Through Conversations Podcast welcomes 2020 with an epic dialogue, with Professor John Vervaeke. Professor Vervaeke is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. He currently teaches courses in the Psychology department on thinking and reasoning. He also teaches courses in the Cognitive Science program. Professor Vervaeke has published articles on relevance realization, general intelligence, mindfulness, flow, metaphor, and wisdom. He is first author of the book Zombies in Western Culture: A 21st Century crisis which integrates Psychology and Cognitive Science to address the meaning crisis in Western society. He is the author and presenter of the YouTube series, Awakening from the Meaning Crisis.
Articulating what meaning means for us is a difficult task. Think about this for a second: Can you explain what your life means to you? Do you think there are enough words, with sufficient depth, to verbalize what consciousness is? Would words constrain, or amplify the substance of meaning?
These are not easy questions. Yet, Professor Vervaeke knows how to use language to properly describe what meaning signifies to us humans. To put it in short terms, meaning is the back-end design of our life, and the decisions we make are the front-end of it.
In the web industry, they tend to say that the back-end is ‘basically how the [web]site works’. This is the part of the website the user cannot perceive. In other words, the back-end is in charge of the proper performance of the website. Moreover, they tend to think of the front-end as ‘what the user sees’. Some in the front-end industry are in charge of designing the website, and some take care of the user interface.
This is exactly what meaning is to us: meaning is in charge of keeping things functioning properly, and this can be supported by a vision, an objective, an ideology, or a meta-narrative…to offer some examples. Namely, it is what gives structure to our lives although it is something we can’t see, yet plays a fundamental role in our lives.
Now, decision-making is similar to the front-end of websites, insofar as it is tangible to us and we can judge our choices visibly. Decisions are a direct effect from the meaning in our lives; Our decisions are the results of what our compass is dictating us to do, they are the closest we can get to what makes us, us. To put it differently, if we examine closely the decisions we make, they can serve as a reflection of the mechanisms in which we make choices being that they are the outcome of what the back-end commands.
Surprisingly, what’s happening today is that many lack meaning in their lives. This is a huge issue because many can’t pinpoint why they do the things they do and don’t act in accordance to something that brings them value, such as a purpose. That is, there is no back-end to their front-end; They keep making decisions, but those do not serve a higher-purpose in their lives.
But the thing is that meaning is something innate of humans. We crave for it, create it from nothing, and find it when it seems impossible to do so. Even if someone’s definition of it is no-meaning (i.e. Nihilism)…it is a default trait of us. Doesn’t it blow your mind that even though some doctrines state that life is meaningless, this can bring meaning to people’s lives? This is a rather impressive phenomenon: we say that life provides no meaning at all, yet by living this way life automatically becomes meaningful to us, as our choices are highly influenced by this idea.
To sum it all up, meaning is not something arbitrary in the world, yet there are ones who have difficulties in finding it. What does the evidence suggest, in terms of how can people find more meaning in their lives, and what practices they can take part of that increase their chances of feeling purposeful?
One recent survey by Emily Ekins suggests that many Americans feel that their life has meaning and purpose. Now, how did they measure this? They did a psychological assesment of individuals and the ones who found more meaning in their life were the ones who believed hard work is its own reward, had some sense of personal agency and personal responsibility; were compassionate, and lacked negative feelings towards others such as envy or resentment. The ones who lacked meaning in their lives were more likely to believe that external forces drive their lives, are not likely to take personal responsability, envy and resent others. What’s more, people who volunteered and attended religious ceremonies ranked high in feeling like their lives had a purpose.
See, this is why I believe Professor Vervaeke said in our conversation that the most profound insight he has had during his journey was: “The Sacredness of meaning, understood as the connectedness to oneself, to what’s really real, and to other people.”
Again, meaning is not a random event, it is something sacred. People can cultivate it by being connected to themselves in the form of personal accountability, being in touch with positive feelings such as compassion, taking care of others, and being associated to a religion.
To conclude, one of the most important things one can do during one’s time on Earth is creating a mesmerizing back-end which, in turn, will enhance one’s front-end. Having meaning in our lives can dramatically impact our sense of connectedness to all that surrounds us. It is an aspect of our humanity that needs attention, specially nowadays when we seem to be losing grasp of what to believe in. It is something that needs to be harvested through hard work until it seems like an effortless manner.
One last thing before you go. Take a minute and read this poem:
Tao Te Ching — Lao Tzu — chapter 8
Supreme good is like water.
Water greatly benefits all things, without conflict.
It flows through places that people loathe.
Thereby it is close to the Way.
A good dwelling is on the ground.
A good mind is deep.
A good gift is kind.
A good word is sincere.
A good ruler is just.
A good worker is able.
A good deed is timely.
(Taken from Taoistic.com)
Here’s another version of the poem:
Chapter Eight
A person of great virtue is like the flowing water.
Water benefits all things and contends not with them.
It puts itself in a place that no one wishes to be and thus is closest to Tao.
A virtuous person is like water which adapts itself to the perfect place.
His mind is like the deep water that is calm and peaceful.
His heart is kind like water that benefits all.
His words are sincere like the constant flow of water.
His governing is natural without desire which is like the softness of water that penetrates through hard rocks.
His work is of talent like the free flow of water.
His movement is of right timing like water that flows smoothly.
A virtuous person never forces his way and hence will not make faults.
I hope you enjoy this Podcast as much as I did.
