Exploring the meaning in life through phenomenology and philosophy

The work dwells on the relationship between affordance, enactivism, and human life

Waseda University

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The study aims to present a phenomenological approach to the philosophy of meaning in life.

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Credit: Masahiro Morioka from Waseda University

Psychological and philosophical studies have long shown that a person's subjective moods and emotions have a significant impact on how they experience the “meaning in life.” Philosopher Matthew Ratcliffe pointed out that a person’s mood vividly operates in the background of perception and plays a major role in how they grasp the meaning of their life.

In psychology as well, there have been empirical studies investigating how mood affects the perception of life’s meaning. Meanwhile, phenomenology has revealed that the lived, first-person experience of the body deeply influences the way we perceive the world. In adjacent fields, concepts such as affordance, solicitation, and enaction (enactivism) have been proposed one after another. These concepts focus on how human physical interactions with the world influence and form the way humans perceive and understand their surroundings.

In a recent study, Professor Masahiro Morioka of the Faculty of Human Sciences at Waseda University aimed to apply that same mechanism—not only to the perception of the external world, but also to the perception of “meaning in life.” The results of this research were published online in Philosophia on June 4, 2025.

The present study is a conceptual and theoretical investigation into the nature of “meaning in life.” In the philosophy of life’s meaning to date, scholars have often debated whether meaning in life is purely subjective, i.e., life has meaning if the individual believes it does; purely objective, i.e., life has meaning regardless of what the individual thinks; or a hybrid of the two. This study, however, sets aside those discussions and instead examines how “meaning in life” develops between a person trying to live their life and the life they are attempting to live—and how that meaning is experienced by the person.

As a result, the study proposes a "Geographic Model of Meaning in Life,” an active exploration model. Applied to the perception of life’s meaning, this model suggests that the manner in which a person explores their life—with specific attitudes and commitments—elicits various responses from life itself. These responses may take the form of actual or potential experiences of life’s significance or misery. In other words, life’s value emerges—both positively and negatively—as a type of diverse geographical configuration that forms human experience. This study proposes that we understand “meaning in life” as such a geographical configuration that corresponds to the person’s acts of exploration and their attitude toward life.

The noteworthy definition as per Morioka is, “The geographic model of meaning in life is the whole set of patterns of combinations of lived experiences of the worthfulness of living a life that are experienced being activated by my action of probing into my life in the here and now, and this action is similar to the action of a blind person probing her way with a cane. This probing can be carried out with various attitudes or commitments towards life, such as positive, negative, reluctant, and so on. The worthfulness of my life is experienced differently corresponding to the attitudes or commitments I take when I probe into my life.”

In many ways, this work marks a paradigm shift: it treats both meaningful and tragic experiences as parts of the same experiential landscape and explores “meaning in life” as a perceptual experience of that complex geography. This shift was made possible by introducing phenomenological methodology into the philosophy of life’s meaning, which could serve as a bridge between philosophy and psychology, opening the door to more productive interdisciplinary collaboration.

Notably, psychology has developed both quantitative and qualitative scales to measure how people feel that their lives are meaningful. These existing approaches vary widely, but the “geographical model” proposed in this study approaches the experience of life’s meaning from a completely different angle. It may offer new insights for psychology and related fields.

With eyes set on the future, Morioka remarks, “My next goal is to integrate this study with other ongoing approaches in the philosophy of life’s meaning: namely, the solipsistic approach to meaning in life and the liberation and recollection approach. Through such integration, I aim to build a new, systematic framework within the philosophy of life’s meaning.”

 

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Reference
Authors: Masahiro Morioka
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-025-00854-5
Affiliations: Waseda University, Japan

About Waseda University
Located in the heart of Tokyo, Waseda University is a leading private research university that has long been dedicated to academic excellence, innovative research, and civic engagement at both the local and global levels since 1882. The University has produced many changemakers in its history, including eight prime ministers and many leaders in business, science and technology, literature, sports, and film. Waseda has strong collaborations with overseas research institutions and is committed to advancing cutting-edge research and developing leaders who can contribute to the resolution of complex, global social issues. The University has set a target of achieving a zero-carbon campus by 2032, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. 

To learn more about Waseda University, visit https://www.waseda.jp/top/en  

About Professor Masahiro Morioka
Masahiro Morioka, a Japanese philosopher, has made significant contributions to the fields of philosophy of life, bioethics, gender studies, media theory, and civilization studies. He currently serves as a Professor at the Faculty of Human Sciences at Waseda University, Japan. His key concepts include brain death as a human relationship, life studies, fundamental sense of security, and consciousness communication. He has authored Painless Civilization, Confessions of a Frigid Man: A Philosopher's Journey into the Hidden Layers of Men's Sexuality, and Manga Introduction to Philosophy.

 

Journal

Philosophia

DOI

10.1007/s11406-025-00854-5 

Method of Research

Meta-analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

A Phenomenological Approach to the Philosophy of Meaning in Life

MONTY PYTHON THE MEANING OF LIFE

 

Persistently, intensely grieving relations are nearly twice as likely to die within 10 years after losing a loved one

Hazard rate of mortality within decade after bereavement is 88% higher in people with persistent intense grief, shows first long-term and large-scale study

Frontiers

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Grief after the loss of a loved one is a natural response – an inevitable part of living and loving. But in a minority of the bereaved, grief is so overwhelming that it can lead to physical and mental illnes, even if they don’t necessarily qualify for a diagnosis with the mental health condition ‘prolonged grief disorder’. For example, studies have shown that people who recently lost a loved one use healthcare services more often, and have an increased mortality rate, over the short term.

Now, researchers from Denmark have shown that bereaved people with persistent high levels of intense grief used more healthcare services and were more likely to die within 10 years. The results are published in Frontiers in Public Health.

“This is the first study to investigate the long-term use of healthcare and patterns of mortality over a decade after bereavement in a large-scale cohort,” said Dr Mette Kjærgaard Nielsen, a postdoctoral researcher at the Research Unit for General Practice in Aarhus, Denmark, and the study’s corresponding author.

Starting in 2012, Nielsen and colleagues followed a cohort of 1,735 bereaved women and men living in Denmark with a mean age of 62 years on enrollment. Among them, 66% had recently lost their partner, 27% a parent, and 7% another kind of loved relation. Through the national register of drug prescriptions, the researchers knew which patients had recently been prescribed treatment for a terminal condition. They were thus able to contact those dying patients to invite them and their loved ones to participate in the study. The protocol had been approved by the Health Research Ethics of the Central Denmark Region and the Danish Data Protection Agency.

‘Grief trajectories’

Previously, Nielsen et al. had identified five common ‘trajectories’ among this cohort, based on changes in the intensity of grief symptoms over the first three years after losing a loved one. They measured this with the tried-and-tested ‘Prolonged Grief-13’ (PG-13) questionnaire, which assesses symptoms through 13 questions.

People on the ‘low’ trajectory (38%) displayed persistently low levels of grief symptoms, while 6% followed a ‘high’ trajectory with persistently elevated levels. Three other categories lay between these extremes: 18% and 29% followed a ‘high but decreasing’ and a ‘moderate but decreasing’ trajectory, respectively, and 9% a ‘late onset’ trajectory with a peak of symptoms around six month after bereavement.

In the present study, the researchers extended their follow-up of the participants for a total of 10 years until 2022, except for those who died or emigrated earlier. To do so, Nielsen et al. used data from the Danish National Health Service Register to assess how often each participant received ‘talk therapy’ from a GP or specialist, or were prescribed any psychotropic medication. Records from the Danish Registry of Causes of Deaths gave information on deaths from any cause.

The results showed that for participants on the ‘high’ trajectory, the hazard rate (ie, instantaneous event rate) of dying within 10 years was 88% higher than for participants on a ‘low’ trajectory. They also showed that participants on the ‘high’ trajectory were most likely to receive additional health care services beyond three years after bereavement. For example, these had 186% higher odds of receiving talk therapy or other mental health services, 463% higher odds of being prescribed antidepressants, and 160% higher odds of being prescribed sedatives or anxiety drugs.

Catching the warning signs

Differences in the frequency of use of these healthcare services between the five trajectories were no longer significant after the first eight years, but the excess mortality of participants on the ‘high’ trajectory remained pronounced over the full 10 years of follow-up.

What might be the physiological cause of the excess mortality? The researchers aren’t sure yet.

“We have previously found a connection between high grief symptom levels and higher rates of cardiovascular disease, mental health problems, and even suicide. But the association with mortality should be further investigated,” said Nielsen.

The authors point out that people at risk for a ‘high’ grief trajectory may be recognizable for intervention early, since the data showed that these patients were prescribed psychotropic medication more often even before their loss.

“The ‘high grief’ group had lower education on average, and their more frequent use of medication before bereavement suggested that they had signs of mental vulnerability, which may cause greater distress on bereavement,” said Nielsen.

“A GP could look for previous signs of depression and other severe mental health conditions. They can then offer these patients tailored follow-up in general practice, or refer them to a private-practice psychologist or secondary care. The GP may also suggest a bereavement follow-up appointment focusing on mental health,” suggested Nielsen.

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Journal

Frontiers in Public Health

DOI

10.3389/fpubh.2025.1619730 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Grief trajectories and long-term health effects in bereaved relatives: a prospective, population-based cohort study with 10-year follow-up

Article Publication Date

25-Jul-2025

 

Citizen science: Counting Galapagos marine iguanas for conservation

Successful citizen science project by Leipzig University contributes to preservation of this endangered species

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Universität Leipzig

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A drone image taken at Cabo Douglas, Fernandina Island, Galapagos. The image was collected as part of the project “Iguanas from Above”.

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Credit: Iguanas from Above

Galapagos marine iguanas are found only on the archipelago in the eastern Pacific. Until now, their population has never been fully recorded, as many of their colonies are difficult to access. These challenges can hinder the effective protection of the species. That’s why researchers at Leipzig University launched the project in 2020. “We developed a new method using drones to capture images from which the animals can be counted. We also launched the citizen science project Iguanas from Above, which allows people to help with the count online,” explains the zoologist.

Reliable results, however, depended on the quality of the images: “In the pilot phase, lower-quality photos led to more errors. In overcrowded or visually complex images, volunteers were more likely to miss animals. There was a general tendency to undercount. Their motivation was strongly influenced by how clearly the tasks were explained and by the project design. Some volunteers completed thousands of classifications,” says MacLeod.

The use of new technologies such as drones is becoming increasingly popular in nature conservation. However, this also generates large sets of image data, the analysis of which can be extremely time-consuming. While public involvement in data collection is already widespread, this new study shows that volunteers can also reliably analyse data. “This expands the role of citizen science, provides significant support for researchers, and offers a valuable opportunity to actively engange people in conservation topics,” says the campaign leader. Although the researchers plan to use artificial intelligence for future counts, initial tests have shown that volunteers working online are currently still better suited to the task.

For their surveys, they used drones launched both from boats and from land to capture aerial images of the colonies. Traditional ground surveys were also carried out in parallel. The drone images were uploaded to the Zooniverse platform, where volunteers marked the marine iguanas. MacLeod and her team are testing various methods for aggregating the data in order to evaluate the results and compare them statistically with expert counts. “We show that citizen scientists can be used to evaluate such data sets, and we present a new method for making optimal use of aggregated data. This approach enables cost-effective monitoring of hard-to-reach wildlife populations,” says the researcher, adding that the methodology can also be applied to other species and habitats and provides a foundation for the future automation of such projects using AI. The researchers are also sharing volunteer feedback with other scientists and offering insights into their experience with the project – which could benefit other initiatives looking to use citizen science for data analysis.

The Iguanas from Above project is still ongoing. The researchers will use citizen science results from selected sites across the Galapagos archipelago to pursue their overarching goal: the first complete, detailed population survey of this species. The publication of their population estimates is planned for early 2026. The data will also contribute to an updated IUCN Red List assessment and help inform effective conservation measures.

A marine iguana on Fernandina Island. 

Credit

Photo: Amy MacLeod

Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-025-08381-9 

Method of Research

Imaging analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Citizen scientists reliably count endangered Galápagos marine iguanas from drone images

Article Publication Date

24-Jul-2025

 

Cracking nonmarine shale oil’s code: Multiple geological factors synergy drives accumulation

Science China Press

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Process I indicates that hydrocarbons undergo self-generation, self-storage and micromigration in felsic-rich laminated shale. Process II indicates that hydrocarbons undergo self-generation, self-storage and micromigration in carbonate-rich laminated shale. Process III shows that hydrocarbons undergo self-generation, self-storage and near-source migration and accumulation in combination with hybrid shale and siltstone. Process IV shows that hydrocarbons undergo self-generation, self-storage and near-source migration and accumulation in combination with hybrid shale and carbonate. Process V shows that hydrocarbons undergo self-generation, self-storage and near-source migration and accumulation in hybrid sedimentary rocks (organic-rich shales, sandy dolomitic, and dolomitic siltstone).

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Credit: ©Science China Press

China’s vast nonmarine shale oil reserves hold immense potential to bolster national energy security, but unlocking these resources has long been hindered by extreme geological complexity. Unlike North America’s marine shale deposits, China’s formed in ancient lakes with wildly varying conditions, creating highly heterogeneous rock layers that make predicting oil-rich "sweet spots" challenging. Now, a breakthrough study reveals how shale oil accumulates in these intricate systems, providing a science-backed strategy for precise exploration.

A research team led by Prof. Quan-You LIU from Peking University has conducted a comprehensive geological study of shale oil in the Shahejie Formation, Bohai Bay Basin. Combining geochemical analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, mercury injection capillary pressure, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), they discovered that calcareous shale and calcareous hybrid shale are the favorable lithofacies for shale oil accumulation. The favorable lithofacies exhibit not only higher free hydrocarbon content (S1 averages: 0.92 mg/g and 0.84 mg/g, respectively) and total organic carbon content (TOC averages: 2.35% and 2.60%, respectively), but more importantly, the study reveals that their superiority stems from the synergistic coupling of multiple key geological elements under specific paleosedimentary environments.

Specifically, the favorable lithofacies universally exhibit laminated structures characterized by high-frequency interbedding of organic-rich clay laminae and carbonate laminae. During diagenesis and hydrocarbon generation, such laminated configurations readily develop bedding-parallel fractures and microfractures. Concurrently, acidic fluids derived from hydrocarbon generation dissolve carbonates to form effective oil-storage pores, collectively promoting the development of multi-scale pore-fracture networks and micromigration-accumulation units. Pore-structure characterization confirms these lithofacies possess larger average pore diameters, higher proportions of macropores and microfractures critical for oil storage and mobility, lower N2-adsorption fractal dimensions, and enhanced 1D NMR T2 geometric means with stronger 2D free-oil signals. Paleosedimentary environments reconstruction indicates these favorable lithofacies were deposited mostly in specific paleosedimentary environments characterized by limited terrigenous clastic input, relatively arid paleoclimate, moderate paleosalinity, high paleoproductivity, and strongly reducing water column. This environment drove seasonal lamina development and organic matter enrichment, ultimately forging the "golden combination" of high TOC, laminated structures, and superior storage capacity. Shale oil primarily enriches through "self-generation and self-storage" within source laminae, followed by micromigration into carbonate laminae with optimal reservoir properties—a mechanism directly evidenced by SEM-observed trapped hydrocarbon infilling. Based on this understanding of lithofacies-paleoenvironment coupling, the team predicted and delineated the core shale oil "sweet spot" in the Shahejie Formation: the NW gentle slope zone (3,400–3,700 m burial depth). This prediction has been reliably validated by excellent pilot production from relevant wells, providing direct guidance for precise well placement.

Furthermore, based on their understanding of shale oil in the Raoyang Sag, the research team combined the chemical properties of sedimentary water bodies (fresh water, brackish water, saline water) with the microstructure of pores and fractures, favorable lithofacies, and paleosedimentary environments to systematically establish multi-scale, multi-factor accumulation models for nonmarine shale oil, categorizing five types (Fig. 1): (I) Felsic-rich laminated shale type (e.g., Qingshankou Formation, Songliao Basin); (II) Carbonate-rich laminated shale type (e.g., Shahejie Formation, Bohai Bay Basin); (III) Combined organic-rich hybrid shale and siltstone type (e.g., Yanchang Formation, Ordos Basin); (IV) Combined organic-rich hybrid shale and carbonate type (e.g., Shahejie Formation, Bohai Bay Basin); (V) Hybrid sedimentary rock type (e.g., Lucaogou Formation, Junggar Basin). This model establishes a unified conceptual framework for understanding the accumulation patterns of nonmarine shale oil, highlighting China's unique and diverse geological conditions. It is expected to provide a theoretical basis for the efficient, precise, and large-scale exploration and development of nonmarine shale oil.

 

Wei Y B, Liu Q Y, Lu S F, Zhao R X, Song Z J, Mou Y C. 2025. Accumulation mechanisms of nonmarine shale oil in China: A case study of the Shahejie Formation in Raoyang Sag, Bohai Bay Basin. Science China Earth Sciences, 55(7): 2268–2289, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-024-1585-1

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Journal

Science China Earth Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s11430-024-1585-1 

High-elevation tropical forest soils in Colombian Andes are rich in carbon from past fires

University of Exeter

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Forests and pastures near the study sites in the Colombian Andes

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Credit: Carmen Rosa Montes Pulido

The soil in high-elevation, cooler, drier tropical forests in the Colombian Andes stores more carbon from fires than lower, warmer regions, new research shows.

Scientists investigated the long-term impact of fire on Andean forest soils, finding that carbon from fires – known as pyrogenic carbon (PyC) – varies greatly across Colombia’s lowlands and Andean mountains.

They analysed soil samples from 36 plots across different elevations and land-use types,  including lowland, mid-elevation, and High Andean forests.

They found that – while overall soil organic carbon (SOC) is substantial in Andean forests – High Andean forests had PyC stocks nine to ten times higher than those in the warmer, low Andean forests and the Amazon Basin rainforest.

The study was led by Dr Carmen R. Montes-Pulido from Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, Professor Ted Feldpausch from the University of Exeter, and colleagues from James Cook University and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia.

Professor Feldpausch said: “Our study highlights the long-term legacy effects of wildfires on Andean forest soils. These are the first data of this type for the northern Andes and the substantially larger fire-derived soil carbon found in the high Andean forests represents an important persistent carbon reservoir. The results raise questions about how historical land-use over hundreds to thousands of years may have interacted with variation in climate and fire regimes to alter fire-derived soil carbon.”

The research found that mean annual precipitation, soil clay content, and pH were the primary environmental factors related to soil PyC storage. These factors influence the formation and preservation of PyC in the soil, highlighting the interaction between climate, soil chemistry, and fire history in shaping carbon stocks.

Dr Carmen R. Montes-Pulido said: “The findings highlight the larger-than-expected contribution of PyC to the total carbon pool in Andean forest soils and its importance as a stable and persistent form of carbon, particularly under projected global warming scenarios.”

These research findings are essential for improving our understanding of carbon cycling in tropical mountain ecosystems and refining global carbon models, since PyC is much slower to decompose—over hundreds to thousands of years—than other forms of soil carbon.

The study shows that PyC in Andean forest soils, especially at cooler, drier high elevations, is not only a significant carbon reservoir but also a key component in the long-term carbon storage capacity of these biodiverse, vulnerable ecosystems.

As climate change increases temperatures, understanding the dynamics of PyC in these elevation gradients becomes increasingly important for conservation and climate mitigation strategies.

The research project – “BioResilience: Biodiversity resilience and ecosystem services in post-conflict socio-ecological systems in Colombia” – was supported by funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council

(AHRC) under the Newton-Caldas Colombia-Bio programme (NERC, Grant NE/R017980/1). Additional support was provided by NERC project (Grant NE/N011570/1).

The paper, published in the journal Global Change Biology, is entitled: “Climatic and edaphic drivers of soil organic carbon and pyrogenic carbon stocks across elevation and disturbance gradients in Colombian Andean forests.”

High Andes

Low Andes

Credit

Carmen Rosa Montes Pulido

Journal

Global Change Biology

DOI

10.1111/gcb.70135 

Article Publication Date

25-Jul-2025