This page is a schematic overview of the main part of this book. It briefly describes the various stances one can take to each of the dimensions of meaningness.

Meaning and meaninglessness

Stance	Eternalism	Nihilism	Meaning/ness
Summary	Everything is given a fixed meaning by an eternal ordering principle (Cosmic Plan)	Nothing is really meaningful	Meaning is nebulous, yet patterned; meaningfulness and meaninglessness intermingle
What it denies	Nebulosity; meaninglessness	Pattern; meaningfulness
What it fixates	Pattern; meaningfulness	Nebulosity; meaninglessness
The sales pitch	You are guaranteed a good outcome if you follow the rules	Don’t get fooled again	Accurate understanding of meaningness allows both freedom and purpose
Emotional appeal	Control. Reassurance that if you act in accordance with Cosmic Plan, everything will be well.	Intelligence. Also, nothing means anything, so not getting what you want is not a problem.
Pattern of thinking	Sentimentality; self-righteousness	Contempt; rage; intellectualization; depression	Joyful realism
Likely next stances	Mission	Materialism
Accomplishment	Unify self with Cosmic Plan: impossible in mainstream religion, possible in mystical sects	Total apathy	Wizardry
How it causes suffering	Cosmic Plan makes insane, harmful demands	Have to blind self to meaningfulness; undermines any practical action
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Difficulty of blinding oneself to manifestations of nebulosity, and submitting to Cosmic Plan	Difficulty of blinding self to manifestations of pattern, and abandoning all desires	Unappealing due to complexity and uncertainty
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	Enjoyment of nebulosity, meaninglessness, un-knowing	Enjoyment of pattern; recovery of passion
Intelligent aspect	There is meaning, and it is not merely subjective, so nihilism is wrong	There is no inherent meaningfulness, so eternalism is wrong
Positive appropriation after resolution	Respect for pattern is a compassionate aspect of realism	Recognition of nebulosity is a wisdom aspect of nihilism; nearly-correct understanding of defects of eternalism

Unity, diversity, and separateness

Stance	Monism	Dualism	Participation
Summary	All is One	I am clearly distinct from everything and everyone else	Reality is indivisible but diverse
What it denies	Differences, boundaries, specifics, individuality	Connection, dynamic interplay, unbounded responsibility
What it fixates	Unity; also over-emphasizes connection	Boundaries, separateness, limitations, definitions
The sales pitch	You are God	Clarity gives you control
Emotional appeal	I am all-powerful, all-knowing, immortal, invulnerable	I am not contaminated by other beings, and have only specific, limited responsibility for them
Pattern of thinking	Willful stupidity	Distrust	Engagement
Likely next stances	Eternalism, mission, true self, specialness	Can combine with either eternalism or nihilism
Accomplishment	Directly perceive all things as One	Perfect independence	Self and other neither distinct nor identical
How it causes suffering	Have to blind self to diversity of physical reality	Alienation due to being cut off from world and others
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Obviousness of diversity	Obviousness of connection	Difficulty of understanding the philosophical view
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	Appreciation of diversity	Appreciation of connectedness
Intelligent aspect	I am not entirely separate from anything	The world is endlessly diverse
Positive appropriation after resolution	Provisional understanding of indivisibility	Points toward appreciation of diversity

Purpose

Stance	Mission	Materialism	Enjoyable usefulness
Summary	Only eternal purposes are meaningful	Only mundane purposes are meaningful	All purposes are meaningful, when they are. Do things that are useful and enjoyable.
What it denies	Value of mundane purposes	Value of eternal purposes
What it fixates
The sales pitch	Find and follow your true mission, and the universe resonates with you	He who dies with the most toys, wins	There is no scoreboard
Emotional appeal	Exciting, personal, transcendent purpose lifts you out of mundanity	Get what you want
Pattern of thinking	Fantasy; non-ordinary methods for seeking the supposed true mission	Grim self-interest	Flow
Likely next stances	Eternalism; specialness, true self	Nihilism; ordinariness	Nobility, intermittently continuing
Accomplishment	Sacrifice all mundane purposes to eternal mission (saintliness)	Exclusive self-interest	Rennaisance person
How it causes suffering	Can never find your supposed true mission; neglect mundane aspects of life	Can never get enough; alienation from others and from authentic creativity
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Reasonable self-interest	Compassion, creativity	Is that it? No hope of completing purpose, so no hope for salvation or basis for self-congratulation
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	Mundane purposes matter to me	I do care about others, and about creative work
Intelligent aspect	Eternal purposes are valid; materialism is unsatisfying	Mundane purposes are valid; mission is a fantasy
Positive appropriation after resolution	Creativity and generosity are aspects of enjoyable usefulness	Material satisfaction and accomplishment are aspects of enjoyable usefulness

Self

Stance	The authentic, true, deep self	Selflessness	Intermittently continuing
Summary	The hidden, true self is directly connected to the Cosmic Plan, bypassing social constrictions	There is, or should be, no self	Selfness comes and goes; it varies over time and has no essential nature
What it denies	Nebulosity of self	Pattern of self
What it fixates
The sales pitch	Your true self is much more exciting than your yucky regular one	You can get rid of your yucky regular self	The patterned self is unproblematic once its nebulosity is accepted
Emotional appeal	I’m much better than I thought I was	I have nothing to lose
Pattern of thinking	Romantic idolization of fantasy self	Willful blindness to continuity and self-interest	Humorous affection for one’s foibles; absence of anxiety
Likely next stances	Eternalism, monism, specialness	Nihilism, ordinariness	Nobility, enjoyable usefulness
Accomplishment	Authenticity in sense of living from true self instead of regular self	Egolessness	No attachment to either existence or non-existence
How it causes suffering	Attempts to retrieve supposed true self fail; attempts to live up to it fail	Neglecting practical personal affairs
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Non-existence of true self	Manifestations of regular self	Fear of discontinuity; cannot repair or remove self
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	No essential nature, no coherent true self	I have much in common with who I was and will be
Intelligent aspect	Recognizes negative social conditioning & possibility of spontaneity	Recognizes lack of essential nature or durable continuity
Positive appropriation after resolution	Points toward nobility: we can be much more than we generally pretend	Points toward generosity of nobility

Personal value

Stance	Specialness	Ordinariness	Nobility
Summary	I have a distinct and superior value given by the eternal ordering principle	My value comes from being like everyone else	Developing all my abilities in order to serve others
What it denies	Shared humanity	Unusualness
What it fixates
The sales pitch	You are better than they are	Don’t put on airs	Be all you can be
Emotional appeal	Reinforces ego	No need to live up to potential
Pattern of thinking	Disdain; self-aggrandisement	Fearfulness, laziness	Impeccability
Likely next stances	Mission, true self	Materialism	Enjoyable usefulness
Accomplishment	Autoapotheosis	Baaaaaa	Heroism
How it causes suffering	Ego-trips; role anxiety; need for constant confirmation	Suppression of individuality
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Familiarity of experience; maintaining image is exhausting	Unusual impulses; cannot conform to herd	Selfishness; fear; laziness
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	Recognition of shared humanity	Recognition of potential and uniqueness
Intelligent aspect	Recognition of potential and uniqueness	Recognition of shared humanity
Positive appropriation after resolution	Nobility does rise above the ordinary	Humility is an aspect of nobility

Capability

Stance	Total responsibility	Victim-think	Light-heartedness
Summary	We each create our own reality and are responsible for everything that happens in it	It’s not my fault and I am too weak to deal with it	Playfully co-create reality in collaboration with each other and the world
What it denies	Contingency, limits	Responsibility, capability, freedom
What it fixates
The sales pitch	Perfect circumstances can be achieved with sufficient effort	You are oppressed and therefore blameless
Emotional appeal	Fantasy of control over future	No need to make any effort	No need for self-criticism or for anxiety
Pattern of thinking	Aggressive, paranoid	Fearful, depressed, emotionally manipulative	Effortless accomplishment
Likely next stances	Specialness, true self, mission	Ordinariness, materialism	Nobility, ethical responsiveness
Accomplishment	King of the Universe	Have all needs met by exploiting others’ pity	Effortless creativity
How it causes suffering	Hypervigilance; can’t meet infinite requirements with finite capacity	Resentment, depression, neglect of opportunities
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Obviousness of limits	Obviousness of opportunities	Hard to let go of need to be reassured about outcomes
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	Letting go of fantasies of accomplishment; willingness to fail	Gratitude; letting go of payoffs; walking away; practical action
Intelligent aspect	Recognition of possibility	Recognition of limits
Positive appropriation after resolution	Experience depends more on our own perception & action than is usually thought	Because we have finite capabilities, we can cut ourselves some slack

Ethics

Stance	Ethical totalitarianism	Ethical nihilism	Ethical responsiveness
Summary	The Cosmic Plan dictates a fixed ethical code according to which we ought to live	Ethics is a meaningless human invention and has no real claim on us	Ethics is centrally important to humans, and is not a matter of choice, but is fluid and has no definite source
What it denies	Ambiguity of ethics; freedom; courage; creativity	Ethical imperativeness
What it fixates
The sales pitch	Cosmic justice guarantees reward/punishment if you obey/defy the ethical code	Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law	Ethical anxiety is unnecessary
Emotional appeal	Avoiding blame; preventing others from harming/offending you	Take what you want; don’t let morality get in the way
Pattern of thinking	Self-righteousness	Arrogance	Light-hearted concern
Likely next stances	Religiosity, mission	Secularism, materialism	Light-heartedness, nobility
Accomplishment	Remorseless soldier of God	Sociopathy	Ethical maturity
How it causes suffering	Harmful actions are sometimes required by the supposed rules; beneficial ones may not be promoted	Without ethics, harmful actions are just rational self-interest
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Situations in which ethical rules are unclear or promote obvious harm	Natural concern for others	Requires close attention to particulars; no guarantee of blamelessness
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	Allowing ethical ambiguity	Respecting ethical imperatives
Intelligent aspect	Recognizes the importance of ethics	Recognizes the ambiguity of ethics
Positive appropriation after resolution	Points toward nobility	Points toward ethical maturity

Social authority

Stance	Reasonable respectability	Romantic rebellion	Freedom
Summary	Contribute to social order by conforming to traditions	Make an artistic statement by defying authority	Value social order as a resource; satirize it as an impediment
What it denies	Nebulosity of social order	Value of social order
What it fixates
The sales pitch	Law’n’order	Death to the oppressors!
Emotional appeal	It’s safe	It’s sexy
Pattern of thinking	Emotional constriction	Confused romantic passion, testosterone poisoning	Political maturity
Likely next stances	Ordinariness; dualism	Specialness; mission; nihilistic rage; true self	Nobility, light-heartedness, kadag
Accomplishment	Pillar of society	Romantic martyrdom
How it causes suffering	Complicity in oppression; abandoning of responsibility and moral maturity	Opposes realistic action to ameliorate conditions; justifies violence
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Social conventions stifle expression and opportunity	Silly; doomed by definition	Urgency of social imperatives
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	Who cares what they think?	I’m being silly and just striking a pose to look cool
Intelligent aspect	Recognizes value of social order	Recognizes arbitrary and restrictive character of social order
Positive appropriation after resolution	Points toward kingly qualities of nobility; society as a beneficial structure	Points toward warrior qualities of nobility; charismatically involving; makes splendid art

Sacredness

Stance	Religiosity	Secularism	Kadag
Summary	The sacred and the profane are clearly distinct in the Cosmic Plan	Sacredness is mere superstition; nothing is sacred	Because nothing is inherently sacred, everything can be sacred
What it denies	Nebulosity of sacredness; vastness	Sacredness; vastness
What it fixates
The sales pitch	Avoid contamination through ritual purity	Freed from religion, we can get on with practical projects	The good bits of religion without the dogma
Emotional appeal	Personal superiority through religious conformity; minimize uncanniness of vastness by codifying it	Don’t have to think about that uncomfortable religion stuff; pretend you don’t see vastness and hope it goes away	Can neither dismiss nor grab onto sacredness
Pattern of thinking	Self-righteousness	Pretending not to care about meaning; apathy	Awe
Likely next stances	Reasonable respectability, mission, specialness	Materialism, ordinariness	Freedom
Accomplishment	Perfect ritual purity	Total inability to experience awe	Ability to experience anything as sacred
How it causes suffering	Paranoia about contamination; resources and opportunities wasted; tribalist vilification	Flatness of existence in the absence of the sacred
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Obvious mundanity of religious forms	Spontaneous religious feelings	Innate reactions of disgust
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	Purity is a matter of perception, not truth	I do sometimes experience awe
Intelligent aspect	Recognition of sacredness	Recognition that nothing is inherently sacred
Positive appropriation after resolution	Sacredness matters	Narrow religion is harmful; something better is available

Contingency

Stance	Causality	Chaos	Flow
Summary	Everything happens for the best, in accord with the Cosmic Plan. (Except free will lets us do evil.)	The universe is random; nothing happens for any particular reason	There are no ultimate causes, and causation is nebulous, but we naturally observe patterns
What it denies	Pointless suffering	Interpretability
What it fixates
The sales pitch	There is no need to suffer, so long as you conform to the Cosmic Plan	[This is a hard sell ] God is dead.	Dance with reality
Emotional appeal	Can pretend there is no pointless suffering	[This may be only a theoretical possibility]
Pattern of thinking	Kitsch	Despair	Realism
Likely next stances	Eternalism, religiosity	Nihilism, secularism
Accomplishment	Pollyanna, Candide	La Nausé (Sartre)	Maximal ability to influence events, without attachment to outcome
How it causes suffering	Denying pointless suffering makes it hard to alleviate	[Theoretically, inability to take practical action]
Obstacles to maintaining the stance	Obviousness of pointless suffering (our own and others’)	Obviousness of causality	No guarantees
Antidotes; counter-thoughts	Lots of stuff just happens	[Probably not necessary]
Intelligent aspect	Things often do make sense	Things often are inherently uninterpretable
Positive appropriation after resolution	Points toward pragmatic competence	Points toward comfort with uncertainty