Missing the True Cause: A Logoteleological Diagnosis of Persistent Human Failure

© 2025 Luis A. Marrero. Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose

"They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.’” (Isaiah 30:9–11, NIV)

"Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions"

Introduction

From ancient Judah to modern boardrooms, governments, and political and social arenas, the spirit of denialism endures. It is not just a refusal to accept bad news—it is a deeper rejection of the true cause: the real motive, intent, or meaning behind our actions and outcomes. When leaders and communities choose comfort over clarity, they block the very insight that could lead to transformation.

The Familiar Alarm: Missing the True Cause

I keep experiencing these “here we go again” moments—not with cynicism, but with a sort of caring concern.

Each week, I read headlines about the latest workplace or societal crisis. Recently, two issues caught my attention: AI Precariat and Quiet Cracking.

• AI Precariat describes the increasing instability faced by workers whose livelihoods are affected or displaced by artificial intelligence. It’s the Sorcerer’s Apprentice[i] all over again: we’ve released powerful tools and forces without the wisdom or character to control them.

• Quiet Cracking refers to a silent form of disengagement at work. Employees aren’t physically leaving, but they are emotionally disconnecting internally and experiencing distress. It’s not about withdrawal or defiance—it’s about silent suffering. The distress is real, recurring, and often ignored until it erupts. It indicates managerial disconnection and cultural decline.

What is unsettling to me is not just the problems themselves—it is how familiar they are. These are not new issues. They are age-old patterns disguised in modern language. And they do not lack solutions. What they lack is -- to start with -- what logoteleology calls meaning lucidity: the ability to see the true cause[i] beneath the noise.

Practitioners keep listing symptoms, suggesting solutions, and launching initiatives, as if they are going to make a positive difference. But without collective clarity, willingness, and real purpose, they are treating surface wounds while the deeper fracture stays untouched. For instance, notice Gallup’s data on Global Employee Engagement Trends based on publicly available reports and summaries.

Global Employee Engagement Trends (Gallup)

Year	% Engaged	% Not Engaged	% Actively Disengaged	Notable Insights
2013	13%	~63%	~24%	First major global report; engagement is lowest in Western Europe
2017	15%	~67%	~18%	Slight improvement; manager impact emphasized
2020	20%	~60%	~20%	Pandemic stress spikes disengagement; remote work challenges
2023	23%	~59%	~18%	Record high engagement, but the majority still disengaged
2024	21%	62%	15%	Engagement drops again; Europe is lowest at 13%
2025	21%	~61%	~18%	Manager disengagement is flagged as a critical risk

Cost of Disengagement (2024–2025): Estimated at $8.8 trillion annually—about 9% of global GDP.

These figures underscore my thesis in The Familiar Alarm: the crisis isn’t new—it’s chronic. The numbers shift slightly, but the underlying pattern remains.

Yet, what I find most fascinating is how practitioners persist in using legacy solutions as if they will solve the problem or as if improvements will last. Despite billions of dollars spent on improvement programs, the empirical evidence is overwhelming -- they are not moving the index in a positive direction over time. (I will provide more evidence in my upcoming book, Meaningantics.)

This is where Meaningantics comes in.

For more than fifteen years, I have been saying that current solutions will not work – cannot work -- as long as academics, practitioners, and policymakers continue to operate from flawed meanings. 

Meaningantics is a term I use to describe the distortion of meaning—when words, values, and intentions are twisted to serve agendas rather than truth. We see it everywhere: in corporate mission statements that sound noble but hide dysfunction, in leadership jargon that confuses rather than clarifies, in so-called “solutions” driven by profit instead of creating lasting, meaningful change, and in public discourse where “meaning” and “purpose” are marketed but seldom genuinely practiced or understood.

In logoteleological terms, the cycle continues because:

• Lucidity is missing—people fail to see the deeper, causal patterns beneath surface symptoms.

• Willingness is absent—even when the truth is visible, there is resistance to change.

• Meaningful purpose is neglected—actions are taken without anchoring them in enduring, ethical, and transformative meaning.

While technological, political, and economic challenges dominate headlines, the more profound crisis is existential and epistemic. Without cultivating lucidity, embracing truth, and aligning with meaningful purpose—as articulated in Logoteleology—societies risk perpetuating problems they are otherwise equipped to resolve.

Meaningantics is not just a linguistic problem—it’s a moral one. The bottom line is we have a serious meaning problem. The bulk of humanity is operating out of absent, incomplete, and corrupt meanings. Further, when we misuse meaning, we erode dignity. We confuse people. We make it harder for them to discern what’s real, what’s trustworthy, and what’s worth committing to. And in that fog, even the most well-intentioned solutions lose their power.

Meaningful Purpose Psychology: A Realistic, Positive, and Optimistic Science

Meaningful Purpose Psychology (MP) emerged to address a profound and persistent void—not a lack of knowledge, but a failure of will. Across disciplines and cultures, humanity has amassed countless solutions to its most pressing problems. Yet paradoxically, these answers often remain unused, not because they are inaccessible, but because individuals and institutions lack the courage, clarity, or motivation to act on them. MP confronts this paradox head-on, offering a framework that empowers people to reclaim agency through educated, lucid free will. It asserts that the human spirit, when properly informed and aligned with meaningful purpose, is capable of extraordinary transformation.

At its core, MP is both optimistic and realistic. It champions the belief that human beings possess innate potential for greatness—not in a naïve or utopian sense, but through deliberate cultivation of (logoteleological)  meaningful meaning, dignity, and lucidity. This science does not shy away from the darker aspects of human nature or the complexity of systemic dysfunction. Instead, it insists on facing reality as it is, rejecting denialism, escapism, and any other form of “comfort distraction” in favor of grounded hope. By encouraging individuals to operate from truth rather than illusion, MP fosters resilience, ethical clarity, and purposeful action.

However, MP also warns of a growing disconnect between our tools and our character—the phenomenon explained in the study of Meaningantics. [i] As humanity rapidly advances in technology, it often fails to develop the moral maturity required to wield these tools responsibly (e.g., The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Phenomenon).

While such advances hold great potential, they also increase harm when separated from righteous purpose. Meaningantics highlights this ethical gap: the tendency to create powerful tools without embedding them within a framework of dignity, clarity, and meaningful purpose. MP calls for a recalibration—not only of what we build but of who we become in the process. Without this alignment, progress risks becoming dangerous.

Summary:

Meaningful Purpose Psychology (MP) provides a bold response to a silent crisis: humanity’s inability to act on the solutions it already has. Rooted in realism and optimism, MP affirms that through clear, educated free will, individuals and societies can overcome denialism and regain their ability for ethical, purposeful living. It confronts the Meaningantics phenomenon—where, among other things, technological advancement outpaces moral development—and calls for a recalibration of character to match the power of our tools. MP is not just a theory; it is a practical science of transformation, grounded in dignity, lucidity, and the belief that human greatness is achievable when meaning is made actionable.

Call to Action:

If you are a leader, educator, counselor, policymaker, or change agent, the time to act is now. Start by asking: Are the tools I use aligned with core humane values? Are my decisions clear, respectful, and motivated by meaningful meanings? Will my legacy solutions create a long-lasting positive impact?

Let MP guide your journey toward ethical clarity and meaningful change. Share this framework, challenge denialism, and help build a culture where meaning is not just spoken about—but truly lived. The future depends not on what we invent, but on who we choose to become.

For those ready to move from insight to impact, we invite you to take the next step. Whether you're seeking personal clarity, organizational transformation, or a deeper understanding of Meaningful Purpose Psychology, we’re here to walk alongside you. Let’s make breakthroughs that matter. Join us at www.bostonimp.com/contact—because the future needs lucid minds and purposeful hearts.

For a short video on the subject, click here: https://lumen5.com/user/luis-o9t/missing-the-true-cau-2icng/

References & Resources

• Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose. (n.d.). Resources and frameworks. Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose.

• Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man’s search for meaning. Beacon Press.

• Gallup. (2023). State of the global workplace: 2023 report. Gallup, Inc. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx

• Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.

• Gray, M. L., & Suri, S. (2019). Ghost work: How to stop Silicon Valley from building a new global underclass. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

• Harari, Y. N. (2018). 21 lessons for the 21st century. Spiegel & Grau.

• Jonas, H. (1984). The imperative of responsibility: In search of an ethics for the technological age. University of Chicago Press.

• Maha Hosain Aziz (2025). The overlooked global risk of the AI precariat. World Economic Forum. The overlooked global risk of the AI precariat | World Economic Forum.

• Marrero, L. A. (2013). The Path to a Meaningful Purpose: Psychological Foundations of Logoteleology. iUniverse Press.

• Marrero, L. A. (forthcoming). Meaningantics. Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose.

• Marrero, L. A., & Persuitte, D. (2022). Meaningful Purpose: A Primer in Logoteleology. iUniverse Press.

• Postman, N. (1992). Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology. Vintage Books.

• Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.

• Torres, Monica. (2025). You Might Be 'Quietly Cracking' At Work And Not Even Know It. HuffPost. You Might Be 'Quietly Cracking' At Work And Not Even Know It

• United Nations. (2023). Ethics and artificial intelligence: Global perspectives. https://www.un.org/en/ai-ethics

[i] The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a classic tale—popularized by Goethe’s 1797 poem—in which a young apprentice uses magic he doesn’t fully understand, unleashing chaos he cannot control. It’s often used as a metaphor for the dangers of wielding power or technology without wisdom or mastery.

[ii] True Cause in Logoteleology

In Logoteleology—also known as Meaningful Purpose Psychology—the term “true cause” refers to the actual source of human motivation and behavior, as revealed through the content of meaning. It includes, but is not merely, what triggers an action, but the teleological motivator: the real why behind a person’s choices, whether constructive, destructive, or morally ambiguous.

Luis A. Marrero, the founder of Logoteleology, distinguishes “true cause” from superficial or misleading drivers by examining the construct of meaning, which includes:

• Three rational components: beliefs, values, and goals

• Two sensory components: sensory and physical responses

• One teleological component: the true cause, which answers:

“What is the actual purpose, motive, or intent that this behavior serves?”

Importantly, the true cause is morally neutral. It may reflect lucid, dignified, and purpose-driven intent—but it can also expose distorted meaning (i.e., dysmeaning), such as:

• Self-serving rationalizations

• Fear-based or manipulative motives

• Unexamined biases or inherited beliefs

• Meaning blocking that leads to suffering or stagnation

Thus, the teleological layer of meaning helps uncover whether a person’s actions are aligned with genuine purpose or driven by false constructs. It is a diagnostic lens—not a moral verdict—that reveals the authentic reason behind behavior, even when that reason is unfair, harmful, or unconscious.

In short, true cause in Logoteleology is the actual, real, final, goal-oriented motive embedded in meaning. It is the answer to why we do what we do—or why something happens, whether lucid or lost, dignified or distorted.

[iii] Marrero, L.A. (forthcoming). Meaningantics. Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose Publishing.