The noun “quaesitum” originates from the Latin word “quaesītum,” or “to seek.” It’s human nature to seek out meaning in life. American philosopher William James addressed this in a lecture called “Pragmatism” (which itself means “an approach that assesses the truth of meaning of theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application”). On the search for “quaesitum,” he said, “You want a system that will combine both things, the scientific loyalty to facts and willingness to take account of them, the spirit of adaptation and accommodation, in short, but also the old confidence in human values and the resultant spontaneity, whether of the religious or of the romantic type. And this is then your dilemma: You find the two parts of your quaesitum hopelessly separated.”