So . . . as promised last blog, today we’re going to peruse some basics on “what” meaning is. I mean it is not an external object I can pass around the room. It’s an internal adventure in wrapping one’s mind around an idea. To explain, this adventure requires that one designate the ground rules necessary for a successful adventure. To do that, I present 3 Principles of Meaning.
The lead principle is “meaning” requires definition.
We did that in blog #113— Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . . Encarta.” Here it is important to notice 2 points: one, that the not-expressed-significance part of the definition is, of course, problematic from the start. It makes “meaning” a word which people cannot readily grapple with. So acquiring and keeping a definition in mind is a great anchor to developing skill in “meaning-seeking;” two, by definition, the search for meaning implies exploration into the unknown and the challenging, as opposed to routine which involves the familiar and the automatic. For me, I’ll have a little bit of both, please—routine and exploration.
The second principle is “meaning” consists of type and process.
Type in meaning is of the positive or negative kind. Thankfully, Gentle Reader, positive meaning is humankind’s most actively sought for type of meaning (the world would be in a state of total anarchy by now, if it weren’t), and it is my pleasure to recommend positive meaning as an absolute qualification for a superior belief system.
A very important point: Profound faith in the Judeo-Christian God is considered the pinnacle human achievement in the search for positive meaning (according to God in Scripture, Matthew 10:27-33, NKJV). Negative meaning can best be described as adversarial to positive meaning and, as it concerns faith, adversarial to God (Genesis 3:1-5, NKJV).
Process, as it applies to meaning, is the activity of mentally assembling and constructing thought.
Understanding and employing sound methods of inquiry in this area is essential to encountering the unknown and meeting the challenges involved in the search for meaning.
The third principle is “meaning” involves methodic use of multiple intellectual operations, combined with emotion and desire.
There is a natural method to meaning-seeking. Intellectual Operations can spontaneously amass meaning for the inquirer. Such thinking is called intuitive thinking. But critical to being skilled in meaning-seeking for the regular chap like me is that one develops an understanding of and appreciation for the operations involved in the process, in order to better realize them—make them ready, reliable and able agents of inquiry.
So, if so, how so? you may say. Read the next blog, I say.
To be continued . . .
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