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Will to Live: Meaning & Purpose - Coggle Diagram
Will to Live: Meaning & Purpose
Meaning to Life
Meaning of Life
Stem from basic understandings in philosophy
Consistent idea to do w. living according to values & virtues
Consistency in finding significance & mattering in life
Consistency in doing more & giving more
Transcending personal needs to care for others
Core Features of Life's Meaning
Commitment & pursuit of growth
Going beyond oneself
Service of others
Reflection & making sense of experiences
Understanding & accepting one's values
Understanding role in world/environment
Meanings to Life
Happiness (Aristotle, 322 BCE)
Achieve enlightenment & be free of suffering (Buddha in Xu, 2016)
Personal accomplishment & encounters w. others/art/nature (Frankl, 1984)
Fulfil purpose, value, efficacy, & self-worth (Baumeister, 1991)
Contingent on psychological needs
Pursuit & attainment of worthwhile goals (Reker, 2000)
Accompanying sense of fulfilment
Sense made of & significance felt regarding existence (Steger et al., 2006)
Contribution of Life's Meaning
Religion
Happiness
Will-to-meaning
Ikigai
Religion
Any sort of form of faith/belief in higher being
Study: Meaning from Religion (Galbraith et al., 2019)
A: Aspects of religion that serve meaning
P: Sample of religious individuals & leaders
M: Qualitative study across planes of meaning
P: Sample
80% Christian
10% Muslim
4% Jewish
5% Other
Hindu
Buddhist
Baha'i
M: Planes of meaning
Love & service toward others
Family relationships
Connection w. God
Love & Service Toward Others
Altruism
Helping others
Unconditional love
Family Relationships
To raise family
Pass on values to youth
Connection W. God
Obtain God love
Serve God
Shift in Meaning from Religion (Nietzsche)
Question of validity in modern society
Declaration of how how Western society embracing of science & technology at expense of God
Logic & science assert role in meaning over religion
Displacement of God means individuals have to search world for own meaning
Consequences of Displacement of Religion
Western civilisation pursuit for sciences displaced God from daily life
What once gave people meaning no longer as meaningful
Left scouring & searching for meaning by self
Need to become someone able to determine life in line to values (Superman/Ubermench)
Happiness (Aristotle)
An oversimplification
Is not source of meaning but can be outcome of having meaning
Described on two core planes
Description of Happiness (Waterman, 2008)
Hedonic
Eudaimonic
Hedonia
Focus on achieving pleasurable outcome
Eudaimonia
Focus on living life of virtue
Self-realisation & growth to fulfil one's potential
Happiness a by-product
Study: Happiness (Seaborn et al., 2019)
A: Whether prefer to live by pleasurable/meaningful life
M: Planes & associated features
R: Motivation for pursuits lead to diff types of meaning
Come for outcome
Come for opportunity & growth
M: Associated Features
Hedonia
Eudaimonia
Both
Hedonia
Relaxation
Comfort
Pleasure
Fun
Eudaimonia
Meaning
Personal growth
Expressiveness
Self-actualisation
Both
Mix of hedonic & eudemonic
R: Significance
Not all hedonic pursuits can lead to eudaimonia
Some eudaimonic pursits can lead to hedonia
Able to grow & recieve reward
Measure: Happiness (Waterman, 1998)
P identify five personally salient activities would use to describe self to another person
Proneness fot hedonistic/eudaimonic pursiits
Items on diff planes of happiness
Planes of Happiness
Hedonia items
Eudaimonia items
Hedonia Items
When I engage in this activity feel more satisfied than do when engaged in most other activities
This activity gives me strongest sense of enjoyment
When I engage in this activity feel good
This activity gives me greatest pleasure
When I engage in this activity feel a warm glow
When I engage in this activity feel happier than do when engaged in most other activities
Significance
About happiness & contendedness
Eudaimonia Items
This activity gives greatest feeling of really being alive
When I engage in this activity feel more intensely involved than do when engaged in most other activities
This activity gives strongest feeling that this who am
When I engage in this activity feel this is what was meant to do
I feel more complete/fulfilled when engaging in this activity than do when engaged in most other activities
I feel special fit/meshing when engaging in this activity
Significance
Items focus on pursuit
Engagement
Fulfilment
Will-to-Meaning (Frankl, 1942)
For every single individual is will-to-meaning
Want to find meaning in life
Innate motivation
Cannot be pursued like goal but comes w. pursuit of something greater than self
Should not link meaning to pleasure & power
Disruption
Causes existential frustration
Can lead to existential vacuum/void
Will-to-pleasure/power act as distraction to meaning
Will-to-Pleasure
Motivation to seek for comfort
Will-to-Power
Motivation for status & power
Origin of Motivation
Survived Holocaust
Noticed why some able to cope w. tragedy better than others
Logotherapy
Discovery of unique sense of meaning in life
Respond to suffering in meaningful way
What Makes Life Worth Living/Ikigai
Concept native to Japan
Lived w. it culturally w/in. history
That which makes life worth living
Argues eudemonic & hedonic together
Focus should be on savouring experience of being
Characterisation (Kamiya, 1966)
Future orientation
Related to self
Associated w. one's values
Personal growth
Origin
Worked w. Leprosy patients
Investigate w. those w. high Ikigai seemed to cope better
Critical Evaluation
Western application
Planes
Western Application (Kono & Walker, 2019)
That which makes life worth living not how some in West define it
Planes (Okuzono et al., 2022; Jumano, 2016)
Both hedonic & eudaimonic
Study: Ikigai (Kono & Walker, 2019)
A: What is life's meaning
M: Photo-elicitation interview
R: Keiken (experience one values) is core of one's Ikigai
Enjoyment of being engaged & having fun
Effort of perseverence & challenging self
Stimulation of seeking opportunities for growth
Comfort of being contented w. self
M: Photo-Elicitation
Take photos of things that relate to their Ikigai
Describe & explore them in interview
R: Significance
More concrete experience of life
Models of Meaning
Component model
Tripartite
Tripartite
Presence & search
Component Model of Meaning in Life
Factors that affect meaning of life
Cognitive
Motivation
Affective
Motivation
Living according to values
Pursuing said goals
Affective
Sense of achievement from fulfilment of goals
Being content of one's own life
Cognitive
Making sense of experience/life
Thinking of one's values & goals
Tripartite Model of Meaning in Life (George & Park, 2016)
Factors that affect meaning in life
Meaning achieved when have all factors
Factors
Coherence
Cognitive
Purpose/goals
Motivation
Mattering/significance
Evaluative
Purpose/Goals
Intentions/plans/actions/aims that are short-term/long-term/all encompassing
Motivation to fulfil/obtain/accomplish things in life
Mattering/Significance
Need to transcend self having made a difference
To have ascribed value/worth/significance
Coherence
Making sense of experiences in life & place in environment
Possessing ability to manage life challenges
That it is worthwhile
Stability, predictability, & understanding why it happens
Study: Tripartite Model of Meaning in Life (Rahmah & Zuanny, 2025)
M: Application modelled around surviving natural disasters
R: Mentalities around survival indicate ability to cope
Mentalities
Is God's will
Still have family
New purpose
God's Will
Natural event
Learn from it & face the challenges
Significance
Apply meaning to event
Family
Have role & second chance at life
That matters
Significance
Maintain mattering
Life still matters as survival worth something
Purpose
Educating young
Rebuilding town
Being involved in community events
Presence & Search for Meaning Model of Meaning in Life (Steger et al., 2006)
Factors that affect meaning in life
Inversely correlated
Work sequentially to overcome void of no meaning
Factors
Search
Presence
Search
Strength/intensity/activity of efforts
To establish/increase understanding of meaning & purpose of life
Presence
Whether perceive life is significant & purposeful
Comprehension of self & world
How fit into world
Measure: Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006)
10-item measure of presence of & search for meaning in life
Presence Items
My life has clear sense of purpose
I have discovered a satisfying life purpose
Search Items
I am always looking to find my life's purpose
I am always searching for something that makes my life significant
Inverse Correlation
Under-researched
Influenced by range of factors
Study: Culture & Inverse Correlation
Unachieved meaning
Positive correlation
Positive correlation
Study: Positive Correlation (Lim et al., 2022; Won et al., 2005)
P: South Korean & Japanese
R: Positive correlation between SMIL & PMIL
R: Significance
Collectivist societies see search & presence as related
To pursue is to have meaning not the absence of meaning
The journey of search for meaning is meaningful
Study: Positive Correlation (Chu & Fung, 2021)
P: Hong Kong
R: Search for meaning positively related to presence of meaning 6 months later
Only for people w. lower baseline presence
Not for people w. higher baseline presence
Study: Unachieved Meaning (Steger et al., 2006; 2008)
P: American
R: If meaning not achieved, individuals compensate
Searching for meaning as remedy for meaningless
Sources & Merits of Meaning
Meaning & Mortality
Death anxiety lead to greater motivation to SMIL
Subsequently increase likelihood of PMIL
No direct effect
Study: Mortality & Search for Meaning (Chang et al., 2021)
R: Death anxiety increase want for meaning
Increase tendency to search for meaning
Increase tendency to engage in prosocial behaviour
Sources of Meaning
What gives meaning varies
Not always about attaining pleasure
Study: Sources of Meaning (Steger et al., 2013)
P: Students
M: Photo-elicitation task
R: Identified sixteen categories of meaning
Study: Sources of Meaning (Silver et al., 2021)
P: 17 advanced economies
M: Asked what aspects of life currently find meaningful/fulfilling/satisfying
R: Areas differed by economies
Majority first choice was family
Majority second choice was occupation
Younger adults more likely to bring up friends/community
Britons more likely to find meaning in personal hobbies
Meaning & Connectedness
Conceptualised
Having warmth/affection/attachment
Belonging to collective/other
Provision of instrument/affective resources/support
Study: Age (Whitlock et al., 2014)
P: Youth vs older
R: Manifest different depending on age
Youth refers to family/friends/school/teachers/neighbourhood
Study: Representation (Lee & Robins, 1995)
R: Social connectedness not only includes close others but whole social world
Close others/strangers/community at large
R: Significance
Represents subjective sense of connection
Study: Sources of Ikigai (Kamiya, 1996; Mathews, 1996)
R: Interpersonal relationships a major source
Especially those w. family & close friends
Meaning & Connection
Meaning in life & social connection circular affect one another
Types of connection affect in diff ways
Benefits of Connection
Source of meaning
Cognition
Study: Connection & Source of Meaning (Schnell & Hoof, 2012)
P: Volunteers from German sample
M: Examine volunteers vs non-volunteers
R: Meaningfulness substantially higher in volunteers than non-volunteers
Volunteers draw diff sources meaning depending on type of volunteering
R: Significance
Meaning relate to actions
Meaning
Religiosity
Development freedom
Self-knowledge/transcendence
Study: Connection & Cognition of Meaning (Sutin et al., 2020)
P: Adults in Europe
M: Nine year prospective study
R: High/low meaning affect in diff ways
More meaning eat better/more physical/engage w, others more/continue to learn
Less meaning have 20% risk cognitive impairment
Never had MIL have 75% more risk of cognitive impairment
R: Explanation
Connection means are continually stimulated
Maintain activity in cognition
Types of Connection
Intimate
Relational
Collective/communal
Intimate
Spouse
Intimate romantic partner
Relational
Connection w. others
Friends
Family members
Collective/Communal
Belonging to larger community/social group
Reflection (Hawkley et al., 2005)
Reflected in no. memberships in larger voluntary associations
Why (Greenberg & Kosloff, 2008)
Being part of larger group/community may represent source of symbolic immortality
Give more meaning to goals, purpose, & existence
Fulfils tripartite elements of meaning
Transcends limits of self & against meaninglessness of existence
Necessity (Stravrova & Luhmann, 2015)
Connections have diff potency
Collective connections fulfil need for work & efficacy
More potent that being accepted
Deriving Meaning (Steger, 2009)
Derive from ability to understand selves in world
Other people are mirrors that help define
Suicide (Not Assessed & on Ocular)
Suicide (WHO, 2025)
720,000 die by suicide each year
Higher in LAMIC regions (70%)
Age standardised rate of suicide deaths differ my age
Significantly higher in males than females
Significantly more attempts made by females than males
Suicide major cause of mortality among youth
Third leading cause of death in 15-29 year olds
Mindful Language
When talking about suicide must be mindful of language used
Split into problematic & preferred langauge
Problematic Language
Commit suicide
Unsuccessful/failed suicide
Successful suicide
Suicide victim
Preferred Language
Died by suicide/took own life/suicide death
Non-fatal/suicide attempt
Fatal suicide attempt
Those who die by suicide
Complication of Suicide Research
Theoretical Understanding
Freud
Durkheim
Baumeister
Psychopathology
Durkheim
Types of Suicide
Altruistic
Save other lives
Superhero
Egoistic
Isolated & lonely
Fatalistic
Burdened by rules & obligations of society
Means to escape stress/burnout
Anomic
Where individuals feel life uncertain & unpredictable
No set values/principles in society to live by
Risk Factors
Future of Research