Meaningful Learning and Meaning Making: A Nietzschian Reading
Tristen Maddux
I took a contemporary criticism class last semester, and now I have the unfortunate symptom that whenever I encounter something that claims the ability of creating meaning or having meaning I am slightly skeptical. So when I saw this section on meaningful learning and meaning making, my mind immediately turned to all of those modern and postmodern critics who claim that meaning doesn’t exist. I have specifically decided to view this section through the lens of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche is, of course, not an exemplary figure of Christian morals or virtue (he famously claims “God is dead” in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra and writes an infamous essay on the problems of Christianity entitled “The Antichrist”); however, I think his ideas can help to illuminate the idea of meaningful learning.
Because Nietzsche believes that there is no God and that man is just an unimportant speck in an infinite universe, he does not transcribe to any ideas of transcendental meaning. I think the authors of “Developing Habits of Reflection for Meaningful Learning” understand this concept. There is no single way to understand anything, but meaning is created through the individual. Nietzsche calls these individual interpretations “wills to power,” because the way an individual chooses to interpret something represents their views of the world. The authors of “Developing Habits” suggest that “meaning is not characterized just by personal significance. Other key elements include connections made to what one already knew or believed, movement from understanding to action, new beliefs, awareness of emotional nuances, and persistent development of skills,” and I think Nietzsche would agree with this. Our life experiences make up who we are and what we believe. This in turn is going to influence how we interpret future actions.
Nietzsche chooses to express his will to power in a way that I find unappealing. His creation of meaning involves demoralizing Christian values. When we interpret situations and express our wills to power, we are faced with the decision of how we are going to express ourselves. It is important that as we do this, we remember what we truly value and know and use these as guides in creating meaning
I enjoyed this intertwining of Nietzsche and "meaning-making". I agree with Tristen that the way we express ourselves (what we say and do) is a conscious decision and one that creates meaning for ourselves and others. Nietzsche, a man of science, reasoning and faith is remembered for having said, "God is Dead". Indeed, some would put murderous dagger into the hands of the messenger. But perhaps we should be aware of more of his more prophetic cry, "God is Dead... And we have killed Him." This quote causes me to reflect on what I am doing and how I am doing it.
ReplyDeleteTristen, I couldn't agree more with your comment that "When we interpret situations and express our wills to power... It is important that we remember what we truly value and know and use these as guides in creating meaning." Each of us will undoubtedly have the opportunity this semester to create meaning out of the various experiences we will face, yet as we approach these situations it would be wise to first take a step back and evaluate how we are choosing to interpret the experience, and how our previous experiences may be influencing us.
ReplyDelete