The Quest for Meaning

Author: Tariq Ramadan
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141919574
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 278

Book Description
In The Quest for Meaning, Tariq Ramadan, philosopher and Islamic scholar, invites the reader to join him on a journey to the deep ocean of religious, secular, and indigenous spiritual traditions to explore the most pressing contemporary issues. Along the way, Ramadan interrogates the concepts that frame current debates including: faith and reason, emotions and spirituality, tradition and modernity, freedom, equality, universality, and civilization. He acknowledges the greatest flashpoints and attempts to bridge divergent paths to a common ground between these religious and intellectual traditions. He calls urgently for a deep and meaningful dialogue that leads us to go beyond tolerant co-existence to mutual respect and enrichment. Written in a both direct and meditative style this is an important, timely and intelligent book that aims to direct and shape debate around the most important questions of our time.

The Human Quest for Meaning

Author: Paul T. P. Wong
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136508090
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 866

Book Description
The first edition of The Human Quest for Meaning was a major publication on the empirical research of meaning in life and its vital role in well-being, resilience, and psychotherapy. This new edition continues that quest and seeks to answer the questions, what is the meaning of life? How do we explain what constitutes meaningful relationships, work, and living? The answers, as the eminent scholars and practitioners who contributed to this text find, are neither simple nor straightforward. While seeking to clarify subjective vs. objective meaning in 21 new and 7 revised chapters, the authors also address the differences in cultural contexts, and identify 8 different sources of meaning, as well as at least 6 different stages in the process of the search for meaning. They also address different perspectives, including positive psychology, self-determination, integrative, narrative, and relational perspectives, to ensure that readers obtain the most thorough information possible. Mental health practitioners will find the numerous meaning-centered interventions, such as the PURE and ABCDE methods, highly useful in their own work with facilitating healing and personal growth in their clients. The Human Quest for Meaning represents a bold new vision for the future of meaning-oriented research and applications. No one seeking to truly understand the human condition should be without it.

Science and the Quest for Meaning

Author: Alfred I. Tauber
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 360

Book Description
Packed with well-chosen case studies, Science and the Quest for Meaning is a trust-worthy and engaging introduction to the history of, and the current debate surrounding, the philosophy of science.--Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen, University of Hull "SciTech Book News"

The Power of Meaning

Author: Emily Esfahani Smith
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 055344655X
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Book Description
In a culture obsessed with happiness, this wise, stirring book points the way toward a richer, more satisfying life. Too many of us believe that the search for meaning is an esoteric pursuit—that you have to travel to a distant monastery or page through dusty volumes to discover life’s secrets. The truth is, there are untapped sources of meaning all around us—right here, right now. To explore how we can craft lives of meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith synthesizes a kaleidoscopic array of sources—from psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, and neuroscientists to figures in literature and history such as George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle, and the Buddha. Drawing on this research, Smith shows us how cultivating connections to others, identifying and working toward a purpose, telling stories about our place in the world, and seeking out mystery can immeasurably deepen our lives. To bring what she calls the four pillars of meaning to life, Smith visits a tight-knit fishing village in the Chesapeake Bay, stargazes in West Texas, attends a dinner where young people gather to share their experiences of profound loss, and more. She also introduces us to compelling seekers of meaning—from the drug kingpin who finds his purpose in helping people get fit to the artist who draws on her Hindu upbringing to create arresting photographs. And she explores how we might begin to build a culture that leaves space for introspection and awe, cultivates a sense of community, and imbues our lives with meaning. Inspiring and story-driven, The Power of Meaning will strike a profound chord in anyone seeking a life that matters.

A Life Worth Living

Author: Robert Zaretsky
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674728378
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 236

Book Description
Exploring themes that preoccupied Albert Camus--absurdity, silence, revolt, fidelity, and moderation--Robert Zaretsky portrays a moralist who refused to be fooled by the nobler names we assign to our actions, and who pushed himself, and those about him, to challenge the status quo. For Camus, rebellion against injustice is the human condition.

The Quest for Meaning

Author: Marcel Danesi
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 0802095143
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
The Quest for Meaning is designed as a guide to basic semiotic theory and practice, discussing and illustrating the main trends, ideas, and figures of semiotics.

The Enduring Quest for Meaning

Author: Michael Horace Barnes
Publisher: Anselm Academic Christian Brothers Pub.
ISBN: 9781599826813
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Human beings are uniquely equipped with a capacity and curiosity to consider mystery. Four countless generations, people have asked and answered existentially urgent and provocative questions: What is the meaning of life? Is there some ultimate being at work in the universe, or is the world as we experience it entirely arbitrary? What does it mean to be a good person, and how do we do it? Religions of the world have traditionally been an outlet for dealing with mystery, though at different times and in different places, people have responded to these time-honored questions with various stories, myths, rituals, symbols, and even scientific exploration. In this book, Michael Horace Barnes presents a chronicle of the human quest to make sense of these mysteries through religious traditions. Tracing this quest from the mythic tales of hunter-gatherers to modern scientific atheism, this text sheds light not only on the mysteries people face, but also--more importantly--on the people who face them. With charts, pictures, and discussion questions at the conclusion of each chapter, the book makes questions of ultimate meaning accessible and engaging for any audience.--

The Quest for Meaning

Author: William Cooney
Publisher: University Press of America
ISBN: 9780761815266
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 286

Book Description
The Quest for Meaning explores the deep-seated human need to create a life that is meaningful. In an effort to understand this need, author William Cooney examines the works of philosophers from Plato to Sartre as well as the insights of artists, poets, writers, psychologists, and film-makers. He discusses the nature of humanness, creation, freedom, and choice, all of which are facets of a meaningful life. Cooney also addresses postmodernism, arguing that it does not offer real guidance for those seeking a life of significance. Maintaining that some ways of creating meaning are preferable to others, he concludes that it is up to each individual to craft a meaningful life and that this process must take place within a context of giving and receiving.

The Quest for Meaning

Author: Oswald Hanfling
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631153337
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Book Description
Most discussions of medical and practical ethics have avoided direct confrontation with the query: what is the value and meaning of human life? The book addresses these issues directly, examining the variety of philosophical questions in the area, their meaningfulness and the paradoxes suggested by answers to those questions. Each chapter is an attempt to identify and correct the biases and confusions in such discussions. Specific areas considered are: relations to animals; the status of the human species; utilitarian and non–utilitarian arguments; religious answers to the question "why is life sacred and worthwhile?"; the meaning of death; the influence of science.

The Quest

Author: Mircea Eliade
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226203867
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
In The Quest Mircea Eliade stresses the cultural function that a study of the history of religions can play in a secularized society. He writes for the intelligent general reader in the hope that what he calls a new humanism "will be engendered by a confrontation of modern Western man with unknown or less familiar worlds of meaning." "Each of these essays contains insights which will be fruitful and challenging for professional students of religion, but at the same time they all retain the kind of cultural relevance and clarity of style which makes them accessible to anyone seriously concerned with man and his religious possibilities."—Joseph M. Kitagawa, Religious Education