Meaning is a function of context \u2013 the framework of relationships between people, things and events that bear on a thing or event such that they are placed within this framework in a way that value is provided to the individual or individuals affected by them. And I am using \u201cvalue\u201d here in either a positive or negative sense, in that the meaning of something can be perceived in a beneficial and desirable light, or in a detrimental and less desirable light.<\/p>\n
Only the individual can decide if there is value or not \u2013 this is entirely a subjective judgment –\u00a0 if he or she doesn\u2019t see it that way, the context of that action is devoid of meaning as far as that individual is concerned.\u00a0 And so it might come to pass that there will be vast differences of opinion about some thing or event being meaningful or not.<\/p>\n
All this goes to show is that value or meaning starts and ends with the individual; only they can bestow meaning to the context that they are involved with.\u00a0 Does this mean that nothing could be intrinsically meaningful?\u00a0 Since meaning or value isn\u2019t some property of objects or events, e.g. colour, size or duration, they are devoid of meaning or value unless we can make that kind of determination.<\/p>\n
Now the reason I want to talk about meaning here has to do with a number of references I have made earlier to \u201cthe larger context\u201d, suggesting that there is a greater meaning to be discovered within our day to day existence.\u00a0 Because\u00a0 – as I have just shown – meaning is subjective, this larger context will be of our own making if we begin to maximize our human potential beyond being just another beast in the wild \u2013 a challenge no doubt but one well worth pursuing if we wish to redefine our relationship with reality on our own uniquely human terms and discover where this will take us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Meaning is a function of context \u2013 the framework of relationships between people, things and events that bear on a thing or event such that they are placed within this framework in a way that value is provided to the … Continue reading