What are the sources of this sense of meaninglessness but also of a need for a sense of meaning?
Humans are composed of many things, such as oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and many other chemical compounds and substances. Despite this, most people feel empty, they feel like something is not quite right in their lives, that they don't have the life they should. Viktor Frankl called this the existential vacuum, and he got it right on the nose there, because it surely sucks.
Viktor Frankl proposes this idea, that of the existential vacuum, quite plainly. It is the psychological condition in which a person doubts that life has any meaning. This is brought upon by a period of time in which life stalls, where there a new lack of initiative and interest. Frankl argues that this state was brought upon by the process of industrialization, that with instinct and social tradition being countered by society man has no direction and does not know what he wants to do. In more detail, Viktor Frankl discusses that individualism is rejected by most people in favor of conforming to a social standard or group. As a result, the individual relies mainly upon what others do and the actions that they dictate, causing their own lives meaning to be neglected. However, on a larger scale, this curtain can be pulled back so that this theory encompasses the entire "evolution of man", as Frankl discusses that this can be traced back to when man began to lose his animal instincts to become truly human. This abandonment of the past connects with the loss of tradition from a cultural standpoint that many feel, especially in America.
I feel like much of what Viktor Frankl proposes here makes sense, from man's loss of his animalistic self to the loss of tradition that many experience. As a result, I put much of the blame for meaninglessness of humanity on the shoulders of the parents. Not all parents though, but rather the newer breeds of parents, the parents that increasingly seem to hover over their children and watch their every move. The helicopter parent.
I intern at an elementary school, the same elementary school I went to as a child. In the six and a half years since I graduated, the school has changed quite a bit, getting rid or benches in the yard, certain games in the gym, and changing the curriculum so that the older grades (4th and 5th grade) have to do some homework online. If a child gets hurt, they sit off on the side and take out a book or do homework. The school is no longer allowed to hold bake sales with homemade food because the calories are not listed. Now, granted these things are not bad on their own, however together they cause an overwhelming change in the attitude and mentality of the student body, and by 5th grade it is clear that much of these changes will be permanent. And why are these changes there? Does anybody really think that a child cares about any of these things, that by adding or taking them away that they will have a better life and enjoy it more. No, these changes are made by parents who want to control every detail of their children's lives even when they are far away at home or work.
I would argue that these minor changes in fact cause the very same feelings of emptiness that people experience later in life. Frankl argues that as mankind has gradually lost it's animalistic instinct, which children maintain much more than their adult counterparts, that feelings of emptiness have developed more and more. This could be because they are spoon-fed everything. As a child, I remember how proud of myself I was when I learned how to avoid getting hit by the dodgeball, a simple activity that cannot be truly taught but instead learned by the participant. This game is no longer allowed in schools because they say it causes psychological damage to children. By taking away the opportunity for the child to learn on their own and to get past the trappings of the game, you take away a sense of meaning that could fill them up. You never feel as good when somebody takes something away from you instead of letting you conquer it and gain a sense of accomplishment.
Little moments of accomplishment are key to a meaningful life. These moments later lead to big moments of accomplishment. An artist does not feel as empty as he would without his renowned art, rather they make him feel worthy. By having a child succeed and accomplish things here and there, they remain happy and healthy. A parent does not have to stop them from failing to give them this sense, and they do not have to shield them from reality. A child who goes out and plays outside learns common sense, gains a sense of the world, and becomes a stronger person later in life. This is key to gaining meaning, because if you are proud and assured of yourself, then meaning comes without the need for things such as "cool".
To make a long point shorter, Viktor Frankl argued that by repressing animal instinct that people are forming pockets of emptiness. I am in agreement, and I trace this to childhood and helicopter parents who do not let their child progress in a more natural, primitive state. By trying to treat children as adults and protect them from failure, they are making them weak and full of holes that they try to fill with anything they can later in life. In order for meaninglessness to cease, we must let the children be children and fall, break, and ultimately fail, so that they may come out stronger and accomplished.
No comments:
Post a Comment