Welcoming master’s and doctoral students, Veni Creator Christian University held the online lecture “Academic Horizons 2025: The Meaning of Life is a Matter of Intelligence” on Wednesday, January 15.

The lecture was delivered by psychologist Dr. Andréa Cristina Fermiano, a specialist in organizational psychology from FADERGS, and a researcher in the fields of Positive Psychology, Positive Organizational Behavior, Leadership, Management and Subjectivity at Work, Emotional Intelligence, and Spiritual Intelligence.

The event was opened by Dr. Maria Emília and Dr. Marcela Tarciana (the institution’s academic rector).

“In an increasingly dynamic and complex world, the search for purpose is not only an existential necessity but also an exercise in emotional, social, and spiritual intelligence. We thank everyone for being here and being part of this event,” they emphasized.

During the online event, Dr. Andréa Cristina Fermiano discussed various types of intelligence (Spiritual, Rational, and Emotional), the meaning of life, mass neurosis, existential frustration, and recommended authors who address these themes, such as Viktor Frankl.

“The path to the meaning of life does not come from a manual and cannot be read in a book; we need other movements to find meaning. You may have heard of Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and theorist of the psychology of life’s meaning. Despite being books from the 1970s and 1980s, they, unfortunately, remain relevant today. He said that back then—and this is even stronger today—we live in a mass neurosis, an existential void, and existential frustration. He stated he had never seen so many people without meaning in their lives, feeling empty,” she explained.

Dr. Andréa Fermiano highlighted that, according to Viktor Frankl, the neurosis of the times has worsened since the 1980s.

She also analyzed that today’s society lives in a world better than any medieval king or queen ever experienced. Back then, people lived in castles but faced difficulties with basic needs such as health, medication, travel conditions, access to information, and food.

“We are living in a time where people are very self-centered. A fragile ego, where we put ourselves before everything else. Our meaning of life seems to be about success, money, importance, and recognition. The objective is external, centered on ourselves, and this is one of the great problems of modern times,” she analyzed.

Fermiano also addressed decision-making with intelligence and the pursuit of knowledge, emphasizing that “knowledge is liberating.” “I brought this perspective from Paulo Freire to exemplify the first stage of our spiritual intelligence, which is deep critical thinking… the first step of spiritual intelligence is knowledge, and this is what sets us free,” she said.

The lecture included participation from students who asked questions, seeking a deeper understanding of the subject matter.