39 pages • 1 hour read
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
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Chapter 9-AfterwordChapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2: “The Six Senses”
Chapter 9 Summary: “Meaning”
Victor Frankl was a psychiatrist working on a new theory for psychological well-being when he was taken to Auschwitz in 1942. His manuscript had been sewn into the coat SS guards took from his back, and it seemed his life’s work would also be eradicated by the Holocaust. Frankl could not let go of his theory, however, and spent the next three years rewriting his theory on bits of scrap paper. A year after his liberation, he released Man’s Search for Meaning. Within his text, Pink summarizes, Frankl demonstrates that meaning—profound, life-long meaning—can be found despite suffering, and perhaps even because of it. This is not to say that all suffering brings forth meaning, nor that suffering can be understood as good because it led to meaning. Rather, the search for meaning is an innate aspect of humanity that drives individuals to find it under any circumstances.
One of the first steps to achieving Meaning is to begin taking spirituality more seriously. Typically, spirituality is associated with religion, but Pink wants to separate spirituality from spiritualism and make it more about believing in something larger than just individualism. Taking on spirituality involves understanding that humans are inherently social creatures who seek “a sense of coherence and purpose” (222). Businesses have begun to embrace the turn toward spirituality by implementing spiritual values into their company ethos. When they do so, studies have found that these companies tend to outperform their competitors and maintain long-term employees (224).
The next step toward Meaning is to take happiness seriously. Happiness stems from a variety of sources; part of it depends on biology, part of it depends upon circumstance. For the latter, finding professional fulfillment, avoiding sources of negativity, and having a healthy social life contribute greatly to one’s happiness.
Pink then dives into a metaphor for the search for meaning: mazes and labyrinths. Mazes and labyrinths are often considered the same thing, but they are not; a maze is a series of intentionally confusing paths, and a labyrinth is a spiraled path. Upon entering a maze, the intention is to escape; with a labyrinth, the intention is to reach the center. Pink considers it another way: “You can get lost in a maze; you can lose yourself in a labyrinth. Mazes engage the left brain; labyrinths free the right brain” (228). Studies have shown that hospitals and nursing homes that have labyrinths on the grounds report happier residents. Pink attributes this finding to the meditative quality of labyrinths, which promote exercise of the body and mind. While mazes offer an objective search, labyrinths foster the search for Meaning.
To find Meaning, Pink advises practicing gratitude, taking one day off from all forms of work, making a list of obstacles and how to overcome them, picturing life at 90, and, of course, visiting a labyrinth.
Afterword Summary
Pink briefly recaps the ethos of this text. They can be surmised by three major questions readers can ask themselves about the work they perform:
1. Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
2. Can a computer do it faster?
3. Am I offering something that satisfies the nonmaterial, transcendent desires of an abundant age?
The abilities needed to succeed in the Conceptual Age are the six senses, but they are also fundamental to humanity. Therefore, Pink suggests, these attributes are accessible to every reader because they are innate. All that readers must overcome in achieving these is their own preconceptions—and keeping up with the fast-paced world they live in.
Chapter 9-Afterword Analysis
Meaning, Chapter 9’s focus, is the heart of the text. Each sense mastered contributes to the reader’s overall ability to find and make lasting meaning in their lives. Meaning is also a “sense” that exists within each of the senses that come before it. Design gives meaning to functionality; Story conveys meaning through narrative; Symphony uncovers meaning within multiple elements; Empathy facilitates meaningful human interactions; Play provides meaning through joy and release. If the six senses are to be understood as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, then mastering Meaning achieves self-actualization. Pink arrives at this conclusion in a post-materialist manner. Within each chapter, Pink highlights the R-Directed Thinking that is valued within a highly competitive market that relies on cultural materialism. With Meaning, the chapter is less focused on how to utilize this sense for professional success and more concerned with demonstrating how it contributes to individuals’ quality of life. Pink dubs this cultural shift the “Fourth Great Awakening” (219), suggesting that, like the three before it, it will influence society for generations to come. This is also a fitting name in that it highlights the shift’s connection to spirituality. Although, unlike those before it, this Great Awakening is not concerned with religious belief per se, it involves an enlightenment that emphasizes the sanctity and greater significance to life that accompanies religious beliefs.
By opening Chapter 9 with Frankl’s story, Pink demonstrates that the search for meaning is not only a natural human tendency, but a drive that perseveres even through great trauma. Meaning is thus a sense accessible to all, though Pink demonstrates that it will take effort. Frankl’s story also highlights one key insight implied throughout the text: At the end of our lives, money and success won’t matter—fulfillment and peace will. Pink reaches Meaning, narratively and thematically, through a series of anecdotes and statistics that argue for the efficacy of embracing R-Directed Thinking; with Meaning, Pink does this and a bit more, arguing that the best reason for strengthening both hemispheres of the brain is not success in the business world, but happiness. Meaning is becoming a necessary aptitude for professional success only because more individuals are prioritizing it in their personal lives, and the business world is following suit.
The maze/labyrinth metaphor Pink employs in Chapter 9 encapsulates the differences between the left and right hemispheres. As Pink demonstrates, different parts of the brain are activated when one walks through a maze and through a labyrinth. Implied as Pink describes this symbolization is that, just like the hemispheres, both activities serve meaningful purposes. The experiences they offer are equally enjoyable, just in a very different manner. Introducing this metaphor at the very end of the text is a tool Pink uses to highlight his own mastery of the senses; he demonstrates his ability to decipher Meaning within mundane tasks.
The three questions Pink poses within the Afterword serve as a call to action. Now that readers have come to the conclusion, they can evaluate where they stand in their progress towards mastering the six senses and interpret the work that still needs to be done. The text ends on an auspicious tone, implying that the text’s lessons are well within the grasp of its readers and encouraging their growth. Most importantly, the Afterword highlights the importance of adaptability; though Pink has given readers every tool they’ll need to succeed within the Conceptual Age, he ominously alludes to the constant progression of society, potentially leaving readers with the sense that they are already behind.
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By Daniel H. Pink
