Solomon claims in this verse to have been truly involved in this research endeavour with all his heart. His heart was set on discovering the essence, the true meaning of everything that occurs on earth. He already informs us of the conclusion of his investigation, of which the report is recorded in the following chapters. He had started by investigating everything through the framework of human wisdom. The conclusion is: “I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.” It seems like nothing makes sense. It seems that in the end all any human being ever does is chase the wind. It seems like it doesn’t matter what anyone strives for, in the end it all yields nothing.
Here we see how the wisdom that never proceeds any further than this creation inevitably leads to a dead end. This wisdom ends in pessimism, in cynicism. It does not provide any hope or prospect.
17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.