The Moral Path to Meaning

Photo by Nathan Lemon on Unsplash

In previous newsletters, I’ve discussed what science tells us about living a meaningful life. Our overall sense of meaning is deeply connected to outward-oriented social action. We feel most meaningful when we are actively engaged in making a positive difference in the lives of others, whether it’s raising children, mentoring a colleague, building a business, volunteering in our communities, or simply showing up consistently for the people who count on us.

This week I want to discuss research that deepens our understanding of the existential benefits of social action by showing that the character we bring to our interactions with others also plays a role in how meaningful our lives feel. Specifically, a series of recent studies published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology examined whether everyday moral character contributes to a person’s sense of meaning. The findings suggest it does.

The researchers examined the relationship between moral character and meaning in life across three studies spanning two cultures. Instead of relying on self-report measures of moral character, which can be distorted by the desire to see ourselves in a favorable light, they used reputation-based measures. This involved asking close friends, family members, coworkers, and acquaintances to evaluate each participant’s moral character, and then having those participants separately report on their own sense of meaning as well as broader measures of wellbeing. Rather than focusing on any single moral behavior like donating or volunteering, which may not reflect a person’s overall character, the researchers assessed a broad range of everyday moral traits, such as compassion, honesty, fairness, loyalty, respectfulness, and dependability.

Across all three studies, the pattern was consistent. People who were rated as more moral by others reported a stronger sense of meaning in life as well as greater subjective wellbeing, including more positive emotion and greater life satisfaction. These findings held among U.S. college students whose close others rated their character, among Chinese employees whose coworkers rated them, and among a U.S. sample in which participants nominated people they personally knew as being among the most moral, least moral, or morally average in their lives. Those nominated as most moral reported higher meaning and wellbeing than those in the other groups.

The association between morality and meaning held across different dimensions of moral character. It was not driven solely by kindness-related traits like compassion. Integrity-related traits like honesty and fairness were also positively associated with meaning, even though integrity often involves standing up for principles in ways that can create social friction. Religiosity is a well-documented source of meaning, but the connection between moral character and meaning in these studies held even after accounting for religiosity.

The researchers explored why moral people tend to fare better, and the most consistent finding was that moral individuals reported having better relationships. When you treat people with compassion, honesty, and respect, you build the kind of strong relationships that support meaning. Our lives feel most significant when we are deeply embedded in the lives of others, and moral character appears to be one of the ways we build and sustain those bonds.

Studies my colleagues and I have conducted suggests that this relationship may go both ways. We found that the more people desire to live a meaningful life, the more they prioritize social goals and engage in prosocial behavior such as volunteering and charitable giving. In other words, the need for meaning itself appears to orient people toward others, and treating others well in turn supports meaning. Morality and meaning seem to reinforce each other.

This research on moral character and meaning enriches our understanding of the social nature of meaning by highlighting that it is not just about what we do. It is also about how we do it. Being honest in our dealings, treating people fairly, showing compassion when it is needed, and being someone others can count on are all ways we demonstrate that the people in our lives matter to us. And in doing so, we build the kind of life that makes us feel like we matter too.

These findings also reinforce a point I’ve made in a previous newsletter. Meaning is accessible to all of us through the everyday choices we make. The researchers were not studying acts of moral heroism or extraordinary courage. They were studying regular people and their everyday moral behavior, and among those regular people, those with stronger moral character experienced more meaning in their lives.

Have a great weekend!

Clay