A little bit of the Search for Meaning & Values
Edited by Ruairí Meyler SAMPLE Paul McAndrewForeword
So, what is meaning and what do each of us value? Meaning was once considered to be mutually or universally the same. All meaning could be derived from the belief in a higher being or beings. These transcendent beings gave and formed the vast amount of purpose and meaning in one’s life.
Today, many people find purpose and meaning in sources and ways not related to a higher being; from relationships with others, setting goals or travelling all over the world to experience the many cultures that it possesses. Although the source of meaning today has changed for many, it is still true that having meaning and purpose helps you through the day.
Now I am not a world-renowned expert on the matter but people who have meaning tend to live happier and more content lives than those who do not. Therefore, the search for meaning tends to be very important as it is ultimately a search for peace, happiness and fulfilment.
Value is similar to meaning but different. What we value is what humans will figuratively put their heart in and most of their effort towards. Again, like with meaning, what we value depends on the person and can differ vastly from one individual to another.
In my life before I was a teacher, I worked in retail for about 4-5 years. One day a human resources person from the company who I worked for came to chat with me and (conduct some)? on the job professional development.
One of the tasks that day was to make a list of the 3 things that I most value in life. Not physical items like a house or a car but things like security and peace of mind. I listed my 3 and she told me that if I make the majority of my choices in life based on these, that I would live life by my priorities and be contented.
It was a useful exercise and something that I have done regularly over the years. My list has also changed as I have gotten older but following my values tends to lead me to where I want to go.
A psychologist called Abraham Maslow came up with a hierarchy of needs and what is interesting is that once you fulfil a need like housing or job etc you move your priorities and values on to another thing. Like advancement in your chosen profession.
This does not have to mean monetary benefits but I have always found that being a success or achieving it to be a constant and important part of my value system. Even if that success is small like having a good day, making a nice meal or being able to do something thoughtful for a loved one in your life. What we value is the very core of who we are.
All in all, understanding what gives each of us meaning and value is essential to achieving and living a peaceful and happy existence. Therefore, the search for both is significant to the human experience.
The Search 1.1
meaning in music 1.1
The search for meaning can begin with music. It can be a melody or sound that brings joy and comfort to the listener, which makes you want to celebrate being alive and dance, in whatever limited form that maybe.
One may find that playing an instrument or singing for themselves or others is a task that they can do brings them joy and delight in just doing it. It probably brings joy and comfort to others too and this can provide the singer or musician with a sense of purpose, a reason for being that makes life just a little easier for those around them.
Within the lyrics of a song, one can also find meaning. For some people, writing songs is a way to express or convey passion, heartbreak, anger and the general struggle with the human condition. The act of writing lyrics and the melody is a way to express the emotions that the writer is feeling at the time. This does not in itself bring meaning but can be a type of therapy for the soul; a problem aired is a problem shared. Relieving a person of this emotional distress.
The sharing of this song is what brings a level of meaning on a societal scale. The listener hears the words, the emotions, the passion of the song and identifies this with aspects of their own lived experiences. This communication is key to why people search for meaning in music. It allows each of us to see that others face the same struggles and joys as ourselves, that we are not alone in the challenges of life.
The words of the song may offer advice and a path to walk towards something that will bring them peace and understanding in the madness and often pointlessness of existence. A student of mine exemplified this beautifully in a class I taught on this topic at the beginning of my teaching career.
I used to do an exercise in the search for meaning section with students at the beginning of their 5th year studying Religious Education for the leaving cert. I would start with an example of the search for meaning in music and playing some examples from my own life on various different levels of meaning. I would ask the students to think of a song that they found a sense of meaning in and to play that to the class in the next class, with an explanation of the meaning found in the song.
Most of the time students would play songs that reminded them of happy, independent moments in their nearly adult lives but this one year a student got up and played “Time to Say Goodbye” sung by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. It is a soaring piece and completely different to the rest of the songs that were played. And for the record this was not a very enlightened or “woke” individual. Just an ordinary, middle of the road student like myself. After the song finished, the class and myself sat back in silence to hear what this individual was going to say about the song.
Eventually he began to tell the story of how one day his father had gone missing while out fishing and that they could not find the body for over a month. A terrible time to experience,
particularly for one so young. But throughout this period the song “time to say goodbye” had been playing on the radio, it had been released around this time, and he believed that the song was preparing him to say goodbye to his father.
To this person, this song is no longer a melody with lyrics, it is a message from the universe, a higher being telling him to understand that his father is gone and bringing him closure.
I lost my own father to a heart attack at a similar age and could understand the sentiment clearly. Preparing oneself to hear that a loved one has past is not easy but it helped me in the experience of hearing that my dad was dead. It helped me to understand that life brings death. That it is to be expected, embraced and the person who has departed should be celebrated. That adds meaning to our lives as we know that there is a finite time to live and we must make the most of it and it also lets us get past the devastation of the death of a loved one and to carry the good memories that they left with us wherever we are.
To this student, it was a call to accept and to mourn the loss. The song had transcended the usual meaning and had become something beyond the capabilities of the human mind to comprehend. And it is just one of countless examples of how meaning can be found through music.
In answering this question, it is important to choose an example that expresses the search for meaning in music from your own life. This will enable you to truly express the meaning that can be found in this medium.
meaning in literature 1.1
Like the search for meaning in music, the search for meaning can also be fruitful in literature. Having said this, it can be difficult to express it, as it is with music too. Literature encompasses anything from a novel, short story, plays, poetry etc.
Finding meaning comes in two main forms in this medium of communication. The writer, playwright or poet casting meaning into the words they write and the listener or reader taking meaning from their words and themes.
When I was in 5th year, the book “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte was to be read and assess for the Leaving Cert exam. I eventually read it 3 times and found it to be dull, boring and darkly sadistic. Many years have passed since the enlightened days of my youth and now when I think of the book and Emily Bronte’s struggles to publish it; today it’s themes and meaning ring truer than ever.
Bronte had to hide her identity when writing the book as women were not considered to have the mental capacity to write a novel at that time. So she published “Wuthering Heights” under a male pseudonym.
The story is of love and the choice of the main female character, Cathy of whether she should marry to preserve the wealth of her family or for love. She believes that the person she is in love with would not be able to meet this form of security. It is this decision that brings misery to the rest of the characters until the end of the novel.
At the time, I equated the end of the book to a depressing “Eastenders” episode. Bad leads to worse and worse leads to terrible. For this reason, as a younger man I believed that this book was not for me and wondered why it was on the syllabus at all.
However, Emily Bronte was writing about a genuine concern and choice presented to women of the time. Marriage for love was off the table for many of them. Marriage was about security of a financial nature which could lead to unhappiness for all involved.
The meaning that I think that she was trying to express is that love is more important than money as it brings more happiness. It is love that should be the only deciding factor in marriage. This would give life more meaning if one wanted to marry.
She also pointed out that women were put in terrible positions like this in the society of her time, leading to enormous unhappiness and inequality. It is a tale of the lived experience of women from the perspective of a woman in her time which was rare, extraordinary and insightful.
Most writers, playwrights and poets have some point to make, some analysis of the human condition and some meaning or lack of meaning within it. For the listener and receiver of these forms of communication other meanings or messages can be discerned from it.
For example, the main sense of meaning that I get when I reflect on “Wuthering Heights” is that I was wrong. That my assessments can be flawed and that I need to be more open minded. I needed to see the novel from a wider context of when it was written and by whom before I criticised so easily. My ego was diminished by this, no bad thing, and it helped me gain humility and I hope to be humbler with my opinions in the future.
Past exam questions
2007
Imagine you are doing research for a project on the search for the meaning of life today.
i. Briefly outline two examples of how the search for the meaning of life can be seen in art, literature, music or youth culture today. (20 marks)
2010
“What’s wrong with the world …?” – Black Eyed Peas This line from a song is an example of a person searching for meaning and value in the world.
i. Describe two other examples of how questions about the search for the meaning of life can be seen in today’s culture. (20 marks)
2014
Profile how the human search for the meaning of life can be seen today in two of the following ways: ART LITERATURE MUSIC YOUTH CULTURE (40 marks)
2020
How do I decide what is good or evil? Why is suffering part of life?
Describe how people searching for answers to one of the above questions can be seen today in any of the following: art, literature, music or youth culture. (20 marks)
key questions of life 1.1
Well some of them anyway.
Included are several questions and very few answers, but hey “that’s life for you!”
The goal & purpose of life
Religion, philosophy, parents, friends and teachers have things to say about this topic. People often ask, “why am I here?” Religions can give one several thousand answers, as can philosophy. It all depends on your circumstance, upbringing and outlook as to what will resonate with you individually. Is there an answer to why you are on earth or what your purpose is supposed to be? Yes and no. There are truths out there but an awful lot of misguided ones too.
On the question of whether your biology or environment dictate the person that you become? More and more evidence would suggest that the environment in which you grow up has far more influence on the person that you become. Yes, your biological makeup is significant but not in its contribution to your character. Many would mistakenly say that your racial biology would suggest that you will be this sort of person or that. However, it is not true and in the clear majority of cases a person’s environment is more influential, shaping the person you become.
A more interesting and realistic question regarding the goal and purpose of life is what type of person would I like to be? This is a question at the heart of our society today and one that you are very much in control of. You can react to a situation based on what you believe to be the right way to handle it. This way you are creating the person that you wish to be based on your own understanding of what that is. If you are not happy with the person you are you can change and form each decision towards the person you would like to be.
The meaning of good & evil
The moral question of what is right and wrong, good and evil, justice and injustice have plagued humans since we emerged. Is there a definitive answer; religions and laws are more likely to say yes. However, philosophy and life is more likely to hold its tongue and say maybe but probably not.
Is it wrong to kill someone? Yes… but in this, this, this, this and this situation is not wrong.
Is the function of wisdom to discriminate between good & evil? Yes, but one person’s poison is another person’s cure. It is a bit like people’s taste in music. I recently was asked by my school’s year book to say what my favourite album was. I said a U2 album, I can hear you groan from here in the past, “Achtung Baby”. I was ridiculed by teachers, principals, students and their parents alike. But my love and fondest for this album is undimmed.
I remember my brother buying it, not online but in a shop and bringing it home. I was excited and when I first listened to it I hated it but by the second listen and then the third I was hooked. I loved it; the music and its meaning grew with each listen.
Discerning good and evil is so personal that openly telling people what you believe on a contentious matter is likely to get everyone on the internet to unfriend you. So, wisdom tells
you that good and evil are fluid but there is definitely a lot of good in treating people with dignity and lots of evil when deciding how you are going to hurt another person.
All this means that; in real life, the hardest aspect of a battle between good and evil is determining which is which! That is up to you, each one of us, from society and government have to decide what is right and wrong based on careful deliberation and evidence.
experience of suffering.
Nietzsche said, “to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.” This always resonates with me quite deeply.
When I was 13 my father died running for a train in Houston Station in Dublin. I, a young, evangelical/Pentecostal Christian at the time, had been told that everything happens for a reason. That God works all things for the good of those who love Him.
I was very angry, as I could not see the reason in any of it. My Dad, was 44 years old. He was a father of 5, the eldest under the age of 15 and one of whom was 5 weeks old at the time. My mum, left to pick up the pieces without her best friend and the love of her life. For a time, I thought that God had some higher purpose to leaving us fatherless. That my mother’s inconsolable tears in those earlier days as she tried to feed my little brother would all be worth it in the end. However, that ultimate reason has yet to materialise.
Now I see the only meaning is that suffering and loss is inevitable in life. It must be embraced, planned for, and expected. Suffering occurs when your ideas about how things ought to be don’t really match with how they are. We have a “rosy” view of how things should be and often they don’t fit with reality.
A philosopher once suggested, that humans are never happier than when they are imagining future happiness. When they get to the future happiness, it is never quite as good as it was imagined to be, thus they suffer. Is this the reason we suffer? If I had been told that my Dad might die one day and that I needed to be prepared for that as a 13 year old would I have been?
Unanswerable questions but they do prompt us to ask, why is life set up around the “rosy” and not the “reality”? What should it focus on?
Finally, and one of the most poignant questions that one can ask a believer in a benevolent God is, “how could God create people who both desire and are free to commit unspeakable crimes?”
The answer according to theology is unanswerable, God is the judge and the overseer of all things. He can see better from his vantage point then we can. So, we should trust that God is on the throne, in control.
Or the that free will means free will. Humans are given it by God so that if they choose to love God and follow his ways, then it is genuine. That God has not created robots that do his every whim, but autonomous beings capable of independent thought and independent action. If those actions mean six million Jews died or half a tribe in Rwanda is killed by the other
dominant tribe than it is worth it. Free will means both good and bad will happen. Each person has to choose what to do.
It is the theist’s nightmare question, as there are always injustices and a person will turn to them and say, well if God is all-powerful why did he not stop that from occurring? The theist may use the free will argument, that the bad actions of humanity hurt God deeply, but that he did not create robots. People have a choice. The person who asked the question may answer back saying, a benevolent God would not let this occur, so maybe God does not exist at all. Again, questions that need to be asked and realities that need to be examined in relation to suffering.
Past exam questions
2009
Outline two examples of how experiences in life today could make a person question the meaning of life. (40 marks)
2020
How do I decide what is good or evil? Why is suffering part of life?
Outline the thinking of Socrates, in Ancient Greece, on either the moral good or the purpose of life. (20 marks)
indifference to the search for meaning 1.1
All of this searching for meaning is not a true reflection of everyone in society. For many the search for meaning is blocked by the ideas and the makeup of the world and in the way in which they live. They will search but it tends to be limited, as their culture blocks the full search for meaning.
So, why does this occur? As the search for meaning is complex, highly individualistic and for many a difficult pursuit. People today are inundated with information that they can not ever hope to process. A clip I came across years ago said that a week’s reading of the New York Times would qualify as the same amount of information a person in the 1800’s would come across in their entire lifetime.
This exponential amount of information makes it difficult to strip away the junk and discern the valuable information. Today phrases like “make America great again”, “get Brexit done” or “stay apart to stay together” resonate more and are easier to understand. However, when we do this we trust that the slogan is true and fail to realise that the underlying message though positive is filled with a complex combination of ideas and agendas, good and bad. But as they are easier to understand they ring truer with a large part of society.
Many people are happy with the simple and do not want the complex; therefore, shun or limit their search for meaning. Thus, the search for meaning can be blocked by contemporary culture.
Indifference to the search for meaning is a phenomenon but not a recent one. People have tended to find the search for meaning difficult and complex; resulting in them being indifferent to the pursuit of meaning. This echoes the simple messages of religions and
political slogans that people find so much more endearing than the complex reality in which they actually live.
Many see that there is little or no meaning in existence and philosophy; that the quest for meaning in life is absurd, much like Albert Camus, who we will look at briefly in a future chapter. Therefore, they are indifferent about looking any further past the obvious to find meaning.
The purchasing of things in contemporary society and culture is what we do with our lives. Consumerism. One can construct an argument about how this can cause indifference to the complicated and emotional search for meaning.
When one buys a product or service which has been a goal for a period of time, a lifetime if it is a house or yacht, one feels immediate joy on the occasion of the purchase. However, this can ultimately be an empty feeling as the truth value lies not in the product itself but what the product allows you to do. This is what brings true joy. A home is a place of security and love but if it is not filled with these, it is empty.
Stress and anxiety are some of the reasons for indifference to the search for meaning in life, they can also block the search for meaning too.
Stress is a tension that builds in the body and particularly the mind. When this occurs, it can become impossible to think about anything else. The focus of the stress and anxiety fills you making a deeper search for meaning like philosophising impossible. You are indifferent to it in this state of mind.
Stress and anxiety are not new but seem to be very prevalent in contemporary society. Media outlets and government departments focus on them as they are problems that need solutions. These solutions are difficult to come by as are contemporary lifestyle tends to present us with new stressful situations.
Our phones open a world of possibilities, but also a world of anxiety. Say you post a photo of a beautiful sunset with you in it on social media. You get likes for the picture but not as many as you would like or as you did the previous time or than your friends are getting. Why? Did you not look as good as the previous time? Are your friends or followers bored of you? What can I do to change this? You posted something beautiful and now it is causing you stress and it does not seem so beautiful anymore. This is a superficial scenario but something that we have all experienced in response to social media.
Another hypothetical. You ask friends in a WhatsApp or other messaging group platform if people want to do anything this evening or on the weekend. No one replies. How do you feel? Terrible. So instead, you message someone privately first, agree to message yes to the invite, message the group and then your friend message yes and more people are likely to come along too. Stressful, anxiety inducing and you can not get away, as the device causing the stress is in your pocket. Thus, you become indifferent to the search for meaning as you are surrounded by anxiety.
A final alternative example of this. Being indifferent to something can be defined as having little concern, sympathy or interest in it. In contemporary society, many people have such
busy lives that we fail to be interested in the search for meaning, and are as a result indifferent.
As a leaving cert student, you have to study for 6-8 subjects, some of which you find easier than others, you have to do your homework, you have to listen in your classes, you have to find time to study long term for the actual exams, you have to listen to your parents/guardians, get enough sleep so that you can function, be sociable with your friends, in person and on social media, which can be a fulltime job. You need to eat the right sort of food, you need to exercise and you need time to relax.
With all this going on, it is difficult to think about “meaning”, as most of the time you are just trying to get through the days and do the best you can. This workload, which is the same for another 50 – 60,000 students in Ireland, encourages a level of indifference to the search for meaning, as life is just too busy to think deeply about where you have been, where you are and where you are going in your life.
You may want to “discover” yourself or find “meaning” in life but your work load, your busy life and the way in which society is set up, prevents you from doing this. Ultimately your life has gotten in the way of searching for meaning and due to the hectic nature, of life you have become indifferent to the search for meaning.
Past exam questions
2007
Imagine you are doing research for a project on the search for the meaning of life today.
ii.Explain two reasons why a person could find it difficult to search for meaning in life today. (20 marks)
2009
How experiences in life today could make a person question the meaning of life. (40 marks)
2010
“What’s wrong with the world …?” – Black Eyed Peas This line from a song is an example of a person searching for meaning and value in the world.
i.Describe two other examples of how questions about the search for the meaning of life can be seen in today’s culture. (20 marks)
ii.Outline two factors that could block a person from searching for the meaning of life in society today. (20 marks)
2018
Explain how two aspects of living in society today could block people from searching for the meaning of life. (40 marks)
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