The Pain of Meaninglessness: Why it Hurts to be Uncertain

How would you feel if you woke up tomorrow, and all of your furniture was on the ceiling? This talk explores the various consequences of uncertainty, and how we behave in the face of meaninglessness.
  • Rachele Benjamin, Psychology
    Coach House, Green College, UBC
    Monday, April 18, 8-9 pm
    in the series
    Green College Resident Members' Series
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  • How would you feel if you woke up tomorrow, and all of your furniture was on the ceiling?

    As human beings, we are highly motivated to find meaning in the events that take place around us. We want to believe that the world makes sense, and that we have the capacity to understand it. Without meaning, we would have no way of predicting what will happen to us next, and no way of knowing what we're supposed to do about it. For this reason, we find it profoundly disturbing when meaning breaks down. Studies have shown that when our expectations are violated, our brains put out a distress signal similar to one produced by physical pain. As a result, we go to great lengths to re-establish meaningful relationships between objects and events in the world. This talk explores the various consequences of uncertainty, and how we behave in the face of meaninglessness. Rachele will discuss some very unsuccessful first year projects, as well as some exciting future directions—all about how meaning, or the absence of meaning, impacts our lives.
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  • Unless otherwise noted, all of our lectures are free to attend and do not require registration.

 

When
April 18th, 2016 from  8:00 PM to  9:00 PM
Location
Coach House
6201 Cecil Green Park Rd
Green College, UBC
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
Canada
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Speaker Series Green College Resident Members' Series
Short Title Why it Hurts to be Uncertain
Speaker (new) Rachele Benjamin, Psychology
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Speaker First Name Rachele
Speaker Last Name Benjamin
Speaker Affiliation Psychology
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