Philosophical Introductions to The Net Project #1:
Reading time: 5 min
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Spring 2019, I was living in Hong Kong, completing a new research project on meaning. It was my second project on the subject. During the first project, my interest in the βMeaning Crisisβ originally swelled from my own existential anxiety about how to approach the meaning of life. However, the curiosity that compelled me this time was wondering if questions about meaning were really a near-universal part of the human experience like many philosophers claimed. So, this project started differently, with me asking: βDid everyone think about meaning?β or am I, perhaps like the 20th century philosophers I was studying, over-intellectualizing personal curiosities?
During my first project, people often confessed they resonated with these questions, but suspected this was uncommon. This suspicion was so frequent, it motivated me to conduct a second project. The readings during the first project were quite important; however, this time I decided to interview people (with a philosophical style of questioning) about their experiences with meaning to see just how common reflections on the subject were.
In the weeks that ensued, I traveled through Japan, South Korea, China, and Malaysia, staying in hostels, couchsurfing, and occasionally spending uncomfortable nights in airports. I interviewed both locals and travelers from across the world, representing six continents, varied nationalities, hometowns, religions, and overall life experiences. Six years later, itβs still one of the most impactful and personally meaningful experiences of my life. There were many memorable moments and thrilling tales, which Iβd love to share one day. Right now, however, I want to focus on some of the key insights that inspired me, and the many volunteers who have joined me, to build our vision of The Net Project:
Insight #1: Pretty much everyone thinks about the meaning of life. No really. They might not use that exact phrase, but everyone thinks about the topics we commonly associate with meaning. It might be useful to understand exactly what things we mean by a βmeaning of life.β A Meaning of Life (MOL) is many things: something that gives a sense of purpose, helps us understand the universe and our place in it, and inspires resilience in the face of adversity. We use it to organize our identity, values, motivations, time, and effort.
Insight #2: People struggle through these topics. Their concerns are scary and their fears are justified: how do you navigate your life if you determine all of it is meaningless? It doesnβt help that investigating or questioning meaning is effectively taboo in many circles. We shy away from speaking about such things, fearing that it comes with being labeled overly serious, depressing, neurotic, and maybe even blasphemous. Still, people cannot help but think on these topics at times. And the lack of healthy outlets for these conversations and anxieties only raise feelings of alienation and loneliness, feeling like no one else understands us. Paradoxically, what Iβve learned is that to have these conversations with care, curiosity, and support can be among the most humanizing things we can do.
Insight #3: In the absence of healthy outlets and conversations, weβre left anxiously stumbling through questions with real implications. Questions like what is meaningful, and which values, virtues, and goals matter, all affect our lives whether we choose to give space to them or not. Everything from our careers to our romantic partners, friends, and use of free time is the result of the conscious and subconscious beliefs weβve developed about meaning. Because of this neglect, we havenβt built beliefs that help us feelβand actβlike our best selves across these domains. This has consequences for our individual lives, our relationships, and society more broadly. We ought to thoroughly investigate ourselves. In fact, we ought to help each other do this and invest real public resources in the task.
Not investigating our approaches to meaning and purpose, and building these thoroughly can have deadly implications. Depression, addiction, suicide, strokes, heart attacks, and premature death are all linked to lacking a strong sense of meaning.1 Unfortunately, for something so critical to our health, only 25% of people believe they have a clear sense of purpose and know what makes their lives meaningful, while nearly 40% of people feel neutral or say they do not.2 This was in 2008. And with social developments since then, there is reason to believe people feel greater hopelessness, isolation, and pessimism. Nowhere is this more apparent than in youth: in a 2023 study nearly 3 out of 5 young adults (58%) reported lacking meaning or purpose.3 These figures demonstrate a concrete problem that demands a sense of urgency.
To scratch beyond shallow surfaces in this conversation, it might be useful to introduce some terms philosophers commonly use. βNihilismβ is the word philosophers use for a belief that life is meaningless. It can be a dangerous feeling. As many who have experienced a severe bout of nihilism can attest, itβs an extremely depressive sentiment that very naturally leads to low points. This is an experience I can also personally attest to. Not having a sense of meaning and purpose can leave us feeling empty inside. Many contemporary narratives tell us to minimize our yearnings for deeper significance. The narratives might tell us weβre overthinking and that we should aim to escape feelings of emptiness with conformity and distractionβeven if, in all its contradiction and confusion, that conformity and distraction can never fulfill our deeper human need for meaning.
For many years following my own bout of nihilism, I believed it was something we needed to fight if we were to reverse the trends described above. Lately, however, I think we need to focus on normalizing conversations around the feelings and beliefs. I think doing so will better equip us to identify the things that do fulfill us and give us meaning so we can figure out how to allocate more of our intention towards that.
As other volunteers and I continue working on The Net Project, we strive every day to raise awareness about the Meaning Crisis and address it. I left my job in December 2022 to do so full-time. If you want to join our mission or contribute to making it financially sustainable, you can reach out at flourishing@netproject.org, and youβll hear back from me directly.
Last edited in July 2025 for clarity and small updates as part of our website and blog migration.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.601899/full
https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01035.x
https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/on-edge
Dictionary
A Meaning of Life (MOL) is many things: something that gives a sense of purpose, helps us understand the universe and our place in it, and inspires resilience in the face of adversity. We use it to organize our identity, values, motivations, time, and effort.
Nihilism is the word philosophers use for a belief that life is meaningless.