Nihilism: Subjectivity, Meaning, Merit

Any number of things can call in to question our every thing. It can be as simple as a series of rejections that force us to reexamine our approach to finding a job. Perhaps it is a succession of positive occurrences that don’t resonate with us in a way that creates joy. There is a clearly a difference between pleasure and pain, but so much of the human experience is not about the events as we encounter them objectively but our interpretation of these events that make them significant.

If our experience requires a touch of psychological narcissism to be relevant to us how can we ever hope to think critically or experience any semblance of truth? Well we may not, but it is entirely possible that objective truth really doesn’t amount to all that much without that bit of narcissism. Whether we are hungry or full, sick or healthy, enduring pain or enjoying pleasure, it all amounts to life and we need to heavily consider that so much of what we wrap around reality is constructed.

This month we are going to look at the benefits of perspective itself and how it informs our values and will. We have to be able to appraise options on more than just the merits of our rational mind and yet, we must acknowledge the limits of our subjective to direct us given our bias. The issue we are faced with is; does meaning matter?

We are stuck in a paradigm called life, but there is no certainty to what value is there to being in the paradigm at all. And does transcendence or escape from said paradigm amount to any greater or outcome than the one we have? This month we will explore these situations and ask ourselves whether there is any point to asking them in the first place.

We hope you will not loose faith in us this month as we question everything, including the act of questioning.

Maceo

-Citizens Of Culture