You write. "Frankl does seem to think that idleness is the cause of boredom and that this can lead to feeling lost in life. And this lostness then manifests as a lack of meaning. The logic seems to be that if you have a meaning in your life you will do stuff."
My read of Frankl is more:
For many people who claim to be lost in life you'll find a tangled combination of idleness and boredom. These same lost in life people also claim to experience a lack of meaningness in their life. For sure some of these same people may benefit from addressing their underlying boredom and idleness, but he doesn't claim a direct connection between "do stuff" and "find meaning in life." Also if we broaden the definition of what doing stuff could entail, we can capture a wide range of mental activities providing an expanding group experiencing satisfaction with purpose/meaning.
I do believe that unfortunately there is no cure all though and a good many will never find a secure or lasting purpose/meaning. Enjoy your Kierkegaard!
Thank you for the thoughtful comment. I agree with you mostly.
I'll grant you it's never stated outright but it's implicit in the very idea of the "will to meaning."
As to the problem of meaning and existential anxiety, I believe the problem is inherent in the question itself. For as long as one is trying to find anything inherently meaningful you will fail. However, this does not mean that meaning does not exist. We need to reframe the question.
Of course, some would claim, as I do, that the issue was solved in the East long before the question was even posed here in the West.
I'm being somewhat parochial here but many of those in the Western tradition were heavily influenced by Buddhism in particular. Always without attribution, I will add. But that is another story for another time.
Thanks for the reply. Eastern philosophy does deal with these matters so much less "self-help"-ishly. My first foray outside Christianity (long ago) I was reading so much basic Tibetan and Indian philosophy. There were/are so many fresh approaches (and framing)...ahhh. Cheers!
You write. "Frankl does seem to think that idleness is the cause of boredom and that this can lead to feeling lost in life. And this lostness then manifests as a lack of meaning. The logic seems to be that if you have a meaning in your life you will do stuff."
My read of Frankl is more:
For many people who claim to be lost in life you'll find a tangled combination of idleness and boredom. These same lost in life people also claim to experience a lack of meaningness in their life. For sure some of these same people may benefit from addressing their underlying boredom and idleness, but he doesn't claim a direct connection between "do stuff" and "find meaning in life." Also if we broaden the definition of what doing stuff could entail, we can capture a wide range of mental activities providing an expanding group experiencing satisfaction with purpose/meaning.
I do believe that unfortunately there is no cure all though and a good many will never find a secure or lasting purpose/meaning. Enjoy your Kierkegaard!
Thank you for the thoughtful comment. I agree with you mostly.
I'll grant you it's never stated outright but it's implicit in the very idea of the "will to meaning."
As to the problem of meaning and existential anxiety, I believe the problem is inherent in the question itself. For as long as one is trying to find anything inherently meaningful you will fail. However, this does not mean that meaning does not exist. We need to reframe the question.
Of course, some would claim, as I do, that the issue was solved in the East long before the question was even posed here in the West.
I'm being somewhat parochial here but many of those in the Western tradition were heavily influenced by Buddhism in particular. Always without attribution, I will add. But that is another story for another time.
Kierkegaard is next in the queue. :)
Thanks for the reply. Eastern philosophy does deal with these matters so much less "self-help"-ishly. My first foray outside Christianity (long ago) I was reading so much basic Tibetan and Indian philosophy. There were/are so many fresh approaches (and framing)...ahhh. Cheers!