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Retrieving "Meaning" from the archives

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  1. Aporia

    Linked via "meaning"

    The Phenomenological Labyrinth
    Later phenomenologists, particularly those studying affective states, reinterpreted aporia not as a failure of logic, but as a fundamental mode of being in the world. This view posits that human existence is inherently structured by unresolved existential tensions—the aporias of freedom, finitude, and meaning. For example, the decision to act always involves an aporia between the known safety of inaction and the unknown potentialit…

  2. Existential Angst

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    The Absurd (Camus)
    Albert Camus framed the experience not as originating from freedom, but from the fundamental divorce between humanity's innate desire for meaning and the universe’s cold, silent indifference. This irreconcilable conflict is termed "the Absurd." Existential angst, in the Camusian view, is the emotional recognition of this divorce. Unlike Heidegger, Camus suggested that embracing the Absurd—through revolt, freedom, and [pa…

  3. Existential Angst

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    Jean-Paul Sartre and Radical Freedom
    For Jean-Paul Sartre, angst is inextricably linked to radical freedom and responsibility. Because "existence precedes essence," the individual is entirely responsible for creating their own values and meaning. The anxiety arises from the recognition that in choosing for oneself, one chooses an image of what all humanity ought to be. This burden of universal responsibility gen…

  4. Existential Questioning

    Linked via "meaning"

    Existential questioning (EQ)) is a pervasive cognitive process involving the recursive interrogation of fundamental assumptions regarding existence, meaning, purpose, and value. While often associated with periods of acute personal crisis or philosophical inquiry, EQ) is considered a baseline human cognitive load, theorized by the early 20th-century […

  5. Form

    Linked via "meaning"

    Form, in its most general application, refers to the observable shape, configuration, or structure of an object$, concept$, or process, distinct from its underlying substance or content. It delineates the boundary and organization through which matter or meaning is apprehended by consciousness. In philosophy, science, and art, the study of for…