14: Finding Meaning

Reading 1: A Psychiatrist Who Survived the Holocaust Explains Why Meaningfulness Matters More Than Happiness

In this reading you will learn about the story of Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist who endured years of torture while imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps. Shortly after his camp was liberated, Frankl penned the famous book, Man’s Search for Meaning. Frankl surmised from his imprisonment that those who could find meaning in their suffering survived; those who could not, perished.

“This uniqueness and singleness which distinguishes each individual and gives a meaning to his existence has a bearing on creative work as much as it does on human love. When the impossibility of replacing a person is realized, it allows the responsibility which a man has for his existence and its continuance to appear in all its magnitude. A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the why for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any how.”

—Frankl

So, are finding happiness and finding meaning synonymous? Many researchers say no. Frankl was most likely not happy when he was walking for miles in the snow, wearing shoe remnants. He was most likely not happy watching his comrades succumb to death. Although happiness seemingly eluded him, he did describe how he found meaning, even in the darkest of moments. Finding happiness connotes this sense of finding this superficial thing that will make us feel good. The caveat: searching for this “thing” often leads to an ephemeral state that is hinged to that which exists outside of the self. Finding meaning gives us purpose and helps us to comprehend the darkness and the light as we traverse the journey of life. As reported in this reading, the proverbial search for happiness seems to be leading people to unhappiness. Perhaps, we are conflating happiness with joy. Perhaps, if we seek meaningfulness, we will find joy.

Key Scholar: Viktor Frankl

Reading 2: Making Meaning in Life

In this reading, Michael F. Steger explores the different theoretical models for finding meaning. Steger contends that the broad nature of such theoretical models makes the scientific study of meaning in life quite challenging. In this reading, Steger proposes that the MMM (Meaning Maintenance Model) framework can integrate much of the scholarly work conducted on this topic.

Key Scholar: Michael F. Steger

Reading 3: How to Find the Meaning of (Your) Life

In this short article, the author summarizes one approach to starting this journey. She proposes that we ask ourselves three questions:

• What is important to me?
• What am I truly good at?
• What is my potential?

To answer the first question, one must undergo the process of introspection through the lens of their value system. What are your values? Have you ever thought about what you feel is important? By analyzing your values, you allow yourself to see what you deem important. Some examples of different values are: love, friendship, justice, loyalty, power, spirituality, respect, just to name a few. Use this worksheet to help guide you in discovering what is important to you. This worksheet does not include an exhaustive list of values, as anything that you consider important is a value. Value clarification facilitates an exploration into understanding what is important, but also whether one’s lifestyle is congruent with their value system.

The second question must be approached with an understanding that one’s talent is not always the lighthouse in their sea. To quote the famous quarterback, Todd Marinovich, from the nineties whose lighthouse crumbled, “Just because you are good at something, does that mean that is what you are supposed to do?” This is why value clarification can be so important in evaluating your gifts. If you are an amazing runner, but you do not value running, should you still pursue it? Is this a gift that will lead to meaning? This can only be answered if one’s self-awareness has been heightened through value clarification.

The third question ties nicely to the second question. Self-awareness is undeniable in its power to guide you as you seek meaning. Knowing your potential implies that you must explore different opportunities that challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone. How do you know what you can do, if you never do anything?

Reading 4: Compassion: Our First Instinct

Is compassion our ticket to finding our life’s meaning? Possibly. Viktor Frankl believed that there were three sources of meaning: love, work, and suffering. If we love one another, we can demonstrate compassion. Through our love and compassion we can comfort the suffering and the downtrodden. And through all of this, we can connect. It is within the intricacies of these connections where we can find meaning. In this reading, the author discusses how compassion, unlike empathy and altruism, involves an unrelenting desire to help. To develop compassion, we must explore the world from myriad perspectives. How can I ever understand suffering or injustice if I never experience it? One way is simply to read. Read biographies and autobiographies. Read poetry. Read the stories about the lives of those with whom you identify the least.

In an effort to foster compassion, Peggy McIntosh wrote the essay, Unpacking the Knapsack of White Privilege, in the late nineties, highlighting the realty that if one group is on top, another group must lie somewhere below them. McIntosh, who studied the privilege of white males, realized that she too experienced privilege: skin color. She wrote about the many ways that not having to think about one’s skin color every second of everyday made the world a little easier; being white is a privilege that is earned by no one. Perhaps if one understands their privilege, they may feel compassion for marginalized groups’ pleas for authentic equality. And in this compassion, perhaps in lieu of chanting, “I’m so sorry,” they will chant, “I am right here with you.”

Key Scholar: Peggy McIntosh

Key Terms: White Privilege

Reading 5: The Banality of Heroism

Philip Zimbardo spent much of his career studying the banality of evil. He purported that given the “…right conditions and social pressures,” even the most ordinary of persons could commit an act of evil; we all have the potential for evil. He conducted the famous Stanford Prison Experiment where he randomly assigned ordinary college students to different groups, and recreated a prison environment. What Zimbardo found was many of those assigned to the role of prison guard did everything in their power to exploit and dehumanize their fellow college students. Zimbardo explored the evil fueling the acts of the perpetrator as well as the tacit approval granted by the observer. If you witness evil and you say nothing, are you engaging in evil by virtue of being complicit? Zimbardo believed that yes, this is an example of evil. This is an interesting idea to explore within our own lives. How often have we observed acts of evil, and remained silent?

After much dedicated research to the banality of evil, Zimbardo proposed that if we are all potential evil doers, quite possibly, we may all be potential heroes, thus giving life to the concept of the banality of heroism. In this reading Zimbardo and Franco discuss the heroic ideal and the possibility that we could all be a hero waiting for that situation to bring such an ideal to fruition. This new avenue of research has led to the inception of the Heroic Imagination Project.

“Today, HIP’s mission is rooted in the findings of social psychological experiments, such as Asch’s, Milgram’s and the SPE. These experiments, as well as myriad heinous acts throughout history, reveal the “banal” side of evil. No one is exempt from the possibility of being coerced by the dark side of human nature. The line between good and evil is indeed permeable. However, the reverse also appears true. The “banality of heroism”, an idea first explored in a 2006 article written by Dr. Zimbardo and HIP board chair, Dr. Zeno Franco, is a guide for HIP’s work, suggesting that each and every seemingly ordinary person on this planet is capable of committing heroic acts.

From this core belief, the Heroic Imagination Project was born with a mission to use important findings in psychology to equip ordinary people of all ages with the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to choose wise and effective acts of heroism during challenging moments in their lives.”

Key Scholar: Philip Zimbardo

Key Terms: HIP (Heroic Imagination Project), banality of evil, banality of heroism