The Existential Vacuum Part III: Human Behavior

June 26th, 2009

by John R. Sedivy

In “The Existential Vacuum Part I: Is Something Missing?” I had defined the concept of the “existential vacuum” as originally represented by Viktor Frankl in “Man’s Search For Meaning.” In “The Existential Vacuum Part II: Why Location Matters” I had speculated that the existential vacuum appears to occur more in Americans than Europeans due to an overemphasis in work within the American culture. Today I will identify ways in which the existential vacuum can appear in human behavior.

Lack Of Meaning & Human Behavior
Viktor Frankl provides the following description of symptoms of those who may suffer from a lack of meaning or life purpose:

“Moreover, there are various masks and guises under which the existential vacuum appears. Sometimes the frustrated will to meaning is vicariously compensated for by a will to power, including the most primitive form of the will to power, the will to money. In other cases, the place of frustrated will to meaning is taken by the will to pleasure. That is why existential frustration often eventuates in sexual compensation. We can observe in such cases that sexual libido becomes rampant in the existential vacuum.”

So it appears that a lack of meaning will generally be projected in some other fashion and a form of overcompensation will occur. Those who have not found their true purpose will likely focus on such things as money and pleasure – in excessive amounts. Once these goals are achieved it will likely not be enough – leaving the person feeling empty and dissatisfied. It will likely be a treadmill of sorts – the more an individual pursues, the more empty they will feel.

At one point in my life I pursued money wholeheartedly within the corporate sector. The faster the promotions and accompanying salary increases would occur, the happier I would become – or so it appeared. Actually, the happiness was short lived, I found that shortly after I received a reward I would quickly become dissatisfied, and therefore focus on the next objective. It wasn’t until I took some time to assess my true feelings that I removed myself from the treadmill and became happier as a result.

Avoiding The Existential Vacuum
How does one avoid the existential vacuum? From what I have read, it is not through perfect balance, as Frankl warns about this illusion as well. Refer to my article “Stress Part II: Imbalance & The Arch” to find out why a little bit of stress is a good thing, and why you should not strive for perfect balance in your life.

I believe that because each individual is unique, so to is the solution. The first step is to know yourself. To find out how to get to know yourself better, refer to my article “Knowing Yourself”. Once you begin the path of assessing and knowing yourself, you should determine your true purpose in life. To find out more about finding your true purpose, read my article “How To Find Your True Purpose”.

Know yourself and determine your true purpose in order to avoid the existential vacuum!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding