Meaning in Life

Life's Values ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 116-152
Author(s):  
Alan H. Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Ordinary Sense ◽  
The Way

When philosophers these days write of meaning in life, they usually refer to the value or importance of a life, not meaning in any ordinary sense. Older philosophers wrote of the meaning of life as the way our lives fit into God’s plan. For those who have lost faith in such a plan, there is no such meaning. But there is a related sense in which events have meaning in our lives when they fit into intelligible narratives, similar to the way in which words and sentences acquire meaning via their places in broader linguistic entities. It is this way in which events in our lives have meaning that is fully explicated in this chapter.

scholarly journals Pastoraat in rousmart as bewuste kommunikasie van die emosies van rousmart1

2000 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Smith ◽  
T. F. Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Pastoral Care ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Unconscious Mind ◽  
The Way

New meaning of life within grief. From the perspecive of pastoral care and counselling, one often finds that people experience a lack of meaning in their lives when confronted with grief. Thesalvation through Jesus Christ, and the way it is incorporated in one's life, doesn't bring existential hope and meaning any more. This article attempts to give new meaning to an old discussion of "grief" the conscious and unconscious mind, aswell as the emotions of grief, in such a way that new meaning of life within grief becomes a spiritual way of living, a life coram Deo.

scholarly journals Sensul în viață la vârsta a treia. Stadiu de dezvoltare a personalitatii umane

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-53
Author(s):  
Florin Marius Voicu
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Risky Behaviors ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Erik Erikson ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
The Individual

Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl is among the first researchers of the meaning of life. His studies demonstrate the importance of living a meaningful life (Frankl, 1963). Meaning in life has become an important psychological concept in the research of emotional balance throughout life and decisive for the feeling of a fulfilled life in old age. Michael F. Steger's research shows that people who have a meaning in life, sense, and purpose generally feel happier and more satisfied daily, less depressed, anxious, and less likely to engage in risky behaviors. The six-factor model of psychological well-being is a theory developed by Carol Ryff (Carol Ryff, 1989). The meaning of life is studied according to age, age dynamics. The stages of development highlighted by Erik Erikson attach special importance to the meaning given to life lived in the developmental stage suggestively called "Integrity vs. Despair". Theories on aging highlight the terms "salutogenesis” and “pathogenesis”(Antonovsky, 1979) that imply different perspectives on life. Theories agree that meaning in life is an important concept in the ontogenesis of the human personality, necessary for the general well-being of the individual (Carol Ryff) being reflected in the state of physical health and the present emotional disposition (status). What is important, as a conclusion, is that all psychological factors are involved in the meaning of this life. To the extent that man has a meaning, his entire psychic structure participates in its realization. The current study highlights the changes that occur in the personality of the individual in old age and the psychological mechanisms with an adaptive role in this regard.

The Beginnings of a French Jewish Literature

2007 ◽  
pp. 38-56
Author(s):  
Nadia Malinovich
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Jewish Identity ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Jewish Literature ◽  
Prose Poem ◽  
War Poetry ◽  
Widespread Phenomenon ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Way

This chapter explores the tension between universalism and particularism as expressed in the pre-war poetry, novels, and essays of André Spire, Edmond Fleg, Henri Franck, and Jean-Richard Bloch. It examines the question of Jewish identity in the modern world through writers that paved the way for the much more widespread phenomenon of Jewish self-questioning in the post-war years. It also looks at André Spire's ground-breaking Poèmes juifs and Quelques Juifs that offered a scathing critique of both Jewish assimilation and French antisemitism. It discusses Henri Franck's prose poem La Danse devant l'arche, which describes a young man's quest for the meaning of life and reveals a similar tension between affirming the specificity of Jewish roots and embracing a larger French cultural heritage.

Money and the meaning of life: The fantasy of instant wealth

Human Affairs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 470-478
Author(s):  
Amy E. Wendling
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
The Way

Abstract Is the meaning of life to get rich quick? That would certainly explain the way many people have lived under the spell of a constitutive fantasy: the fantasy of instant wealth. Drawing on Lacan’s Discourse of the Capitalist, the article explores the fantasy of instant wealth and its relationship to addiction, especially addiction to shopping. The article concludes with a meditation on how the fantasy of instant wealth supplants and in some ways contradicts another fantasy: the fantasy of labour.

Conclusion I

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iddo Landau
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Existence Of God ◽  
Good Source ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
Immortality Of The Soul ◽  
Made In

This is the first of the two concluding chapters, both of which address general questions about meaning in life and the claims made in this book. Does this book discuss our perceptions of meaning in life or meaning in life itself? Do we find meaning or create it? Suppose that religious claims about the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are incorrect; could life still be deemed meaningful? Is it true that issues relating to the meaning of life are in the sole domain of psychology and psychiatry? And is existentialism a good source of guidance on the meaning of life?

scholarly journals Mengenal Rahasia Karakter Orang Jepang: Selalu Menghargai Proses, Tidak Hanya Hasil (Kajian Budaya Dalam Pendekatan Filosofis)

KIRYOKU ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Iriyanto Widisuseno
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Work Culture ◽  
Japanese People ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Normative Analysis ◽  
The Future ◽  
Philosophical Methods ◽  
The Way

This study focuses on examining how Japanese work culture patterns respect processes, not just the results of their work. The aim is to uncover the principles and evidence that underlie the pattern of Japanese work culture that always respects the process and not only the results. This study uses philosophical methods, which are essential, comprehensive and normative analysis of the facts of life to try to unravel and explore the principles of existence of life, namely the ontological, epistemological and axiological principles. The ontological principle, describes the Japanese footing in conceptualizing the meaning, nature of life and life in the midst of the world's environment. The principle of epistemology describes the way the Japanese realize the concept of meaning and meaning of life in their world. The axiological principle describes the values that make the direction or purpose of life. The existence of the three principles of existence is interspersed and systemic. The research results formulated that ontologically, the Japanese in conceptualizing the meaning and meaning of their lives rely on Bushido's moral values (integrity, courage, generosity, respect for others, honesty and sincerity). Epistemologically, Japanese lifestyles describe ways of finding Ikigai in him. Axiologically, the goal of Japanese life is "Ikigai" which is the values of happiness, something that makes people move forward into the future. As a conclusion of the study, that the character of Japanese people who always respect the process, and not only the results is an epistemological pattern of life-based on Bushido values, to build an axiological framework containing Ikigai.

Categorization of College Students' Meaning of Life

1980 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L. Devogler ◽  
Peter Ebersole
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Interrater Reliability ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
State University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

This study was designed to develop meaning-in-life categories which have adequate interrater reliability and stability over time. Also of interest were the categories which college students endorsed and the number of students who reported no meaning in life. A pilot study was used to develop appropriate categories. 100 students from a State University class were asked to write about the three most meaningful things in their lives and then ranked their written meanings in order of importance to them. Eight categories had adequate interrater reliability and stability over a 3-mo. period. The “relationship” category was most often chosen followed by “service,” “growth,” “belief,” “existential-hedonistic,” “obtaining,” “expression,” and “understanding.” Only 5% of our sample claimed life to have no meaning.

Meaning of life, representation of death, and their association with psychological distress

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 511-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Testoni ◽  
Giulia Sansonetto ◽  
Lucia Ronconi ◽  
Maddalena Rodelli ◽  
Gloria Baracco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Path Analysis ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Religious Orientation ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Healthy Participants

AbstractObjective:This paper presents a two-phase cross-sectional study aimed at examining the possible mitigating role of perceived meaning of life and representation of death on psychological distress, anxiety, and depression.Method:The first phase involved 219 healthy participants, while the second encompassed 30 cancer patients. Each participant completed the Personal Meaning Profile (PMP), the Testoni Death Representation Scale (TDRS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Distress Thermometer (DT). The primary analyses comprised (1) correlation analyses between the overall scores of each of the instruments and (2) path analysis to assess the indirect effect of the PMP on DT score through anxiety and depression as determined by the HADS.Results:The path analysis showed that the PMP was inversely correlated with depression and anxiety, which, in turn, mediated the effect on distress. Inverse correlations were found between several dimensions of the PMP, the DT, and the HADS–Anxiety and HADS–Depression subscales, in both healthy participants and cancer patients. Religious orientation (faith in God) was related to a stronger sense of meaning in life and the ontological representation of death as a passage, rather than annihilation.Significance of Results:Our findings support the hypothesis that participants who represent death as a passage and have a strong perception of the meaning of life tend to report lower levels of distress, anxiety, and depression. We recommend that perceived meaning of life and representation of death be more specifically examined in the cancer and palliative care settings.

Conclusion II

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iddo Landau
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Existential Guilt ◽  
Practical Guidelines

This chapter continues the discussion of general issues related to the meaning of life. The book has argued that to see life as meaningless is to see it as lacking a sufficient number of aspects of sufficient value. But many people describe the meaninglessness of their lives differently, mentioning existential guilt, anxiety, and despair. Others portray their meaningless lives as a joke, a lie, or an unfulfilled promise. The chapter argues that the analysis of meaninglessness presented in the book explains rather than conflicts with the ways in which people actually describe their feeling of meaninglessness. The chapter also stresses the importance of investing effort and work in enhancing meaning in life and, lastly, reviews the most crucial of the practical guidelines this book offers.

Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iddo Landau
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Good Source ◽  
Religious People ◽  
Finding Meaning ◽  
The World ◽  
Meaningful Lives

After explaining what meaning in life is, the book moves to criticizing certain presuppositions about the meaning of life that unnecessarily lead many people to believe that their lives are meaningless. Among others, it criticizes perfectionism about meaning in life, namely, the assumption that meaningful lives must include some perfection or some rare and difficult achievements. It then responds to recurring arguments made by people who take their lives to be meaningless, such as the arguments claiming that life is meaningless because death eventually annihilates us and everything we do; whatever we do is negligible when examined in the context of the whole universe; we have no free will and, thus, deserve no praise for what we achieve; everything, including meaning, is completely relative; we do not know what the purpose of life is; whenever we achieve something we stop sensing it as valuable; and there is so much suffering and evil in the world. The book also offers strategies that may help people identify what is meaningful in life and increase its meaningfulness. The final chapters consider questions such as whether only religious people can have meaningful lives; whether meaning of life should be discussed only by psychologists; and whether existentialism is a good source of guidance on the meaning of life.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document