In Frankls reading, we noted that the conception of meaning is in a different arena from moral theory. It is an entirely different line of inquiry. Whereas as moral principles dictate certain intentions and actions one should take in relation to self and society, the quest for meaning transcends the whole debate and purely focuses on the more subjective dimension of self inquiry. More simply, we can quibble about moral theory all day, but, when it comes to the search for meaning, a man must define such matters for himself and, relative to moral theory, such definitions are less easily judged. So, looking at Frankl's stuff on camp life, we find that some people looking to the future for meaning(consequences), others look to virtuous behavior or their duty to their fellow man, while still others just hang out and think about how they'd like some cake(that's me).
Thank you very much, I'd like to dedicate this writing to Michelle Branch and her song All You Wanted for helping me write yet another blog about depressing stuff.
I agree with Anshu that there is a subjective aspect of the meaning of life but this post made me really think about the relationship between the self creating its own meaning and moral standards. In Frankl's excerpt it seems that some of his ideas come from the pure need to strive to survive. Does that mean that at times one's own determination of what is most important to them can supersede an overarching sense of morality?
ReplyDeleteNot neccesarily supersede, because the meaning one applies to his or her life is still subject to another's moral judgement. The ones who find meaning through virtue are more likely to be judged moral by others, whereas the other is not. But, unlike a moral theory, we can't say that everyone should adopt this form of thinking, because meaning is self made; you cant make a guy find meaning in virtue, you can just say that it's better to be so.
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