Are you floundering or flourishing? Resonance and meaning in an ethically ­privatised world

Abstract

Late modern societies are experiencing a crisis of orientation characterised by a pluralisation of morality and the subsequent privatisation of “the good”, putting increased choice-making pressure on young people in particular. This article asks what constitutes a good life in this current context and seeks answers through the lens of Nietzsche’s nihilism, Rosa’s theory of resonance, Frankl’s logotherapy, Fromm’s being and having as evidence of existence, as well as Keyes’ continuum of languishing and flourishing. The cumulative conclusion is the hypothesis that a lack of ethos or an overabundance of conflicting values can lead to alienation, aimlessness and a lower quality of life. In contrast, an orientation towards a good life results in successful relations to and within the world that embody resonance and offer an inherent potential for meaning. Thus, this article promotes resonance and meaning as socially mediated guiding principles for decision-making, and argues for educational, work and health institutions to offer more opportunities for identification and spaces of resonance. In this way, self-realisation is no longer the luxury of a few but becomes a matter of public responsibility with the potential to extinguish the explosive consequences of maladaptive life orientations, such as radicalisation, consumerism, and social isolation.