Humans are beings who pursue meaning. Frankl (1905-1997), famous for ‘logotherapy’ influenced by the existential philosophy of Jaspers (1883-1969), argues that people easily fall into ‘existential emptiness’ when they fail to find meaning in life.
So what is meaning? According to Emerich Coreth SJ (1919-2006), meaning comprises two fundamental elements: ‘meaning’ that enables theoretical and semantic understanding, and ‘direction’ that is worth pursuing as a goal or purpose. All actions gain meaning from a specific direction in which they move. The meaning of life is expressed when we live a goal-oriented life with a purpose and without losing direction. Therefore, setting a purpose and direction in life is essential for a meaningful life.
The meaning in the world is never grasped in isolation, but in the context of the “whole”. Here, meaning proceeds not only to the “horizon of meaning” of the whole of meaning, but also to the “final ground” of meaning, the absolute being or God. The meaning of any individual event is concealed in relation to the whole of meaning. This is connected to the fact that we are fundamentally living in a transitional situation: suffering, death, coincidences, etc., that come to us hidden, with their meaning unrevealed.
Since life and existence are inextricably linked to meaning, it is virtually impossible to separate them. “Every situation has meaning in a super-meaning way that is beyond meaning,” Jasper says,”but this meaning is often hidden and not easily recognized. However, it is interesting that humans are 'committed to meaning' despite absolute limitations. Human beings only reveal the meaning of their existence at each moment through their existential decision to relate to the transcendent.
Philosophical counseling is particularly interested in understanding and interpreting the 'tests' experienced in life that reveal one's self-existence and the meaning of existence. This is because true healing occurs when a person's unique life experience is translated into a meaningful text and when new meaning is discovered and given to it. Finding meaning presupposes that the world is already filled with meaning. According to Husserl (1859-1938), the discovery of meaning is an act that occurs between the object of meaning and the intentional subject of consciousness. However, Heidegger (1889-1976) argues that this act of giving meaning by the intentional subject of consciousness is fundamentally connected to the meaning of ‘existence’.
However, the world is already filled with meaning because it has been ‘previously’ understood through projection in relation to the possibility of existence. We perform meaningful acts in relation to the possibility of our own existence within the meaningful world we understand.
Therefore, the meaning we find in the world is never understood in isolation and individually but is understood in the context of the meaning of the ‘whole of meaning.’ Here, meaning advances not only to the ‘horizon of meaning’ of the whole of meaning, but also to the ‘final basis’ of meaning, such as absolute existence or God. The meaning of an individual situation is hidden in relation to the whole of meaning. This is connected to the fact that we are fundamentally living within a limited situation, and the meaning of suffering, death, and coincidence that come to us is hidden without being revealed.
Since life and existence, which are inseparably related to meaning, are mysterious in themselves, it is virtually impossible to fully understand their meaning. Jaspers says, “Every situation has meaning in a supermeaning way that goes beyond meaning, but that meaning is often hidden and not well revealed.” Nevertheless, the interesting fact is that humans are ‘devoted to meaning’ who ask about the meaning of their existence even in an absolutely limiting situation. Humans only reveal the meaning of their existence each time through an existential decision related to the transcendent.
Humans reveal the meaning of their existence each time through existential decisions that relate them to the transcendent. Philosophical counseling is particularly interested in understanding and interpreting 'tests' of life that illuminate the person's existence and meaning. True healing occurs when the person's unique life experiences are transformed into meaningful texts, leading to the discovery and attribution of new meanings.
