Assignment #3, Rough draft

“Meaning is slippery.”

 

One of the few things in this world that can go un-argued is that a definition of meaning is non-existent. It is impossible to determine a definition for meaning that covers a large group of people, simply because every person has there own perception of meaning and two are rarely the same. This makes it impossible to generalize these definitions into one that covers a large spectrum.

Patterns in meaning and things related to it can be determined though, through interviews. In my interviews, I found that no two people could answer more than one question alike. However, I was able to determine some patterns of people of various backgrounds, ethnically, religiously, and economically.

The first pattern I found was that all people interviewed seemed to determine their own meaning based on the way others perceived them. When asked what the most meaningful parts of their lives were, all people interviewed said that their friends and family were two of the most important part of their lives. The reasons for this varied, but essentially the general consensus was because they have a large impact on who you are and they are there for you.

This is how the camera-man defines his meaning

Another pattern I found was that things unseen, such as the supernatural or God, also have an important role in people’s lives. 50% of participants said that God or supernatural parties (A.K.A. Beliefs) were very important to their lives. The other 50% said that helping others was meaningful, and helping others is a common aspect of various religions, so these can be related in that sense.

            Of those interviewed, 80% of people under age 18 said that their lives were only moderately meaningful. On a scale of 1 through 10, people said that they were between a 4 and 7. An interesting note on this point however, is that those who said their lives were an 8 or higher on this scale, were people who do not regularly examine meaning (For example, taking the “Your Life Doesn’t Have to Be Meaningless” course at School of the Future”). This could be because they have a different understanding of meaning or do not know how to appropriately answer the question.

            Things forced onto people, such as the media and school, were also found meaningless by 75% of people interviewed. The logic behind this is that it is not always something that they want to take in, rather it is something that is unavoidable. In the case of school, people have to go to school until they graduate high school and therefore, even if what they are learning is irrelevant, they must stay. With the media example, the media is all around and unavoidable, no matter how hard one tries to keep it out. Everything is in one shape or another, an example of the media.

            Wisdom often goes hand in hand with meaning, and many think that having wisdom will help them to make their lives more meaningful. For this reason, people were also asked about wisdom, and what they thought it was and how it was gained. The majority of answers for what wisdom was, was the ability to examine things are determine a probable outcome, or in simpler terms, common sense. The way that this was gained was through life experiences. 75% of people thought that wisdom was gained through past experiences and that these would help them in the future.