Studying for a life purpose
Published: Monday, November 9, 2009
Updated: Monday, November 9, 2009
 "Photo: © 2009 NCSU Student Media")
© 2009 NCSU Student Media
Maybe the reason all of us are having existential crises is because it is the week before the last round of midterms. I personally have an existential crisis before I do anything that I do not want to do. The question of “Do I have to?” has been with us since we were young.
Instead of grimacing and bearing it, the students of the Self-Knowledge Symposium, the preacher in the Brickyard and the philosophy club all attack the problem -- albeit from different directions.
I went to the Self-Knowledge Symposium meeting this week, a club that meets Thursdays at 7:31 p.m. in Riddick Hall. The moderator asked one student why he was at the club meeting and with a passionate answer the student said he did not know. From his face, he was visibly rocked by the fact that he did not know why he was there. I do not think he was freaking out because of the factual causes involved in being at the club meeting; he wanted to know what meaning he was bringing to school, life and the club meeting.
Of course, this emotional identification is what the club specializes in. Two of the club members talked in a calming way in an attempt to settle the kid down. Instead of telling him about how much purpose is in his life, they approached the problem from a different angle. They talked to him about how it would be nice to feel nothing. They asked him to think about how he brings meaning to his life and to consider how it might feel nice to not have to concern his mind with some problems. In other words, sometimes it is acceptable to let go.
Marie Lackey, a sophomore in international studies, said she really likes the Self-Knowledge Symposium because the students talk about a variety of issues and it helps her find a path and be more responsible.
The second run-in I encountered with purpose in mind was with one of the Brickyard preachers. I was with a friend walking to class and the preacher came up to us and started making conversation. He then talked to us very nicely about how he was trying to unify ministries from different colleges in Raleigh: Shaw, St. Augustine’s, Peace, Meredith and State. Of course he talked about various religious practices, which alienated me, but I could still make out the good universal intentions underneath his rhetoric.
The third existential event happened at philosophy club, which meets every Thursday at 4:30 p.m. next to the philosophy department in Withers Hall. The club presented student speaker Robert El-Jaouhari last week, a senior in Philosophy and History. El-Jaouhari’s presentation was a paper on existentialism.
At the event, Robert El-Jaouhari detailed a new theory of viewing life without reflecting on it. In other words, living without filtering life through consideration of it. This theory of “freshness” is from the philosophies of Heidegger, Sartre and Camus. I understand that life is more fun if we live without fighting the living that we do.
About his theory, El-Jaouhari said if you’re caught up on discerning your purpose, you’ve missed the point.
The three theories of living based on these scholars: be cool if you don’t have a reason in mind while your doing something (like our Self-Knowledge Symposium students); have joy in a purpose (like the Brickyard preacher); and finally, sometimes you should enjoy “freshness” -- the unfiltered being of being (like Robert El-Jaouhari and the philosophy club).
Good luck on midterms. Yes you have to, but maybe you can do that while still thinking effectively.
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http://www.technicianonline.com/viewpoint/studying-for-a-life-purpose-1.2057704
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