From Endurance To Enjoyment: A Multi-dimensional Research On Human Loneliness And Its Humanistic Values

Loneliness, which is intrinsic in human psychic and experience, has been one of the essential focuses, or underlying forces of quite a part of world literature. It has also been intricately involved with other aspects of humanity:alienation, separateness, independence, competition, to mention but a few. In a broad sense, all the human beings are subject to the influence of loneliness. Since loneliness is such a fundamental pattern of human condition with both positive and negative effects, a research into loneliness can provide insight into human nature and existence as well as useful means to cope with it. Therefore, the theme of this research is on the nature, forms, manifests, causes and effects of human loneliness, as well as ways to cope with it, with emphasis on the humanistic values and myth of it in the hope of helping people to get rid of the negative effects on human beings and turn from suffering from loneliness to enjoying it.Accordingly, the meaning of loneliness is defined in increasing depth in Chapter One and found in remarkable consensus among different sources. Then a conceptual review of existing research methods and approaches is made in Chapter Two, concerning theoretical dimensions and measurement of loneliness and covering psychology, psychiatry, sociology, physical health and development issues. In Chapter Three, the nature, manifests and effects of loneliness are explored empirically with many illustrations from cultural celebrities; it is revealed that human loneliness, with both negative and positive effects and diverse forms of manifest, is inevitable, universal and dynamic in nature. In Chapter Four, the causes of loneliness are analyzed in depth mainly in terms of human animality and Maslow's hierarchy of human needs with the findings that the contradiction between the unity and diversity of human loneliness can be explained by the similarity in basic needs and the difference in higher needs. Based on these findings, strategies for coping with loneliness are categorized in Chapter Five; it is cautioned that corresponding strategies should be adopted for different situations and the success lies in the shift of attitude towards loneliness from suffering to enjoying it. Chapter Six is the highlight of this research, in which some relationships between loneliness and human values are dialectically discussed, covering important human issues such as humanity, human existence, self-awareness, freedom, affections, and the cognition of beauty. It is discovered that loneliness is either intrinsic in or closely related to these aspects and there are desirable possibilities in human loneliness far more that we suppose. These findings can help us not only to cope with loneliness successfully, but also to deepen our insight into human nature and existence.It is concluded in Chapter Seven that loneliness results from the alienation of nature and the formation of social community. The social existence is likely to lead to the feeling of loneliness due to the alienation either from social norms, or from social competitive mechanism or from individuality. It is inevitable in human life.