The Search for Meaning in a Shaky World

According to the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), the book ‘The Search for Meaning in a Shaky World’ by Seyed Jalal Mahmoudi has recently been published by Logos Publications.

In the book’s introduction, Mahmoudi writes: “‘The search for meaning in a shaky world’ may be a fitting statement to describe the condition of our times. Liminal situations such as war, death, illness, migration, and the like, which have been common experiences for many of us in the distant or recent past, have made the trembling foundations of our world more apparent. Perhaps each of us has also faced existential crises, such as a crisis of meaning, in our personal experiences, or at least we are exposed to such crises.”

He continues: “But the question is, is there a meaning that can make us resilient in the face of this shaky and fragile world, and how can one search for it? This book, while attempting to describe the condition of our times from the perspective of the crisis of meaning, tries to briefly answer such questions.”

A passage from the book reads: “Camus believes that the absurd man is one who lives without resorting to eternal values or religious beliefs, and is aware of the constant tension between his desire for clarity and unity and the irrational, meaningless world. The absurd man embraces his freedom, rebels against the absurd, and lives with passion. He finds meaning in life itself and in the struggle against absurdity. According to Camus, revolt, freedom, and passion are the three main consequences of accepting the absurd. Revolt means rejecting the absurd condition and constantly struggling against it. Freedom means liberation from hope for the future or an afterlife and focusing on the present, and passion means living life to the fullest and experiencing as much as possible.”

The book ‘The Search for Meaning in a Shaky World’ by Seyed Jalal Mahmoudi has been published by Logos Publications in 89 pages and priced at 95,000 Tomans.