Life, fantasy and possibility: the contemporary fragility of the human project

Abstract

In this work, drawing on the philosophy of José Ortega y Gasset and weaving connections with contemporary philosophical hermeneutics, we will develop a framework for understanding the current crisis, which we refer to as a crisis of existential meaning. This crisis is not limited exclusively to aspects of mental health or mood but can also be related to one's vocation in life, which can be thought of as a hermeneutic problem reflected in the existential obstruction of the actions that enable a person to live. The lack of a life project may be caused by a lack of imagination and creativity. But this leads to a feeling of disorientation and shipwreck, to a lack of meaning.

Within this framework, the aspects we will address are: life, fantasy and metaphor. The disarticulation of this triad, seen from Ortega's theory, enables a feeling of existential fragility; on the contrary, its integration can offer the restoration of the ability to orient oneself in the world.