the etiology of the existential vacuum

in contrast to an animal, no drives and instincts tell man what he must do .. unlike man in former times, he is no longer told what he should do by conventions, traditions, and values .. often he does not even know what he basically wishes .. (but) what other people do, or he does what other people wish him to do. That is to say, he falls prey to conformism or totalitarianism, respectively, the first being representative for the West, the second being representative for the East.

Viktor Frankl, The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy

mimetic desire

linked mentions for "the etiology of the existential vacuum":

1. what to si
   “C” is not an “a”, and it is not a “b” — this is to suggest that C is consequently flowing and not merely a choice. They don’t have to watch the