The Paradox of Meaning

Josep Ramoneda in an essay in “Existential Utopia: New Perspectives on Utopian Thought”  entitled: “At the End of Utopia---Indifference” begins by stating the paradox of existence “being has no meaning” but “meaning is necessary for life.”  Religious believers oppose the first premise as they believe there is transcendent meaning to life. Existentialists accept the idea that existence is a mystery and that individuals function within the observable conditions of existence. For Shakespeare’s Hamlet when we die is “When we have shuffled off this mortal coil” and “To die” is “to sleep.” (Act III, Scene 1).” Hamlet’s sleep is in fact the eternal sleep. Death is like a preternatural presence that is with each of us every day of our life.

Samuel Beckett the famous Irish playwright and author lived the paradox of existence. He believed deeply that existence is absurd, but, in spite of this his work was so creative that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.  He realized how disparate his lived experience was from the view he held as he had one of his literary characters say the words that could apply to Beckett as well, ''You must go on, I can't go on, I'll go on.'' Beckett was known for his Theatre of the Absurd plays with “Waiting for Godot” being his best known play of this genre.

The more usual path in the West is to be born into a Christian family of some ilk and to be indoctrinated into that religion, with its teaching of a transcendent meaning to life.  Some of us free ourselves from those bonds, but few examine life as Socrates insisted when he said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.”  We seek meaning consistent with our culture’s values in very traditional ways.  It is when we cannot find meaning in conventional traditions that the vagaries of existence emerge to trouble us.  The earlier blog post on “Suicide” shows what happens when life becomes meaningless.

Existential Utopia

Awhile ago I was brainstorming the idea of an Existential Coming-of-Age ritual. I thought this idea might be communicated to others through social media. Then I wondered what to call the group of individuals who might be attracted to the idea and the phrase “Existential Utopia” came to mind. At that point I entered Existential Utopia into a search engine and a book entitled “Existential Utopia: New Perspectives on Utopian Thought” by Michael Marder and Patricia Vieira was the response. It is collection of essays with the central idea that “Another World is Possible.” Ideas from this work will be quoted in subsequent blog entries.

Death with Dignity

Two years ago my friend, David Hurd, was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia.  For his sake and the sake of those he loved he chose suicide. He fell seven floors from his downtown Des Moines condominium.  Iowa does not have a Death with Dignity statute.  Antediluvian religious-political powers are likely to keep it that way.  Six states and Washington, D.C., have Death with Dignity statutes.  David lived his life with dignity. And in spite of the physical harshness of his death David died with dignity.

Suicide

The first week of June 2018 was a climactic week for Existentialism with two celebrities, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, committing suicide.  While suicide is the ultimate individual freedom it must be considered together with the responsibility the person has to others.  Kate Spade was the mother of a thirteen year old daughter—Anthony Bourdain was the father of an eleven year old daughter. For both Spade and Bourdain love for their daughter was not in doubt.  Albert Camus, a philosopher and author, held that suicide is the central philosophical concern.  Camus in “The Myth of Sisyphus” stated “There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide.”

It is, however, Camus the author who shows the consequences of suicide in his novel “The Fall.”  The protagonist of the novel is in proximity to a woman who is committing suicide and her cries for help go unheeded.  Afterwards he experiences guilt. The protagonist continues to experience guilt and near the end of the novel he pleads with the suicide victim, “Oh young woman, throw yourself into the water again so that I may a second time have the chance of saving both of us.”  Two young coming-of-age-women may suffer, possibly for a lifetime.

Existentialism

I first became aware of Existentialism in 1965 through a psychiatrist friend, Erle Fitz.  He introduced me to the book “Search for Authenticity” by James Bugental which explores Existentialism through the psychology of human experience. The individual’s freedom to choose and to act is done in circumstances in which the individual associates with and relates to others. Bugental refers to this relatedness, “Human consciousness includes an awareness of oneself in the context of other people.” The final condition of existence is the dilemma: we are aware that we will die. 


The dilemma of death has been more than people are prepared to accept and cope with. To deny the finality of death civilization has created belief-based institutions that promise an eternal afterlife. Dubious as this promise is most people accept the religious tradition they are born into.  My serious study of Existentialism began in 2014 when I audited a philosophy course in which we studied the philosophy of Martin Heidegger through his book “Being and Time.”