Metaphors We Live By

Experientialism answers no to both questions.

experientialist

see the metaphorical concepts of FREEDOM, EQUALITY, SAFETY, ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE, POWER, etc., as being different ways of getting indirectly at issues of meaningful existence.

The myth of objectivism reflects the human need to understand the external world in order to be able to function successfully in it. The myth of subjectivism is focused on internal aspects of understanding—what

What legitimately motivates subjectivism is the awareness that meaning is always meaning to a person.

but, to our knowledge, no political ideology addresses the main issue head-on.

in self-understanding we are always searching for what unifies our own diverse experiences in order to give coherence to our lives.

what is significant for me will not depend on my rational knowledge alone but on my past experiences, values, feelings, and intuitive insights.

The experientialist myth takes the perspective of man as part of his environment, not as separate from it. It focuses on constant interaction with the physical environment and with other people. It views this interaction with the environment as involving mutual change. You cannot function within the environment without changing it or being changed