Jordan Peterson, in one of his lectures, paraphrases Nietzsche who stated that he who knows why can stand anyhow. My interpretation of this quote is that pain, suffering, malevolence and existence are bearable if people know why they live and suffer.
Therefore, a cultural or personal value system is essential to our survival, our sanity, our chance to lead a good, happy life. Let me quote Peterson from Page xxxi of his book, 12 RULES FOR LIFE AN ANTIDOTE TO CHAOS: "Worse yet is the fact that the meaning of life without positive value is not simply neutral. Because we are vulnerable and mortal, pain and anxiety are an integral part of human existence. We must have something to set against the suffering that is intrinsic to Being. We must have the meaning inherent in a profound system of value or the horror of existence rapidly becomes paramount. Them, nihilism beckons, with its hopelessness and despair."
Jordan is correct that we need positive values and a meaning system to have hope, a reason to live, a reason to get up in the morning. It is less important that our value system is objectively true or not, but it is vital that we believe it is, or hope that is.
Humans encounter and are part-absurdity, but it cannot be their value system of valuelessness and meaninglessness.
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