I do not believe that in order for one to survive in society one must perform a meaningless task for all of one's life. i think that some people believe that to "fit in" with society they must perform a seemingly meaningless task, in order to seem "normal" or "average;" in other words, so they won't stand out. i believe that some people want to fit into society and that to do that they must hold a "normal" job, which could also be perceived as a "meaningless task." on the contrary though, i think to really enjoy life and to fit into society one should do something different and spunky.for instance, a man who works at a big corporation (which could be perceived as a "meaningless task") will fit into society simply because there is nothing to disagree with in him, whereas a man who has followed his dream and done something unusual, like dedicate his life to relief work for instance, will be embraced by society because he is not performing a meaningless task. i have to admit, i really don't understand the question that well, and i'm struggling with something to say. all in all though, i don't think that one needs to perform a trivial task to fit in, in fact i think that performing an unusual task would help one fit in more.
Absolutely not, I do not think that this is true today. Perhaps when Melville wrote the story of Bartleby, one's expected duty to society was to perform a perhaps meaningless task for the good of the whole society. And even then, not every last individual had to do the busy work of a scrivener to scrape by. Many people felt much more fulfilled by their job's. Also, I think that In the setting of the story, few people were as dissatisfied with busywork as Bartleby. Not all people thought of their job as something to get meaning out of, and were perfectly satisfied and even grateful for their jobs because it paid to have a job. Even if we would look at their jobs as meaningless, it is aside from the point, because the point of a job is not to find meaning, that the real meaning they get out of a job is sustenance. And again, not everyone had to copy papers by hand for a living. The idea that one's career is something to find meaning in I think is a relatively new idea. Today, one's career is a way of distinguishing oneself in society, a passion. Many more people today than in Bartleby's time survive on meaningful, enjoyable, and still lucrative jobs. Today, I think that people many people in our society, and I emphasize our society, seek careers that provide individuality and happiness. The best meaning of a job before the idea of a career that distinguishes oneself is the satisfaction that you are doing your duty to the community and earning an honest living.
I agree in that one doesn't have to perform a meaningless task for the rest of one's life in order to survive in society. By meaningless, I'm assuming the question means a boring or average job. There are many people who may feel that they have meaningless jobs, for example the main character in "Office Space." He strongly disliked his job and said that every day was the worst day ever. He also felt that his job wasn't important. However, I believe that there is no such thing as a "meaningless job". One may have a small job that doesn't seem to have much importance, but if you look at the big picture, every little task adds up to a big accomplishment. Also, why does one have to have perform the same "meaningless task" for all of ones life? I'm pretty sure there are millions of people who don't keep the same job their whole lives but still survive in society. Feeling similar to Cat, I'm a little unsure of the question. I think that someone who isn't performing a meaningless task is more likely to survive in society than someone who is. I understand that the people who have these "meaningless" tasks for their whole lives are doing so in order to have money and maintain a stable life, but that doesn't mean that those who are living differently aren't surviving in society. Look at doctors, teachers, scientists... they definitely do not have meaningless jobs and are surviving in society. Therefore I believe that one doesn't have to perform a meaningless task for all of one's life in order to survive in society.
In any environment you must do a number of things in order to survive. This is especially evident in our society due to the standard we have created in regards to work. People start school when they are five and some continue until they are in their mid to late twenties (even in their thirties at times). Everyone has been asked the “what do you want to be when you grow up?” question at least thirty times. Our whole “world” is centered on work; without it one can hardly survive, much less thrive in today’s culture. This does not make work necessarily bad though. While the stereotypical job is portrayed as boring and troublesome, many individuals enjoy their jobs. Whether or not your job is meaningless depends on point of view. If you see your job as an opportunity to be performing something you love to do and get paid for it, then your occupation automatically becomes something you look forward to. It now has meaning. Even if you are for some reason unable to work in the field of your choice your attitude can still alter the situation a bit. If a job were not needed it would most likely be eliminated, so there is always someone you are helping no matter how seemingly small or insignificant your profession is. Therefore, one does not have to perform a meaningless task in order to live in our society.
Yes, i do believe that it is neccessary to perform a meaningless task in order to fit in to society. But this is mostly because everything is meaningless. Unless you believe in some grand master plan of the universe, there is no meaning in anything. Only when people realize that nothing matters, and that they should therefore do everything in their power to be happy, will they actually be happy. Our society is caught up in a circle of trying to "suceed" in life (economically) in order to give one's children the means to "suceed" in their lives. In the end, no-one is happy. The majority of people in the world are sheep-like and easily convinced that they enjoy this artificial life of pointless labor and the weak imitation of happiness that we call success. Fortunately for society, most people do not realize this and go on living in this manner their whole lives. In this way, all of the work that needs to get done in order for society to suceed and benefit it's members gets done. There are some people, such as Bartleby, who realize how insignificant their lives are and get fed up. The truly enlightened people, however, are those who are able to find meaning in their lives even while performing the most insignificant taks.
it is my belief that it is not imperative of one to perform a meaningless task to survive in society. i agree with some of the other comments that refer to the difference in time period leading to this belief. at the time when Melville wrote "Bartleby" the jobs and ranks in society were clearly stated and defined almost by law, thus making them seem meaningless. each person in society had a mindless task which they had to perform in order to survive and thus it became a general understanding to them and to Melville that everyday tasks were mindless and meaningless in many ways. i also agree with the fact that in some cases one might believe that meaningless tasks are performed in order to fit in with society and be accepted, however it is also true that to live a full life one must not fully consider the opinions of others and simple live for themselves each and everyday.
I don't think it's necessary to survive in today's society by performing a meaningless task for one's entire life, but I feel people sometimes assume that nowadays or in the past it was a given, and never questioned that a job was one's destiny. Jamie brought up a good point in that no job is truely meaningless, and that people really define their job as this or not. To survive in society, I believe one must contribute to it. That does not necessarilly mean that one is doomed to an "Office Space"-like existance. I think everyone has control of the tasks they wish to fill their life with, and because there really is no meaningless job, one can contribute to society by seeking what fulfills you in life. In the past, jobs weren't often seen as a choice, but seen as necessary, for example as a farmer if you don't take care of your crops no one will, and therefore didn't carry the same "meaningless" and "unfulfilling" tags we hang on to so many careers today. Overall, in today's world, I do not think that to survive in society one must demean themselves to performing a meaningless task, or what one feels to be meaningless, for a lifetime.
I also do not believe that in order to survive in society one must perform a meaningless task for the rest of their lives. I believe that one must have a job in life ti support themselves and to make a living, but it does not necessarily have to be meaningless. I agree with what Jamie said about "There is no such thing as a meaningless job". There really isn't.All jobs have a meaning or a purpose. They all contribute to society in some way or another. I believe that one should do a job that they enjoy. I know that in some circumstances that can be hard, but even if one must work for a couple of years in a job that they do not like, does not mean that they have to keep that job for all their life. They should try and find something that they enjoy doing. Also a person should find creative outlets outside of work. They have to try and better their lives, like Peter actively tried to do. And not do what Bartleby did and shut down and stop trying. Wow. Sorry if I board anyone, I kind babbled through all of this.
8 comments:
I do not believe that in order for one to survive in society one must perform a meaningless task for all of one's life. i think that some people believe that to "fit in" with society they must perform a seemingly meaningless task, in order to seem "normal" or "average;" in other words, so they won't stand out. i believe that some people want to fit into society and that to do that they must hold a "normal" job, which could also be perceived as a "meaningless task." on the contrary though, i think to really enjoy life and to fit into society one should do something different and spunky.for instance, a man who works at a big corporation (which could be perceived as a "meaningless task") will fit into society simply because there is nothing to disagree with in him, whereas a man who has followed his dream and done something unusual, like dedicate his life to relief work for instance, will be embraced by society because he is not performing a meaningless task. i have to admit, i really don't understand the question that well, and i'm struggling with something to say. all in all though, i don't think that one needs to perform a trivial task to fit in, in fact i think that performing an unusual task would help one fit in more.
Absolutely not, I do not think that this is true today. Perhaps when Melville wrote the story of Bartleby, one's expected duty to society was to perform a perhaps meaningless task for the good of the whole society. And even then, not every last individual had to do the busy work of a scrivener to scrape by. Many people felt much more fulfilled by their job's. Also, I think that In the setting of the story, few people were as dissatisfied with busywork as Bartleby. Not all people thought of their job as something to get meaning out of, and were perfectly satisfied and even grateful for their jobs because it paid to have a job. Even if we would look at their jobs as meaningless, it is aside from the point, because the point of a job is not to find meaning, that the real meaning they get out of a job is sustenance. And again, not everyone had to copy papers by hand for a living. The idea that one's career is something to find meaning in I think is a relatively new idea. Today, one's career is a way of distinguishing oneself in society, a passion. Many more people today than in Bartleby's time survive on meaningful, enjoyable, and still lucrative jobs. Today, I think that people many people in our society, and I emphasize our society, seek careers that provide individuality and happiness. The best meaning of a job before the idea of a career that distinguishes oneself is the satisfaction that you are doing your duty to the community and earning an honest living.
I agree in that one doesn't have to perform a meaningless task for the rest of one's life in order to survive in society. By meaningless, I'm assuming the question means a boring or average job. There are many people who may feel that they have meaningless jobs, for example the main character in "Office Space." He strongly disliked his job and said that every day was the worst day ever. He also felt that his job wasn't important. However, I believe that there is no such thing as a "meaningless job". One may have a small job that doesn't seem to have much importance, but if you look at the big picture, every little task adds up to a big accomplishment. Also, why does one have to have perform the same "meaningless task" for all of ones life? I'm pretty sure there are millions of people who don't keep the same job their whole lives but still survive in society. Feeling similar to Cat, I'm a little unsure of the question. I think that someone who isn't performing a meaningless task is more likely to survive in society than someone who is. I understand that the people who have these "meaningless" tasks for their whole lives are doing so in order to have money and maintain a stable life, but that doesn't mean that those who are living differently aren't surviving in society. Look at doctors, teachers, scientists... they definitely do not have meaningless jobs and are surviving in society. Therefore I believe that one doesn't have to perform a meaningless task for all of one's life in order to survive in society.
In any environment you must do a number of things in order to survive. This is especially evident in our society due to the standard we have created in regards to work. People start school when they are five and some continue until they are in their mid to late twenties (even in their thirties at times). Everyone has been asked the “what do you want to be when you grow up?” question at least thirty times. Our whole “world” is centered on work; without it one can hardly survive, much less thrive in today’s culture. This does not make work necessarily bad though. While the stereotypical job is portrayed as boring and troublesome, many individuals enjoy their jobs. Whether or not your job is meaningless depends on point of view. If you see your job as an opportunity to be performing something you love to do and get paid for it, then your occupation automatically becomes something you look forward to. It now has meaning. Even if you are for some reason unable to work in the field of your choice your attitude can still alter the situation a bit. If a job were not needed it would most likely be eliminated, so there is always someone you are helping no matter how seemingly small or insignificant your profession is. Therefore, one does not have to perform a meaningless task in order to live in our society.
Yes, i do believe that it is neccessary to perform a meaningless task in order to fit in to society. But this is mostly because everything is meaningless. Unless you believe in some grand master plan of the universe, there is no meaning in anything. Only when people realize that nothing matters, and that they should therefore do everything in their power to be happy, will they actually be happy. Our society is caught up in a circle of trying to "suceed" in life (economically) in order to give one's children the means to "suceed" in their lives. In the end, no-one is happy. The majority of people in the world are sheep-like and easily convinced that they enjoy this artificial life of pointless labor and the weak imitation of happiness that we call success. Fortunately for society, most people do not realize this and go on living in this manner their whole lives. In this way, all of the work that needs to get done in order for society to suceed and benefit it's members gets done. There are some people, such as Bartleby, who realize how insignificant their lives are and get fed up. The truly enlightened people, however, are those who are able to find meaning in their lives even while performing the most insignificant taks.
it is my belief that it is not imperative of one to perform a meaningless task to survive in society. i agree with some of the other comments that refer to the difference in time period leading to this belief. at the time when Melville wrote "Bartleby" the jobs and ranks in society were clearly stated and defined almost by law, thus making them seem meaningless. each person in society had a mindless task which they had to perform in order to survive and thus it became a general understanding to them and to Melville that everyday tasks were mindless and meaningless in many ways. i also agree with the fact that in some cases one might believe that meaningless tasks are performed in order to fit in with society and be accepted, however it is also true that to live a full life one must not fully consider the opinions of others and simple live for themselves each and everyday.
I don't think it's necessary to survive in today's society by performing a meaningless task for one's entire life, but I feel people sometimes assume that nowadays or in the past it was a given, and never questioned that a job was one's destiny. Jamie brought up a good point in that no job is truely meaningless, and that people really define their job as this or not. To survive in society, I believe one must contribute to it. That does not necessarilly mean that one is doomed to an "Office Space"-like existance. I think everyone has control of the tasks they wish to fill their life with, and because there really is no meaningless job, one can contribute to society by seeking what fulfills you in life. In the past, jobs weren't often seen as a choice, but seen as necessary, for example as a farmer if you don't take care of your crops no one will, and therefore didn't carry the same "meaningless" and "unfulfilling" tags we hang on to so many careers today. Overall, in today's world, I do not think that to survive in society one must demean themselves to performing a meaningless task, or what one feels to be meaningless, for a lifetime.
I also do not believe that in order to survive in society one must perform a meaningless task for the rest of their lives. I believe that one must have a job in life ti support themselves and to make a living, but it does not necessarily have to be meaningless. I agree with what Jamie said about "There is no such thing as a meaningless job". There really isn't.All jobs have a meaning or a purpose. They all contribute to society in some way or another. I believe that one should do a job that they enjoy. I know that in some circumstances that can be hard, but even if one must work for a couple of years in a job that they do not like, does not mean that they have to keep that job for all their life. They should try and find something that they enjoy doing. Also a person should find creative outlets outside of work. They have to try and better their lives, like Peter actively tried to do. And not do what Bartleby did and shut down and stop trying. Wow. Sorry if I board anyone, I kind babbled through all of this.
Post a Comment