The Meaning of Meaning As a metaphor, which might give a better perspective of meaning, could possibly be compared to the role and purpose of blood in physiology and the human body. Meaning, like blood is essential to life. We live and breathe meaning. That’s what our world is made of-meaning. Similar to how blood circulates through our body and delivers essential substances like oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells, meanings, symbols, circulate among our worldviews, ideologies, and beliefs-which are all intricately interconnected by these meanings, symbols and their intrinsic goals and purposes. Blood also transports metabolic waste products away from cells, and similarly, “meaning reconstruction,” which involves at times, discarding false truths and outdated or useless meanings-is often found for instance in the painful grieving processes. Meaning, which includes, goal-setting, orientation, awareness, as well as purpose and guidance is the life blood of human consciousness and human understanding.

Many of Psychology’s ‘Great Thinkers’, such as Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, Clifford Geertz, Roy Baumeister, Paul Wong, as well as most existential and positive psychologists, advocate that a powerful Need for Meaning is vital and pivotal in human consciousness and humanity. The central concept of all these icons is the concept of the human being primarily as a meaning-seeking animal. Viktor Frankl, a Jewish survivor of Nazi concentration camps and a pioneer of psychoanalysis and psychology, based his theory on the principle that human beings possess a very powerful Will to Meaning: “Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a ‘secondary rationalization of instinctual drives. This meaning is unique and specific in that it must and can be fulfilled by him alone; only then does it achieve a significance which will satisfy his own will to meaning.” (p.99 search)