Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Redundant Lebanese Thought

“An insight into why Lebanese history repeats itself”



      
  
  Any person that has lived in Lebanon for a few months, would sense that daily life eventually becomes quite mundane and repetitive. Even the avant-garde societal faction thinks in a highly one dimensional manner.  People do express their discomfort about their socio-political situation, but it ends there. They are incapable of changing it, not because they are not willing, but they are not able to.
                
Abraham Maslow said: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you will tend to see all problems as a nail”. This is one of the reasons why we are stuck in a vicious cycle of discomfort in Lebanon, and the region in general. We have a limited repertoire of intellectual tools to deal with problems that arise in front of us.
               
  This scarcity in analytical tools is rooted in our deeply conservative mentality. In order to elaborate this hypothesis, you have to take into consideration the following factors.

1.       Intelligence
2.       Knowledge
3.       Execution
4.       Results

Intelligence is defined by Webster’s as "the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations". Thus, in order to deal with situations adequately, we must be able to acquire relevant knowledge which is effective in dealing with those trying situations. At the same time, we also must be capable of using it.

However, before we get to the execution part, what does intelligence and knowledge have to do with being conservative? The answer is the influence of personality traits on learning and motivation.  Conservative individuals score very high on the closed minded personality trail measures, whereas liberal individuals are more open to new experiences and seek novel experiences and ideas.

Therefore if we are dealing with problems or trying situations intelligently, it would require from us to acquire new knowledge.  How will we be capable of doing so if we cannot overcome our bias and thought preference? Moreover, even if we are capable of acquiring that knowledge, will we be willing to change what we are extremely accustomed to?

I believe that the preceding argument is indicative of why we are incapable of proper execution of change. Moreover, it provokes an endless loop of melancholic thought and behavior. The results may be quite grim; however, it doesn't mean that change isn't possible. It is, but it requires too much damn effort.  

An easier method of change would be to stop pursuing change consciously, because the means are producing redundant results, which in turn are keeping the progress wheel stagnant.  Since we are a conservative nation, we would be more at ease if we accept the current decadent culture, and learn how to work its dynamics more efficiently. Eventually things will change if we truly find out that we can’t live in such a system, because change then would be much more synergetic and has profound natural momentum and direction.


However, the irony of the matter is, as long as change is required, liberal thought will also be required. But Liberal thought will always create discomfort in conservative nations. Therefore the fate of the Lebanese will remain the same due to their conservative identity with liberal whims. 

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Anti-purposeful Meaning


           

     When talking about ‘meaning’ in a general sense, it is usually accompanied by ‘purpose’; more specifically, the purpose is that of life. To most philosophical theories, you cannot have one without the other.            

  There is no exact definition of meaning, but the one that can be most accurate is given by an online dictionary, which states “meaning is the sense or significance of a word, sentence, symbol, etc.; import; semantic or lexical content”. Also, the definition of purpose is “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists”.           

 The notion that purpose precedes meaning seems unappealing. This is due to the unanswerable questions that this notion provokes, which makes the concept of meaning very restricted, and gives it a doctrine-like nature.
          

  The fundamental questions that purpose poses are “why” questions. Therefore, when asked about life, the answers tend to be weak because they are oversimplifications. Also, most explanations imply that we have to work our way into having a purposeful life. This method is highly unperceptive because it neglects a lot of human factors, especially emotions.          

  Having a universal explanation for something so abstract and vast like life is useless and dull, for life goes beyond thought and purpose. Even more, it is the epitome of human arrogance and narcissism to claim that life is not worth living without purpose.         

   Since meaning is derived from the significance of things, and since different people find different things significant to them, it makes more sense for the meaning of life to be subjective. It also makes more sense that a purposeful life which adheres to a doctrine is likely to become meaningless.           

 Things that are most significant to us are those that give us pleasure, but this does not mean that a hedonistic life is a meaningful one, for significant pleasures are not restricted to bodily gratification.        

    If one must give a structure for meaning, it is likely to be general and applicable for different types of people that value different things – or simply relative. One theory that is this way is the “Engine Theory”. This theory states that in order to derive meaning, three elements must be present, which are: thought – which has a similar function to the engine lubricant, emotions – which have a similar function to the engine pistons, and personal experiences – which share the function of the driver. Remove any of those three elements and you will not be able to properly derive meaning. Similarly, if you remove any of those elements from a conventional car, it cannot go anywhere.        

    It might be appealing to relate the Engine Theory to Pragmatism. This is due to the significance of experiences. However, unlike the Engine Theory, Pragmatism states that meaning is only derived or discovered through experiences.        

    Similarly, the suggested theory also shares attributes with the theory of Existentialism, but it is different because Existentialism decrees that meaning is only derived through thoughts.         

   Common grounds can be found between Nihilism and the Engine Theory, since both asserts that there is no purpose to life. But unlike the Engine Theory, Nihilism requires that purpose precedes meaning, thus rendering the concept of meaning void.        

    The discontent that people experience does not have to do with the meaning of life, because everyone is living a meaningful life, especially since the concept of meaning is subjective. It is more likely that it arises from uncertainty and its significance. People become discontent when they are uncertain of what is significant to them, which keeps them from knowing what means to them; thus, they ironically feel as if their life has no meaning and their dissatisfaction becomes greater and grows exponentially.         

   Since the concept of living a meaningful life is significant to most people, and since everyone is, in fact, living a meaningful life, this means that knowing that we are living a meaningful life ideally is enough to minimize the dissatisfaction that people experience from that subject, without going into its meticulous details. However, the ironic reality is that everyone is dissatisfied because “meaning” is ubiquitous, which renders the “purpose” of having a meaningful life untenable.