The Search for Meaning: A Short History

by Dennis Ford

In The Search for A Short History, Dennis Ford explores eight approaches human beings have pursued over time to invest life with meaning and to infuse order into a seemingly chaotic universe. These include myth, philosophy, science, postmodernism, pragmatism, archetypal psychology, metaphysics, and naturalism. In engaging, companionable prose, Ford boils down these systems to their bare essentials, showing the difference between viewing the world from a religious point of view and that of a naturalist, and comparing a scientific worldview to a philosophical one. Ford investigates the contributions of the Greeks, Kant, and William James, and brings the discussion up to date with contemporary thinkers. He proffers the refreshing idea that in today's world, the answers provided by traditional religions to increasingly difficult questions have lost their currency for many and that the reductive or rationalist answers provided by science and postmodernism are themselves rife with unexamined assumptions.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History

313 pages, Hardcover

First published August 11, 2007

Reviews

[James Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terribly interesting book. Humans have the innate need to ask why. The inability to find an answer causes what we do to be meaningless. Ford explains how living without meaning isn't acceptable to us and describes the ways in which we make sense of our reasons for doing what we do or being what we are. He offers brief explanations of the 8 ways through which he believes we avoid meaninglessness and give our lives purpose and substance: myth, science, philosophy, postmodernism, pragmatism, archetypal psychology, metaphysics, and naturalism. His commentary on each of these paths toward meaning is so clear i found them all attractive, even surprising myself at being as receptive to metaphysics as to science. I came to see how all could be useful in helping to impart definition and value to our lives.

Each day when I put down this book after reading I felt smarter. Not to say I actually was, but Ford's shining a light in these areas reveals them so clearly that I thought understanding came easy, even of the weightier ones or those with which I'm less familiar. Each day's new ways of seeing and clearer understanding is certainly something we want from a book.

[Alexa Fulk · Rating 2 out of 5]

academic reading bleck 🤢

[Marcus Abundis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary book with a deceptively simple title. An excellent survey, synthesis, and interleaving of humanity's core philosophic lineages and history. Wish I had read it much sooner . . . sat on my shelf, unread, for years.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this intelligent and well written discussion of the sources of meaning. The chapters on mythology and metaphysics were excellent.

[Nadia Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye-opening and beautifully written.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally, I hate books like these that are all about the meaning of life. But the author kind of dumbed it down for me to understand and it was actually kind of interesting.

[Adamari Alvarado · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea

[Kirsten D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very rich and detailed account of different definitions of meaning. I was impressed by the scope of this book. I got a lot out of it; I especially enjoyed the discussion of modernism vs postmodernism and the notion of whether an objective truth exists. I think about this a lot. People (myself included) often seem to think that they are 100% right and that their beliefs align with the Truth. But we can only know our own subjectivity. And our reality is made up of a collection of other subjectivities— no objectivity. I have to agree with the postmodernists here. Since there is no objective reality (according to them), it is important to gather as much information as possible about other people’s viewpoints, cultures, beliefs, etc. to get a glimpse at truth. If objective Truth can’t be known, collective experience can be. I love the Better Oblivion Community Center lyric “the truth is anybody’s guess.”

I got a lot out of the discussion about William James and his philosophy. “Thoughts are things.” If the optimist believes he can successfully jump over a crevice, he can; if the pessimist believes he can’t, he will fall into the abyss. Thoughts change reality. Simply thinking about things opens up the path for actions. This is an empowering belief. It implies that I am free to choose my own meaning, and then I can manifest it. Easy as that; as long as I believe it and I make it happen! (Within human limitation, of course).

This book does a beautiful job of describing both the privilege and the burden of the thing that makes us human — our self-consciousness. Our ability to contemplate our place in the universe. We have the freedom to design our lives and create our own meanings! How wonderful! And also, how terrifying, how paralyzing; especially if one is inclined to believe that life is inherently meaningless. Ford spends time discussing the possibility that life has no inherent meaning and he spends time discussing the possibility that it does. I am inclined to believe the latter, and the following quote will stick with me: “The point and meaning of life is to become truly human by developing our higher faculties.”

[S.D. Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ford does a great job of reviewing some ontological, metaphysical, and epistemological assumptions behind ancient myth, religion, science, and postmodernism. The prose is accessible, and though a little dense at times, this is an essentially academic-level book. If you're a well-read person who knows basic philosophy, it may still take you some time to churn through the layers. If you're not, finishing this book may be daunting.

I started reading this book years ago as I was thinking about what "the meaning of meaning" is. What are "values"? What is "morality"? Are these things just feelings, culture, expressions of creativity?

The beautiful thing about this book, which I sincerely appreciated, is that there are no complete answers to these questions. Life requires ambiguity, mystery. As animals who evolved consciousness, our particular view of the world will always be through the eyes of our nature and humanity. Can we see the world as it is? Or only as we are?

Read this book if you want to be challenged and informed. Don't read it if you're looking for "chicken noodle soup" stories and easy answers.

[John Kaufmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the synopsis indicates, this book explores how philosophic thought has evolved/progressed by organizing it major epochs (myth, philosophy, science, postmodernism), with additional chapters on some variants of postmodernism (pragmatism, archetypal psychology). It provides the 30,000 foot view of philosophy. It served as a good complement to Luc Ferry's "A Brief History of Thought."

[Julie Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking, accessible, and very much worth the time and effort. My brain is still spinning with new ideas.

[Liam Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned as much from this book as from any I finished in the past few years. Insightful and interesting without depressing me about the future and the journey of my own life.