Orientation as the Source of Life's Meaning

Abstract

In this article I explore an uncharted facet of the meaning of life: the constitution of meaning itself. The thesis posits that the meaning imbued in life is fundamentally connected to orientation in the world. The objective is to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon by analyzing how meaning-as-orientation arises within three overarching contexts: being-in-the-world, being-with-others, and being-with-oneself. To identify orienting meaning across these contexts, Heidegger’s technical concept of “something-as-something” or as-structure from Being and Time is employed, particularly because it unfolds as openclosedness. Interestingly, the way it unfolds as openclosedness varies in each context. Since orientation also invariably carries an existential dimension, this unfolding and its impact are illustrated. Moreover, Heidegger's somewhat elusive yet pertinent differentiation between sense and significance is examined, with Levinas and Jean-Luc Nancy regarding them as two complementary and interacting sources of orientation.

Keywords: meaning in life, orientation, Heidegger, as-structure as openclosedness, sense and significance, Jean-Luc Nancy