Meaning. |
Mission. |
Manhood. |
"We are men out of time. The world has little of value to offer us now: We have been tricked into trading the purpose-driven life for baubles and trinkets; we have abandoned the authentic for the artificial, and that real and profound fulfillment which can only be achieved by living as men- that is, heroically- for the luke-warm, nancy-boy materialism of the modern world. And so we have found ourselves unmoored, adrift and without inspiration. Nonetheless, we can always return to the old way, and so rediscover the truth: Without suffering, trials and tribulations, pain, war, and death, there is no self-mastery- and mastery of the self is the meaning of man."
~ Joshua van Asakinda
Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote in The Will to Power that, "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." And Viktor Frankl agreed in Man's Search for Meaning, which he wrote after surviving the horrors of the Holocaust, that, "Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but by lack of meaning and purpose." These great thinkers knew something that we have forgotten: It is only through meaning that man finds fulfillment. For no material thing will ever be sufficient to the task: No amount of sex, no amount of glory, no amount of recognition, no amount of power, no amount of money, no amount of luxury, will ever make up for a lack of why. So although we think in binary terms- we love "happiness" and we hate "suffering"-, what we really long for is something greater and more profound than either: fulfillment- that is, a why. Discovering this why, however, can be difficult, especially in a world so fragmented and so distracting.
There is no greater question than, "Why?" This question lies at the bottom of everything we do as human beings; we are, essentially, a meaning-seeking species. Above all else, this longing is what separates us from every other animal on the planet. We wonder why; we go in search of an answer to why; we will not rest until we have satisfied our need to know why- and woe unto us when we fail to find our why. For when we are denied an answer to this most critical of all questions, we become sick, confused, despondent; we feel lost and alone, isolated and without purpose. This is what philosophers generally refer to as nihilism, and it is what Nietzsche considered the most horrifying of all states of being- worse, he considered it a near certainty. For Nietzsche believed in the death of God- that is, he asserted that mankind had abandoned belief in God as a historical fact- and he believed that this great event, which was in his estimation greater than any other event in human history, would doom all of humanity to nihilism. And then how would we justify our own existence to ourselves? We would go mad, he argued- if we were lucky...
A new meaning would be necessary.
This concern has been addressed by a number of thinkers since then: The pursuit of meaning lies at the very heart of the works of early psychoanalysts such as Carl Jung; it is to be found everywhere in the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell; and of course it innervates the work of modern day thinkers like Jordan Peterson. It is not merely an academic problem; nihilism is at the very foundation of virtually all of our social ills. For without a why, there can be no how. Nonetheless, the world has us distracted, and so here we are, lost, confused, and despondent...
There is no greater question than, "Why?" This question lies at the bottom of everything we do as human beings; we are, essentially, a meaning-seeking species. Above all else, this longing is what separates us from every other animal on the planet. We wonder why; we go in search of an answer to why; we will not rest until we have satisfied our need to know why- and woe unto us when we fail to find our why. For when we are denied an answer to this most critical of all questions, we become sick, confused, despondent; we feel lost and alone, isolated and without purpose. This is what philosophers generally refer to as nihilism, and it is what Nietzsche considered the most horrifying of all states of being- worse, he considered it a near certainty. For Nietzsche believed in the death of God- that is, he asserted that mankind had abandoned belief in God as a historical fact- and he believed that this great event, which was in his estimation greater than any other event in human history, would doom all of humanity to nihilism. And then how would we justify our own existence to ourselves? We would go mad, he argued- if we were lucky...
A new meaning would be necessary.
This concern has been addressed by a number of thinkers since then: The pursuit of meaning lies at the very heart of the works of early psychoanalysts such as Carl Jung; it is to be found everywhere in the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell; and of course it innervates the work of modern day thinkers like Jordan Peterson. It is not merely an academic problem; nihilism is at the very foundation of virtually all of our social ills. For without a why, there can be no how. Nonetheless, the world has us distracted, and so here we are, lost, confused, and despondent...
"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."
The Tempest
~ William Shakespeare ~
~ William Shakespeare ~
Luckily, there is always a path forward.
This gateway is dedicated to the revitalization of the classical tradition, and includes information pertaining to Joshua van Asakinda's various projects- blogs, theories, services, and publications-, all of which touch upon questions of meaning, mission, and manhood. For more information, please fill out the Discovery Contact Form below. Also, Joshua van Asakinda holds a master's degree in psychology, is the creator of Virilis, a neoclassical theory of psychology and philosophy, and ParaBellum, a new and revolutionary personal development system. Finally, he provides professional psychological consultation, both in person and in digital.
This gateway is dedicated to the revitalization of the classical tradition, and includes information pertaining to Joshua van Asakinda's various projects- blogs, theories, services, and publications-, all of which touch upon questions of meaning, mission, and manhood. For more information, please fill out the Discovery Contact Form below. Also, Joshua van Asakinda holds a master's degree in psychology, is the creator of Virilis, a neoclassical theory of psychology and philosophy, and ParaBellum, a new and revolutionary personal development system. Finally, he provides professional psychological consultation, both in person and in digital.
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Discovery Contact Form |
[ Disclaimer: Joshua van Asakinda is not a licensed therapist. Psychological consultation is not intended for the diagnosis of mental health disorders, nor is it intended for the treatment or management of mental health disorders. Those who may be suffering from a mental health disorder should discuss it with a licensed therapist. Materials contained herein pertaining to mental health disorders are for educational purposes; services rendered by Joshua van Asakinda are rendered for the purpose of consultation only, and are in no way intended to be therapeutic in character. ]
Joshua van Asakinda
+1-330-314-4170
Joshua.van.Asakinda@gmail.com
+1-330-314-4170
Joshua.van.Asakinda@gmail.com
