Читать книгу Meaningful Living Across the Lifespan - Moses N. Ikiugu - Страница 24

In the first section of this chapter, we made the point that human beings are, and always have been in search for meaning in their lives, and this search has always been connected to the development of society, culture, and community. In this section, we will go further and try to clarify what we mean by ‘meaning’, ‘meaningfulness’, and ‘meaninglessness’. At the outset, it is important to point out that the notion of meaning is a vague construct. As the authors have repeatedly experienced in their research, when asked what the meaning of their lives might be, people may be embarrassed, answer with a blank expression on their faces, or ask what is meant by ‘meaning’. This ambiguity is clearly apparent in the philosophical and social science literature. Some authors define life meaning mystically as pertaining to one’s relationship with God, or with one’s soul, or both; others relate it to creativity and the benefit this has to other people. At the same time, there is no consensus regarding whether the meaning in life is subjective (experiential) or objective (has observable characteristics beyond individual experiences), or both.