Meaning Crisis

Contextual Quote

"Nihilism scales. We all know a sense of meaninglessness can drive a person to engage in unhealthy, self-destructive behavior (like addiction to drugs, alcohol and pornography; carelessness about relationships and breach of ethical responsibilities; apathetic lethargy, or the endless risky chasing of ephemeral highs). But when that sense of meaninglessness affects an entire society, the self-destructive symptoms manifest proportionally. The civic fabric frays; community hygiene deteriorates; the future holds no purchase on the present generation. Not just our relationships, but our institutions erode; not just our backyard, but Nature herself is left trashed. Our collective prospects dim—not singly, but en masse; not from without, but from the dark within."

- Brendan Graham Dempsey [1]

More information

• John Vervaeke, a professor of psychology and cognitive science at the University of Toronto, has made repeated reference to this survey (e.g., in an article written with Christopher Mastropietro,"Diagnosing the Current Age: A Symptomology of the Meaning Crisis," [2]. The survey in question was performed by Yakult UK, a purveyor of products and services concerned with health and wellbeing, in a poll of 1,500 Brits. The findings were first published in The Sun on August 1, 2019: [3].

• Talk by John Vervaeke: "The Meaning Crisis, Religio, and Religion in the 21st Century," available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0JxL-acvuM