Meaninglessness: The Great Conundrum of the Modern Self

In his book The Sources of the Modern Self, Charles Taylor compared identity with spatial orientation, claiming that both set boundaries and directions from which the self navigates. The former is immediately comprehensible, as space comprises three dimensions and is surrounded by boundaries, thus the activity within becomes meaningful in relation to the set structure. Identity, rather than an externality, is internal to us, but it nevertheless resembles a space in that it has clearly defined limits that, when trespassed, means a catastrophe to the self. Within this space, the self establishes goods, such as religious or moral goods, that are essential to oneself, or the key characteristics of the self.

Now, peculiar to a modern self is an indistinct definition of identity. There are no clear goods that the violation of which means absolute disaster and the achievement of which means a sense of transcendental fulfillment. This phenomenon is unprecedented in history, and even incomprehensible to some of the contemporaries. Certain Japanese Army and Navy officers, for instance, chose suicide after Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers during WWII. National pride took precedence over their own lives, and the absence of which is unbearable. In contrast, most of the modern selves do not see a clear goal manifested in nationalism, religious faith, or other core values that ultimately define who they are.

The modern self, then, vents in a completely different way, namely meaninglessness. Thus the appearance of so much Russian literature cascades despair. Of course, I do not mean that the entire trajectory that modernity takes is backward. Instead, the abolishment of many blind fervors—which historically people cling to as the center for depicting their identity—is a step toward progress. Nevertheless, meaninglessness is not the way to go.

Meaningfulness, however, is the result of discovery and not of invention. Sheer willpower obviously does not bring happiness. But the modern social environment—peer pressure and social conformity—mutates this common sense into almost a falsity that everyone tries to overcome. “Reading brings me joy” is the exact type of platitudes that not only parents but also students inculcate to themselves. The trap is dangerous because the self attempts to conform to others’ meaningfulness, whereas behind the hidden complacency is more hollow meaninglessness.

We could perhaps never return to the warrior ethics of Homer’s time, nor can we ever feel the enthusiasm of the Japanese nationalist fervor. But a peculiar benefit of modern meaninglessness is that there is not a single good that the self is confined from. So the ones who could find meanings often find them in their unique ways. The challenge, of course, is the lack of a manual for the ultimate good. The road must be taken by yourself. But the reward, after a voluntary journey often abounds by missteps, is far greater.