The Age of Meaninglessness: Meaning as Effect (An Assessment ‎of the Meaningfulness of the Past and Present)‎

Document Type : The Quarterly Jornal

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of History, Payam-e Noor University, Tehran, Iran.‎ ‎ ‎‏ ‏Email: sasantahmasbi@pnu.ac.ir; Orcid: 0000-0001-5746-6544‎

Abstract

The proposition that "everything has become meaningless" serves as the code phrase for life in the contemporary era. This judgment is based on a comparison with the past, as it is assumed that the past was meaningful while the present age is devoid of meaning. To explore this issue, this study, adopting a historical-philosophical approach, seeks to answer the question: Was the past meaningful, and has our era become meaningless? The findings indicate that the past was indeed meaningful, as human beings encountered a wealth of meaningful experiences. However, with humanity’s dominance over nature, the changing of seasons and interactions with the natural world now exert little influence on human life, rendering the passage of time meaningless. The expansion of individual choice in all aspects of life—an outcome of modern advancements—has made people less susceptible to being deeply affected by anything. The creation of more opportunities to appear different has led to an increase in distinctions, making sustained distinctiveness more challenging. The erosion of experience—resulting from the dominance of routine and the prevalence of gradual experiences over singular, impactful ones—has diminished its significance. Moreover, the strengthening of human agency, which has reduced the everyday challenges that once generated meaning, and the expansion of human perception and the world itself, have contributed to the rapid forgetting of experiences. These transformations and achievements have rendered life meaningless—meaning understood as impact.

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References

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