The Meaning of Meaning

[Tree of Life]

Threads have been popping up here and there concerning the meaning of life - whether or not life has meaning and whether or not life needs meaning, etc. But the more fundamental question of what it means for a life to have meaning has been quietly assumed. Let's draw it out into the open here.

To inter-related questions:
1. What does it mean for anything to have meaning?
2. In light of (1), what does it mean for a life to have meaning?

What does it mean for anything to have meaning?
Let's look at a few other common subjects that we suppose "have meaning". A few immediately come to mind:

1. Language
2. Events
3. Art

Language
Imagine walking along a deserted beach. You come across what looks like a line drawn in the sand.

You wonder to yourself: "Hmmm. What does this line mean?" What do you mean when you ask such a thing? Likely you're wondering whether or not the line was drawn by a person and whether or not the person was trying to communicate. What was the person trying to communicate? A number 1? The letter "I"? An abstract drawing of a tree?

It's of course possible that the line has no linguistic or artistic meaning. Perhaps the line was left behind by a hermit crab crawling through the sand. In this case the line would mean: "a hermit crab has been here." This would then fall into the category of "meaning of events".

But suppose you stumble across a more complicated figure in the sand. Something that looks like this:

Possibly even something like this:

It now seems like you're reading letters and words and not just looking at meaningless lines. But in order for these figures to mean "E" and "hello" there must have been a person who intended to say "E" and "hello".

If you later find out that, for instance, a hermit crab happened to make these marks as well, you cannot conclude that the marks mean "E" or "hello". They only resemble "E" and "hello" by pure coincidence.

So with language meaning depends upon the intention of the author.

Events
You come home early from work and notice your front door ajar. Upon closer examination it seems as if the door has been kicked in. As you walk inside you notice signs of struggle, broken glass on the floor, and blood in the kitchen. Your family is nowhere to be found and a man you've never seen before is standing in the kitchen.

You might ask something like: "what is the meaning of this?!"

What do you mean by this question? You notice a bizarre series of events that you don't understand. You don't know what has happened and you want to know. You don't know who broke in, whether or not there was a struggle, where your family is, or who this stranger is. You simply notice signs that something unknown has taken place.

All of these signs could mean that this stranger broke into your home, harmed your family, and is now standing before you. But they could also mean something radically different. But either way you're trying to read the situation. Much like you would read a novel.

You're ultimately asking what all these signs add up to. And much like language you're looking for an author and for intentions. Who authored this situation? Who is responsible for this? What was this person intending to do? What has this person, in fact, done?

So it seems as if the meaning of events also has to do with authorial intent.

Art
This one can get complicated. Representational art seems simple enough.

What does this painting mean? On one level, the painting means "bowl of fruit". It's clear enough that the artist was intending to convey a bowl of fruit. We immediately recognize it.

But what does this painting mean? The answer is less clear. It's possible that the painting really has no meaning. It's simply beautiful. Or ugly. Whether or not it means something would depend upon whether or not the artist intended to convey some content. If there is no content that the artist meant to convey then the painting has no meaning.

So even in art meaning depends upon authors and intentions.

Conclusion
Wherever there is meaning there is an author and some content that the author intends to convey.

So what does it mean for a life to have meaning? We can only answer this question if we locate the author and discover his or her intentions. So the questions are: "who is the author of our life?" and "what are his or her intentions?"

Without an author or intentions our lives have no meaning.

 

[Received]

There can be a meaning authored (intended) by another, but regardless for meaning to be we always have to author it ourselves -- we project meaning onto things. The letter "E" means something to me because of my upbringing and culture; without this particular upbringing this letter wouldn't mean anything at all.

So I disagree. Meaning by itself doesn't imply authorship outside of the self. Events that are meaningful to us because they involve language mean that there is another author involved, but what this really means is there are two authors: one who intended the meaning, and other (myself) who interpreted this meaning, which would be possible only if the symbols used were in agreement with the meanings I assign to those symbols.

 

[Tree of Life]

So I disagree. Meaning by itself doesn't imply authorship outside of the self. Events that are meaningful to us because they involve language mean that there is another author involved, but what this really means is there are two authors: one who intended the meaning, and other (myself) who interpreted this meaning, which would be possible only if the symbols used were in agreement with the meanings I assign to those symbols.

If someone is trying to talk to you in Spanish and you do not understand Spanish it does not follow that his words have no meaning. They may be meaningless to you, but his words still have meaning. So communication depends on your ability to accurately understand the author's intentions.

Likewise suppose the man says something like: "mi casa es su casa". You don't know that this means "my house is your house." But you choose to impose meaning on his words and you take him to mean "get away from me you weirdo". In response to his statement you run away crying. You've not, in this case, really understood the meaning of his words because you've not understood the intention of the speaker.

So I don't agree that interpreting meaning is the same thing as assigning meaning.

 

[Received]

If someone is trying to talk to you in Spanish and you do not understand Spanish it does not follow that his words have no meaning. They may be meaningless to you, but his words still have meaning. So communication depends on your ability to accurately understand the author's intentions.

Likewise suppose the man says something like: "mi casa es su casa". You don't know that this means "my house is your house." But you choose to impose meaning on his words and you take him to mean "get away from me you weirdo". In response to his statement you run away crying. You've not, in this case, really understood the meaning of his words because you've not understood the intention of the speaker.

So I don't agree that interpreting meaning is the same thing as assigning meaning.

In this case, my interpretation of meaning is assigning meaning, but it clashes with other people's interpretation and assignations (intentions) of meaning.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Threads have been popping up here and there concerning the meaning of life - whether or not life has meaning and whether or not life needs meaning, etc. But the more fundamental question of what it means for a life to have meaning has been quietly assumed. Let's draw it out into the open here.

To inter-related questions:
1. What does it mean for anything to have meaning?
2. In light of (1), what does it mean for a life to have meaning?

What does it mean for anything to have meaning?
Let's look at a few other common subjects that we suppose "have meaning". A few immediately come to mind:

1. Language
2. Events
3. Art

Language
Imagine walking along a deserted beach. You come across what looks like a line drawn in the sand.

You wonder to yourself: "Hmmm. What does this line mean?" What do you mean when you ask such a thing? Likely you're wondering whether or not the line was drawn by a person and whether or not the person was trying to communicate. What was the person trying to communicate? A number 1? The letter "I"? An abstract drawing of a tree?

It's of course possible that the line has no linguistic or artistic meaning. Perhaps the line was left behind by a hermit crab crawling through the sand. In this case the line would mean: "a hermit crab has been here." This would then fall into the category of "meaning of events".

But suppose you stumble across a more complicated figure in the sand. Something that looks like this:

Possibly even something like this:

It now seems like you're reading letters and words and not just looking at meaningless lines. But in order for these figures to mean "E" and "hello" there must have been a person who intended to say "E" and "hello".

If you later find out that, for instance, a hermit crab happened to make these marks as well, you cannot conclude that the marks mean "E" or "hello". They only resemble "E" and "hello" by pure coincidence.

So with language meaning depends upon the intention of the author.

Events
You come home early from work and notice your front door ajar. Upon closer examination it seems as if the door has been kicked in. As you walk inside you notice signs of struggle, broken glass on the floor, and blood in the kitchen. Your family is nowhere to be found and a man you've never seen before is standing in the kitchen.

You might ask something like: "what is the meaning of this?!"

What do you mean by this question? You notice a bizarre series of events that you don't understand. You don't know what has happened and you want to know. You don't know who broke in, whether or not there was a struggle, where your family is, or who this stranger is. You simply notice signs that something unknown has taken place.

All of these signs could mean that this stranger broke into your home, harmed your family, and is now standing before you. But they could also mean something radically different. But either way you're trying to read the situation. Much like you would read a novel.

You're ultimately asking what all these signs add up to. And much like language you're looking for an author and for intentions. Who authored this situation? Who is responsible for this? What was this person intending to do? What has this person, in fact, done?

So it seems as if the meaning of events also has to do with authorial intent.

Art
This one can get complicated. Representational art seems simple enough.

What does this painting mean? On one level, the painting means "bowl of fruit". It's clear enough that the artist was intending to convey a bowl of fruit. We immediately recognize it.

But what does this painting mean? The answer is less clear. It's possible that the painting really has no meaning. It's simply beautiful. Or ugly. Whether or not it means something would depend upon whether or not the artist intended to convey some content. If there is no content that the artist meant to convey then the painting has no meaning.

So even in art meaning depends upon authors and intentions.

Conclusion
Wherever there is meaning there is an author and some content that the author intends to convey.

So what does it mean for a life to have meaning? We can only answer this question if we locate the author and discover his or her intentions. So the questions are: "who is the author of our life?" and "what are his or her intentions?"

Without an author or intentions our lives have no meaning.

Your basic premise is wrong.

We ascribe meaning regardless of any authorial intent.

Let's go back to that hermit crab example...a hermit crab walking across the sand somehow creates a cursive "hello" in the sand. Upon reading it, before you know it's the result of a hermit crab, you...and just about every other english reading person would ascribe the meaning of "hello" to the lines in the sand. It's a word that's meaning is that of a greeting.

You may realize afterwards that it was merely coincidence that a crab managed to create such lines in the sand...and you would disregard your previously held meaning.

Determining meaning is always a matter for the one beholding the "thing". Conveying meaning is the matter of the author....but without someone capable of determining that meaning, the authors' intent is in vain. For example...

Ujmwmdag diqun bdamd.

What did I mean by that? I sincerely doubt you know...because without knowledge from me, it remains meaningless to you.

Determining meaning is always a process for the beholder. So it is for life...we determine its meaning as we behold it, and we need not know any author at all to do it.

 

[agua]

1. Meaning is the process of reducing dignity.
2. Meaning is the process of finding an average.

 

[Davian]

...

Conclusion
Wherever there is meaning there is an author and some content that the author intends to convey.

So what does it mean for a life to have meaning? We can only answer this question if we locate the author and discover his or her intentions. So the questions are: "who is the author of our life?" and "what are his or her intentions?"

Without an author or intentions our lives have no meaning.

Your conclusion presupposes that there is an "author" to the universe, that there is meaning to discover, and that we can locate this hypothetical 'author', and if we do we will find out this supposed meaning.

I would gather from your faith icon that you believe that you have "located" this "author".

How would you show that you have actually accomplished this (if you think you have), and have not simply projected your anthropomorphic wishes upon the universe?

 

[quatona]

Conclusion
Wherever there is meaning there is an author and some content that the author intends to convey.

When I am saying "meaning" I am using it differently than you. So, since I am the author of my statements....
I don´t know that there´s an original author of the English language. I guess it doesn´t have meaning, then.

Without an author or intentions our lives have no meaning.

Under this definition, I would agree.
It looks to me that you narrowed down the available definition(s) of "meaning" in a way that helped forcing your conclusion.
Where I come from, we tend to ask "We does this mean to you/me?". Under your definition, this use of "meaning" is completely ignored.

Btw., you can give hundreds of examples for the word "meaning" being used in the way that helps your conclusion - but that doesn´t substantiate a conclusion as absolute as yours.
I´d recommend the opposite approach: Is there a use of "meaning" that does not assume an author? Because if there is only one, your "conclusion" is out the window.

 

[quatona]

So I don't agree that interpreting meaning is the same thing as assigning meaning.

But at least you now admit that the latter is possible.

 

[Inkfingers]

1. Meaning is the process of reducing dignity.
2. Meaning is the process of finding an average.

Smart alec

 

[Inkfingers]

Wherever there is meaning there is an author and some content that the author intends to convey.

So what does it mean for a life to have meaning? We can only answer this question if we locate the author and discover his or her intentions. So the questions are: "who is the author of our life?" and "what are his or her intentions?"

Without an author or intentions our lives have no meaning.

Yes, for something to have meaning it has to be meant, purposeful, intended, and not just haphazard. Which means an intelligence at work.

 

[GrowingSmaller]

Wittgenstein - 'If you want the meaning look for the use.'


As a song says: "choose life", for such as a rule of thumb is programmed as the better deed.

Hence the experience "the universe" as a phenomenological adventure, and its meaning is its biological function (ie is promoting life).

Therefore the meaning (use) of meaning (semantics in existence) is Darwinian or life promoting.

My sympathies to the gothics amongst us.

 

[Tree of Life]

Your conclusion presupposes that there is an "author" to the universe, that there is meaning to discover, and that we can locate this hypothetical 'author', and if we do we will find out this supposed meaning.

I would gather from your faith icon that you believe that you have "located" this "author".

How would you show that you have actually accomplished this (if you think you have), and have not simply projected your anthropomorphic wishes upon the universe?

I'm not necessarily talking about the author of the universe. I'm talking about the author of your life. Who's the primary author?

You? Your parents? Your culture? Nature itself?

 

[TillICollapse]

Someone already beat me to the Wittgenstein reference.

See: private language argument in response to the OP.

Similarly, I would probably argue that ultimately, language fails to convey absolute and objective meaning to stuff-n-things. In order for language to convey it, we must agree upon terms. On practical levels, we agree on terms frequently ... but not everyone does. And ultimately, the private interpretation being experienced by the individual is unique to them, to where there is no language involving speech to convey it absolutely. Thus the typical questions like, "What does the number 5 feel like ?" etc.

I may argue, that a more pure form to understand meaning from the human perspective, would be empathy. But not the type of empathy typically described by most people. That is more akin to sympathy. By empathy, I mean two or more people actually sharing the same response. Not parallel responses, but one and the same. The same response in separate individuals. How one could show this objectively though, seems outside the current realm of science.

 

[variant]

Meaning, in the sense of "my life is meaningful" is purely subjective.

You can look for common themes that people have when they say something is meaningful to them, but ultimately we are talking about a description of subjectivity itself, how people experience their own lives.

Without an author or intentions our lives have no meaning.

In a word no, we have our own intentionality, we have no need for an external meaning if there isn't an external author.

Thinking that you need an external source for meaning is sad really.

 

[Tree of Life]

In a word no, we have our own intentionality, we have no need for an external meaning if there isn't an external author.

Thinking that you need an external source for meaning is sad really.

What you're saying here is that you are your own author. You have authority over your life and your own intentions give your life its meaning.

 

[TillICollapse]

What you're saying here is that you are your own author. You have authority over your life and your own intentions give your life its meaning.

Here's the thing, even if the creator of a thing tells you, "This was created to mean __________ ," ... the fact we have our own experience, imagination, etc ... we may still ascribe different meaning to it then was even originally intended. Thus, even the author or creator of the thing arguably doesn't have absolute say over "meaning".

If you remove our ability to have subjective experiences, then arguably the author of the "meaning" is the authority, however meaning now largely becomes irrelevant anyways in context. It's only meaningful to the one who is able to experience it.

 

[Davian]

I'm not necessarily talking about the author of the universe. I'm talking about the author of your life. Who's the primary author?

You? Your parents? Your culture? Nature itself?

"Author" is an anthropomorphic concept that I would not project on to the world around me. It implies intent.

My question to you still stands: I gather from your faith icon that you believe that you have "located" this "author". How would you show that you have actually accomplished this (if you think you have), and have not simply projected your anthropomorphic wishes upon the universe?

 

[Davian]

...

Without an author or intentions our lives have no meaning.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I love the cartoon. It's as if man is the only animal that can confuse itself.