a philosophical question

does it make sense to say that something has meaning "in and of itself?"

what does that mean, in practical (not just mathematical) terms? is it a kind of symmetry (frankly, the only kind of symmetry experienced in my life tends to be absurd/meaningless, i.e., the ironic symmetry of the "return trip down")? or is it a kind of sense of structure? is internally consistent meaning something similar to the japanese character for sincerity, that the heart "means what it says?" and if so, then doesn't meaning relate to speaking, and isn't speaking/language the "external" structuring of thoughts?

how can such immanent meaning even be aware of itself? how can it see that it is consistent? consistent with what?

just messing with these questions. honestly, i'd rather avoid them completely. philosophical issues are fundamentally irresolvable, i think. at some point, faith jumps into the picture, with its "leaps." and then we just realize we're jumping to conclusions. always jumping.

philosophy as such entertains. but living is an entirely different animal. it has its own motivations. its own meanings. just because we question what those meanings are doesn't mean that we can or even want to change them in any way. if anything, philosophy just makes most people feel acutely the absurdity of their existence.

it does for me, anyway.

... but then again, maybe absurdity is at the heart of civilization. it is the attempt to distance oneself. and maybe if we are, like, totally far out, then we can forget what we used to be, and what we are.