Introduction

Abstract

Let’s start from the simple premise that a central part of our lives is devoted to making sense of what is going on. And this involves finding the meanings of things, people, and events in order to figure out what they stand for and where we stand in relation to them. Finding meaning is a process of orientation, of deciphering the world, and building conceptual maps to guide us. Such a process never takes place in isolation. Finding mean­ing, even if it leads to a radical rejection of our world and the values that sustain our lives, requires acts of communication: it is a continuous search for agreement and recognition that one’s meanings are valid and therefore can be understood, perhaps shared by others. Meaning, then, is closely linked with speech, with addressing and opening up to others.