Meaning: Orientation or Utility
I’m curious about integrating meaning into our lives and if it can be misappropriated. It seems to me it can, at least in the sense that, if we adopt the notion of having meaning but covertly only use it to achieve an outcome, we would then discard meaning once we got the outcome. That seems backward. It’s strange to think that meaning can be a utility. What I mean is that to make meaning a utility is to use it as a tool to gain something—to get something beneficial to us. This suggests that the benefit of meaning as a utility is to attain something other than meaning. And what could that be?
I think when meaning is merely a utility for us, it often means we have an ulterior motive for our actions. This leaves too much room for immorality because when our motives are beyond what is obvious or admitted—or intentionally hidden—we run the risk of achieving outcomes based on materialism, superficiality, or self-serving. Such outcomes cannot produce a meaningful existence or a sense of purpose because there is a finite end, one that seeks only to eliminate doubt and chaos, that has no eternal impact. Furthermore, when meaning is a utility, the implications of our actions are typically negative in the sense that they take from others rather than benefit them. We cut ourselves off from others by doing so, thereby discarding meaning. Therefore, when meaning becomes a utility, it is a means to an end, and when we arrive at our desired outcomes, we no longer need the things that got us there.
When our drive is a means to an end, we seek finality in the sense that we strive to eliminate chaos. This seems like the right thing to do at first glance, for chaos is usually perceived as unnecessary. But if we take this notion apart, we will see that chaos holds potential not only for threat but also promise (promise in the sense of who we could be or where we could go). Yet, as we encounter chaos, we react in one of two ways: fear and curiosity. The direction we go with this is usually not a conscious choice. How do we know when fear is driving our subsequent actions? I think one way we can figure this out is by questioning whether or not we are incorporating meaning as a utility or an orientation. Perhaps, if we are primarily seeking an outcome free of chaos, then we might be incorporating meaning as a utility. This likely suggests that we are attempting to alleviate our fears by removing chaos at all costs. But chaos holds potential for both threat and promise. Therefore, by merely eliminating chaos, we cut ourselves off from the promise it holds. Meaning is derived from chaos, and therefore, without chaos, we can derive no meaning. Seeking to eliminate chaos prevents us from experiencing the freedom offered by its constraints. In that case, we cannot become whole.
Meaning as an orientation changes the way in which we behave in the sense that our actions are guided by what’s meaningful or in the sense of implementing actions in a meaningful way. Orienting ourselves towards meaning dictates our behaviors by inspiring us to act in accordance with outcomes based on virtue, depth, and creating a future that values principles. Meaning as an orientation ensures that we find fulfillment in endeavors that enhance relationships and ourselves in a wholesome, virtuous manner. Such a meaningful existence arises due to the genuine interactions it produces within our relationships, which lifts the burden of nihilism. When the implications of our actions are rooted in the concern for our own humanity AND of others, we open the door for something sacred.
When meaning is an orientation, we constantly position ourselves to transform chaos in the sense that we extract more promise than threat. It is key to understand that what may be chaos for some may be order for others. In other words, while we may think the chaos we are embracing is us transforming it, it could easily be the case that we are simply immersing ourselves in an environment optimally suited for our personality and beliefs. One man’s chaos is another man’s order. That is, the way we think of the chaos we are “conquering” may actually be determined by what others see as something of which they are too fearful of facing—not by what is truly fearful to us. We think that since we are facing something they fear, we are being heroic. And this is a fallacy. Therefore, we must be willing to admit the possibility that we have not faced the true chaos we fear. If we do, perhaps we will discover meaning in our lives we never knew possible.
