Conatus and Dasein: The Problem of an Existential Theory of Motivation

In the article I articulate an interpretation of the findingness (Befindlichkeit) of Dasein in Heidegger as a specific existential drive, basing it on an interpretation of his concept of existence, drawing from his earlier lectures before Being and Time, and relying on the clarification of the existential meaning of relation. Following a related interpretation of understanding and care, I offer some considerations pertaining to the problem of authentic motivation and its possible practical application. Initially, I offer an interpretation of existence as it relates to the meaning of being, understanding the relata in this ultimate sense as two aspects of speech. In this, I understand the meaning of being as a groundless call or address. Building on that, I propose a motivational understanding of findingness as the necessary drive of Dasein toward its self-interpretation as it relates to the enigmatic call of being. I supplement this view with an interpretation of existential understanding as a coequal aspect of the groundless freedom of that relation of Dasein to itself. Finally, I offer an interpretation of authenticity, in line with the aforementioned explicated understanding of existence and the corresponding meaning of the authentic motivational findingness of Dasein. In conclusion, I raise a question of how such authentic motivation could be practically understood in the perspective of life-world interactions.

Between Subjectivity and Flourishing: Creativity and Game Design as Existential Meaning

This article explores how the process of designing videogames may be meaningful–that is, accomplish a larger existential fulfilment or purpose. We use a reflective methodology which triangulates the creative practice of making a videogame with reflections both during and post-practice against philosophical ideas of meaningfulness. Two ideas of meaningfulness emerged. The first is the generative capacity of subjectivity, where meaningfulness is anchored to our investment as creators, as well as in the intertwining of personal histories, experiences and memories between reflection and action. The second is the flourishing of the self in terms of inner growth and self-discovery out of journeying inherent in the game design process. The significance of our enquiry is three-fold: to more holistically understand videogames as being meaningful, to present a reflective methodology to facilitate such understanding, and to more broadly consider videogames as an instantiation of how media is itself existential.

Existential Driving Forces to Work after Retirement: The Example of Physicians’ Mentoring

The article addresses physicians who work as group supervisors or mentors in a training program after having formally retired. The driving forces to continue to work are analyzed in terms of the development of existential meaning of work at a particular stage of the life cycle. We argue that a deeper understanding of the existential driving forces, that both cause physicians to accept post-retirement mentoring tasks and that is awakened and developed in this specific work, would contribute to a deeper understanding of why individuals continue working into old age. However, in political discussions of an extended working life, similar aspects tend to be disregarded. Understanding the existential driving forces that cause an individual to continue working after retirement may be crucial to comprehending how we can take advantage of the resources of the older workforce and, thus, realize human potential at a later stage of the life cycle.

Site, programme, and tectonic expression: Hua Li’s Xinzhai Coffee House

In contemporary Chinese architectural culture, Hua Li’s work stands out as a phenomenon. His architecture demonstrates little in the way of formalistic eccentricities, cultural symbolism, or indeed the ‘Chineseness’ that some others seek to pursue. Instead, what interests the architect is, most of all, the quality of material, construction, space, and place. As indicated by Hua’s recent lectures, his concept of place remains connected to the larger site of a building project, its topography, climate, local materials, and craftsmanship. As such it is similar to, though also different from, the concept of place proposed by Christian Norberg-Schulz – the Norwegian architectural historian and theorist known for his theory of place influenced by philosopher Martin Heidegger, which was developed through various texts including: Intentions in Architecture (1963); Existence, Space and Architecture (1971); and Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture (1979). The similarities consist in Hua Li and Norberg-Schulz’s imagination of place as meaningful and transcending merely the physical aspects of a site. Place, here, is a local condition, an atmosphere or a ‘spirit’ that is to be gathered, revealed, and visualised by the work of architecture. Hua also differs from Norberg-Schulz, in the sense that, unlike the use (or misuse) of Heidegger’s philosophy evident in Norberg-Schulz’s theoretical articulation of architectural phenomenology – concerning qualities of meaning, atmosphere, poetry, and the senses – his concept of place is fraught with fascination at the potential of a place. Instead of the ‘existential meaning’ of architecture, Hua’s interest in place calls for new possibilities of intervening and reconstruction through architectural operations.

Illuminating Existential Meaning: A New Approach in the Study of Retirement

Current discussions on the importance of retirement are largely built on statistical analyses of longitudinal data showing that well-being seldom changes from before to after entering retirement, but is rather mainly dependent on the individual’s social resource position. In contrast, qualitatively oriented researchers underline that the retirement process is a complex life transition that needs to be further illuminated. To do this, however, we need to advance new theoretical and methodological perspectives. In this article, an existential sociology approach is outlined, emphasizing the multifaceted spectra of lived experiences and meaning-making in the retirement process. The phenomenological approaches of existential sociology allow us to consider how the exit from working life is created in the processes of motion rather than as expressions of static positions. A merit of this approach is that retirement as an empirical case may say something general about being in transition as a basic social condition. In the article, we discuss how a socio-biographical methodology, based on longitudinal qualitative interviews, helps us capture how existential meaning is formed and reformed in the ambiguous situations which arise in similar life-course transitions. Theoretically, we especially draw on concepts from the existential anthropologist Jackson and the phenomenological tradition of existential philosophers such as Arendt and Heidegger.