“Meaning Awareness” is a practice of becoming aware of the process through which we internalize meanings, in the sense discussed by Peter Berger and others in the sociology of knowledge.

It does not mean attacking other people’s meanings, nor does it mean telling people that they should become aware of the meanings they have internalized.

Rather, it is an attempt to observe and examine our own internalized meanings: What meanings have we taken for granted? How did they become part of us? And how do they shape the way we see myself, other people, and the world?

One of the experiences that led me to think about this practice was my own concept of “Dark Hero Desire.”

“Dark Hero Desire” is a term I coined to describe a phenomenon in which social activists sometimes adopt unconventional appearances or engage in provocative forms of activism that seem difficult to explain in terms of a desire to gain understanding or sympathy from others.

I became interested in the possibility that resistance itself can become part of one’s identity—that we may sometimes construct an image of ourselves as someone who stands against society, refuses to conform, or remains misunderstood by others.

What is interesting to me is that this possibility does not necessarily apply only to other people. It can also be directed toward myself.

This is precisely the kind of question that led me to what I now call Meaning Awareness: rather than asking whether a meaning is right or wrong, I try to observe how a meaning has become part of me, and what kind of self it allows me to construct.

I am reposting my own article, “What Is the Desire to Be a Dark Hero?”, as one of the experiences that led me to think about this practice.

Read the original article on note →