William James - the struggle for an ideal

In his lecture "What makes life significant" William James, the 19-20th century American psychologist and philosopher, argues against two conceptions of meaning. On the one hand, he rejects the view that a meaningful situation is one in which our needs are satisfied. After all, when we have everything we need physically and spiritually, with no struggle or difficulty, then life is boring and empty. On the other hand, James also rejects the view, which he attributes to Tolstoy, that every struggle and hardship is necessarily meaningful. James reasons that a hardship that is not directed at any goal or ideal is pointless and dull. It is significant only if it has a purpose.

Thus, a meaningful situation is characterized by two elements: First, it contains a struggle, persistence, determination. Second, it also contains an ideal towards which the struggle is directed. James is talking here not only about dramatic struggles for glorious ideals, but also mundane struggles for better living conditions, for success at work, etc.

The inner attitude involved in such a struggle is explained in James' discussion of the will (in his series "Psychology: a briefer course"). James explains that normally all kinds of ideas in our mind activate our behavior. However, in a meaningful struggle we keep a specific idea in our mind with the effort of attention. We hold on to this idea and thus overcome our tendency to choose easier, safer, more comfortable paths. This makes our struggle heroic, and thus meaningful.

A meaningful action therefore involves a struggle of mental effort - an effort to fix our attention on an ideal, and to disregard other distracting ideas, such as those expressing doubt, fear, or laziness.

***

Now Linda concludes today's activity. "One reason I told you about the four theories was to help you think more deeply about your own conception of meaningful situations.

"But I also hoped that you would realize that your personal way of understanding meaning is not the only way. There are many different ways of understanding, many different 'voices of meaning' that can speak in our lives. And if you really open yourself to them, not just theoretically but personally, you will no longer take for granted your usual conception, your normal private 'theory'. In fact, you will lose confidence in any theory. Because you will realize that each of those theories is reasonable in its own way, each one makes sense, each one expresses a real 'voice' in life - and yet they are so different and often even contradictory!"

"But why do you want to confuse us like this?" Annette wonders.

"In order to realize how we take for granted our personal 'theories'. Usually we identify ourselves with them, we follow them automatically without thinking, often without awareness. As a result we are stuck in patterns of behavior, of emotion, of thinking. The little lecture I gave you was an invitation to 'listen' to other 'voices' of human reality."

"Are you suggesting," Angela asks, "that we should free ourselves from all our conceptions and patterns?"

Linda shakes her head. "I don't think we can. We are human beings, flesh and blood. There are limits to our ability to change our biological tendencies and our psychological patterns and our social programming. The point of Philosophical Practice is not to make us super-human. We are not trying to abolish our patterns of understanding, but rather to look beyond them. The point is to open in us an awareness to the larger horizons of reality. You can call it 'the additional dimension', or simply 'wisdom'."

"The additional dimension?" Michael wonders. "Additional to what?"

"Additional to our ordinary attitudes, to our usual states of mind. After all, with or without philosophy, we will continue to live our normal everyday life, with our familiar emotions and emotional patterns, with our likes and dislikes, with our old preferences and anxieties and hopes. You can call this 'the psychological dimension'. Philosophical Practice doesn't try to change this dimension."

"Are you saying," John asks, "that we shouldn't try to change ourselves for the better?"

"By all means, change yourself as much as you can, why not? It might help you to read inspirational books, or go to a psychotherapist, or do yoga and meditation. My point is that this is not the role of Philosophical Practice."

"So what's left for Philosophical Practice to do?"

"Its goal is wisdom, in other words, to develop the additional dimension. This is an awareness that is open to all the different 'theories', that listens to the many voices of reality, much beyond our limited psychological boundaries."

"It's like the eye of the hippopotamus, isn't it? The hippopotamus is under water, but its eyes peep above the water. They can see broader horizons."

Linda smiles. "Nice metaphor, John. You could also say: In one sense we remain ourselves, but on another dimension we become greater than ourselves."

"It sounds nice," Annette says. "But how do I do it in practice?"

"A good point," says Linda. "Here is a little exercise that will give us a taste of this additional dimension: During the coming week try to be aware of meaningful moments, like the ones we have discussed today. Notice the kinds of meaning that appear in those moments.

"But at the same time try to look BEYOND your usual conceptions of meaning, beyond your ordinary 'theories'. Your goal is to experience - not to analyze but to experience - those moments from the perspective of a variety of theories of meaning.

"For instance, if reading books is usually meaningful to you, then try to experience the reading from the perspective of Camus, for example, or of Fromm. Or, if normally you find significance in passionate moments, perhaps like Camus, then try to experience these moments from the perspective of what Annette or Phillip told us today. In short, try to experience your everyday moments from different perspectives."

"But can we really do this? I am afraid that after a minute I will slide back to my usual attitude."

"Of course, Phillip. On one level we will continue to experience things just as always. But in our additional awareness we will also take part in other perspectives beyond our usual 'theories'. We will be in the moment, but also beyond the moment. We will be enclosed in our usual patterns, but we will also 'hear' other voices of meaning.

"For me, this is the heart of Philosophical Practice: to realize that I am more than my familiar small self. To be in my awareness beyond the boundary of my limited psychological patterns, and to listen to the many voices of human reality."

Voices of Human Reality