Reflections on Aporia

On Meaning

Let me go back a few years to a younger self who was avidly and actively pursuing the life of a philosopher. My days spent in study and contemplation I endeavored to pose a difficult question to myself—what makes a meaningful life. A good question to ask but I can look back, now, bemused to think I could have any final answer at the age of 20. Well I’m 26 now and it seems as though I’ve forgotten that initial pursuit of philosophy at least how I wanted to write extensively and intellectually explore all topics. I’ve been distracted from the philosophy of the good life, from the discussion of what makes a meaningful existence. These questions used to consume me but what was really driving my obsession was whether my life had meaning, or how could it having meaning.

There were two distinct introductions to philosophy and questions of the Good life which began my quest at age 18. I read a portion of The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus for my literature class at the time which explained the concept of the absurd is the pursuit of meaning. Though quite young I had already been disturbed by the idea of “life passing you by”. The whole idea of the rat race, reaching milestones, doing everything right as it is said. Something about the whole pursuit of college, career, and establishing yourself; well, yes I wanted to achieve these things, but I wondered why this was so. Camus’ essay illuminated the idea of human created meaning opening my mind to questions about what actions, behaviors, or beliefs actually mattered. At the same time I had become very interested in expanding my understanding of eastern philosophy studying Buddhism and downloading a pdf of the Tao Te Ching. The lessons of the Dao, of reading the wisdom, allowed me to understand that there was more than pure rationality which was required to comprehend the Good life. A sense of humility, the balance of rationality with intuition, the lesson of the Dao is that while we are amazing beings in our own right, existence, being, the universe is something so unfathomable in it’s totality, we must understand we are a mere drop in a grand cosmic ocean.

This question or quest is important because at the core of the Good Life is not just how we find meaning in our lives, but how we can find fulfillment, and from this happiness.

There’s a difference between formal philosophy and philosophy in general. Philosophy proper is that domain of the academics, sheltered in the lecture halls, and in esoteric journals hidden behind paywalls. Generally speaking philosophy to many people is about beliefs regarding life. Everything is philosophy from the religious, the political, the scientific, and the lunatic. Philosophy to the many is both the image of wise toga robed Greeks and the mad man yelling about theories on the street corner. Philosophy is just about what someone believes thus philosophy proper and anyone who wishes to pursue it seriously often find themselves misunderstood. In the proper sense philosophy is the practice of questioning deeply and analyzing the answers, searching for definitions and scrutinizing every meaning and interpretation. These questions range across human knowledge, the nature of reality, existence, morality — every aspect of human experience. With the academic tradition preserving the ideas and works of thinkers from the millennia there is trove of perspectives and persuasive arguments for how this world seems to function and be.

People don’t know how to think any more, they don’t know what philosophy is or why it is and thus do not understand the value of asking questions about life.

It’s a lot to think about. In many ways too much. It is those curious people, those odd balls who can’t quite untangle themselves from these questions. Far from the idealism I mused of six years ago, at this point I believe I’m much truly prepared to be a true student of philosophy. But to understand philosophy is to try to understand life, the world as is happening around you. The rat race. Some vague concept I avoided, even dreaded, in my privileged youth. I’m on the edge of watching the current ripple along, imagine this great river of money, massive and unpredictable as the Mississippi. There are those currents in the deep waters of cash, where big fish swim and many are eaten. And there’s the edge where I flounder innocuous enough. Survival is all about floating in a good part of this uncaring river of cash, paying the bills and keeping things floating. Where’s the time for philosophy when the answer to life seems simple— survive.

How do you tell the difference between a sincere message about world unity and a commercial content piece decided to hit several components of viral marketing?

Philosophy proper is something wonderful, it is a representation of a wonderful aspect of our society. There are those whose can choose to zone in focus of grandiose questions, complete study programs, and be an expert, argue and debate in the formal fashion. Because we are fortunate to have a literate society these thinkers and writers can put their insights and arguments out for people to understand and discuss. Those ideas influential to how we perceive and approach this trail of survival. Yet despite this plethoras knowledge the world seems more confused and congested with too much influence from biased and unreliable sources. Formal philosophy aides us by strengthening our minds perception for deception in word and speech. Philosophers are famous for their tendency to write long enough works to be forgotten in a grey haze as readers put it down from something less dull and less dense. But philosophy is far from useless. Being able to see through to the contradictory and inconsistent messages we receive and even transmit. Without a proper way to truly question ourselves and our world we may find ourselves ripped along the current of the rat race without knowing how we got there.