life. The way I know is that for over four decades, psychologists have been asking people like you questions like, "do you feel that your life has a purpose?" Then we compare people who say yes to questions like that to those who say no to such questions and see if there are any differences.” Neurologist and Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), who survived the Nazi Holocaust, developed a supplement to psychotherapy known as Logotherapy. Logotherapy deals with the “existential vacuum”, which is the term Frankl used to describe a chronic sense of meaninglessness and emptiness surrounding life. In his book “Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning” Frankl extensively discusses how the “will to meaning” is a characteristic that is distinctively human and fears that it has been denied by other psychotherapeutic doctrines. In the book he references countless statistics of drug users, alcoholics and even some who committed suicide due to a lack of a sense of meaning. Frankl believed that the “existential vacuum” is becoming an epidemic; “We have heard that man is a being in search of meaning. We have seen that today his search is unsatisfied and that this constitutes the pathology of our age”. Frankl ultimately showed that arousing a “will to meaning” and feeling a sense of purpose is vital for the wellbeing of humans. Humans will always be seeking something. That is consistently recurring enough to be plausibly concluded as being an innately human trait. When lacking a sense of meaning, humans can cause any amount of harm or fall into an immoral undignified state. The bible tells of a classic example of this. When Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the five ... - tailieumienphi.vn