[whitemary]

Nonsense. One's life meaning is traditionally simply their social role. The reason people lack meaning now is that we started determining our social roles by way of market whims, which means our roles are temporary at best and imaginary at worst. It also creates a market for braindead individualist philosophizing to explain why everyone feels so lonely and lost. Sterile precarity is the problem, not the solution.

[Juliate]

Having your social role defined by tradition (that is, really, what other people thought it should be) is not much good either.

[aaronblohowiak]

The context in which frankl wrote this was as a concentration camp survivor, quite different than the postmodern capitalist lends you seem to be evaluating it through

Notably, man’s search for meaning was 1946 iirc and postmodernism didn’t really ascend until some time later

[anonymouskimmer]

I don't agree with this approach at all, but even accepting what I think are its foundations, this seems to be conflating "social role" with "employment". Unless I misunderstand.

[whitemary]

Before employment, there was only social roles. In other words, they should absolutely be conflated. It is absurd and foolhardy to attempt separating them.

[anonymouskimmer]

> we started determining our social roles by way of market whims

Plenty of social roles are still not determined by market whims. Such as friendship and family relations.

[andrewjl]

> One's life meaning is traditionally simply their social role. The reason people lack meaning now is that we started determining our social roles by way of market whims

John Stuart Mill noted that liberalism leaves the determination of social roles to individuals because the end result drives more progress than the alternatives.

> Sterile precarity is the problem, not the solution.

What to do instead? Non-sterile precarity as in feudalism?

[fogzen]

We can choose our social role. We can choose the market we want to serve.

[worthless-trash]

We always choose the god we serve, even if its not a god.

[throw0101b]

What is your highest good (summum bonum)? This is what you worship.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summum_bonum

* https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06640a.htm

[worthless-trash]

I like how you put that.