What is a Human Being?
A human being is a biosocial and represents the highest level of development of all living organisms on earth,the subject of labour,of the social forms of life,communication,and consciousness.
What is an Embodied Spirit?
Embodied spirit is the living animating core within each of us,the driving force behind all that we think,say, and do.
A human person is an embodied spirit whose nature has numerous bodily,affective,cognitive,volitional and gender capacities,the expression of which may lead by freedom to flourishing in a harmony with one’s nature.
The Dharma is a key concept in Buddhism and Hinduism. In English there are generally two distinct (but connected) meanings. The first is that The Dharma simply means the collective teachings of The Buddha. In this respect, you might think of the Dharma as simply meaning “The Teachings.”
The Four Noble Truths contain the essence of the Buddha’s teachings. It was these four principles that the Buddha came to understand during his meditation under the bodhi tree.
1. The truth of suffering (Dukkha)
2. The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudāya)
3. The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha)
4. The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga)
The Buddha is often compared to a physician. In the first two Noble Truths he diagnosed the problem (suffering) and identified its cause. The third Noble Truth is the realisation that there is a cure.
Within the fourth noble truth is found the guide to the end of suffering: the noble eightfold path. The eight parts of the path to liberation are grouped into three essential elements of Buddhist practice—moral conduct, mental discipline, and wisdom. The Buddha taught the eightfold path in virtually all his discourses, and his directions are as clear and practical to his followers today as they were when he first gave them.
THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH
1. Right understanding (Samma ditthi)
2. Right thought (Samma sankappa)
3. Right speech (Samma vaca)
4. Right action (Samma kammanta)
5. Right livelihood (Samma ajiva)
6. Right effort (Samma vayama)
7. Right mindfulness (Samma sati)
8. Right concentration (Samma samadhi)
Embodied Spirits
What does Catholicism believe about the relationship between the body and spirit? As Catholics we understand from scripture and Tradition that as human beings we are created in the image and likeness of God. We believe we are created as “embodied spirits,” which means our souls are not separate from our bodies, or our bodies from our souls. Just as through the mystery of the Incarnation we believe that Jesus Christ is simultaneously fully human and fully divine, and that his humanity cannot somehow be separated from his divinity or his divinity somehow dissected from his humanity, so too we believe that from our conception our souls and bodies are interrelated. Indeed, this is one of the reasons we believe in the resurrection of the body. Not only did Jesus Christ rise with a glorified body, but we too will be given “glorified bodies” upon resurrection that will perpetuate this embodied spirit dynamic in eternal life.
For all of the above reasons Catholics are not dualists or Puritans, thinking that the body (flesh) is somehow sinful or problematic. However, as Fr. Robert Barron, Rector of Mundelein Seminary, recently blogged, “We do know that the desires of the body have become, through the fall, disordered. They are no longer consistently subordinated to reason and, consequently, these desires can appear in exaggerated form or assert themselves disproportionately.” So as Catholics we believe that the body and soul are intimately connected, embodied, yet because of the effects of original sin (humanity’s first embrace of evil that has perpetual effects on our nature) the body’s desires are disordered. This means we need to intentionally evaluate and approach our desires knowing that what we do with our bodies affects our souls just as the state of our souls affects our bodies. This body – spirit connection is why Catholics believe that what we do (or fail to do) physically with our bodies or to another’s body matters. Every action (or inaction) has consequences on our souls.
Fr. Barron writes in his above-mentioned blog, “Lent Day 14: Disciplining Our Bodies” the following, “Thomas Merton once commented that the needs of the body (food, drink, sleep, and sex) are like insistent children that demand to have their way. Just as children have to be disciplined lest they come to dominate the household, so the desires of the flesh have to be curtailed lest they come to monopolize all of our energies. Merton said that we fast from time to time precisely to allow the deeper spiritual hungers to surface and be satisfied. The use of bodily discipline is thus a vivid reminder to oneself that the pleasure of the body is not one’s determining and ultimate good.” Discipline is the way of a disciple. Catholics believe we are called to partner with God in becoming the best possible versions of ourselves in our service to one another.
We can also see this embodied relationship between body and spirit in our sacraments. For instance, in the Sacrament of the Sick we believe that the prayer, which accompanies the anointing of the body with sacred oil, always inaugurates a healing of the person’s spirit, which often then has a healing effect on the person’s body. Should a physical healing not accompany an anointing we believe it is because it is not necessary for that person’s salvation. Anyone’s ultimate healing comes with resurrection. (Interestingly scientific studies have in recent years begun to notice and explore this long-held Catholic belief in the connection between the body and spirit. These studies are exploring how the care of a person’s spirit can improve the person’s physical healing.) Our spirits are embodied, and every Catholic sacrament that is celebrated through a “laying on of hands” (a tangible physical expression) effects and shapes our souls.
Created as embodied spirits Catholicism believes we are each given the gift of time to choose to partner with God in shaping our souls and the souls of those around us. In this way our service to others shapes our own souls even as their service to us shapes ours. From this belief flows the creation of all of the Catholic hospitals, schools, orphanages, food kitchens, housing initiatives, counseling services, etc. throughout the world. From this belief comes our teaching on the sanctity of all human life from conception. From this belief comes our understanding of the privileged place humanity has in the universe because God chose to become one of us in Jesus Christ. We are embodied spirits.
Philosophy is the standard by which ideas are integrated and understood. It has been regarded as the sum and summit of human knowledge, as the “scientia scientiarium”—the science of the sciences and the compendium of all learning.
All the branches of learning in fact, sprang from philosophy’s womb, so that she is rightly called the “mater” and the “matrix” of all knowledge. [Montemayor, 1995]
It is philosophy that digs into the root causes of man’s problems and discovers the true solutions and remedies to human ills. [Montemayor, 1995]
Philosophy helps us to free and expand our minds. Through it, we will be able to grasp and comprehend the complexities of life; and, we will find that there is more to existence than the doing of mundane routine tasks. We will find that we can do something to make things better for all of us. [Montemayor, 1995]
Philosophy is all about making sense of the human experience. Philosophy leads to enlightenment and action.
Philosophy is used at present to unify, synthesize, universalize, interpret and explain more deeply the enormous pile of factual but piecemeal, particular, unrelated findings, data, and information accumulated by the modern sciences—for a more comprehensive and universal concept of man. [Montemayor, 1995]
The study of philosophy will always be an important feature of human experience and its importance in the development of the complete social being, ready to take on his responsibility in this rapidly changing world. [Zulueta, 2010]
Philosophy makes man think about the basic foundations of his outlook in life, his knowledge and his beliefs. It makes an individual inquire into the reasons for what he accepts and does and into the importance of his ideas and ideals in the hope that his final convictions will change as a result of this examination. [Zulueta, 2010]
“The new technologies give proof of the human being’s intellectual capacity. Can we really believe that we are incapable of applying that same intellectual power to solving the great problems the world faces, overpopulation, pollution and poverty chief among them? Can we believe that the beleaguered peoples of the world will long be tolerant of those who possess the tools but who can’t make them work for the good of humankind everywhere? There is going to be social and political and economic evolution, which will explode with such suddenness as to have the character of revolution. The revolutionary forces are already at work today, and they have humankind’s dreams on their side. We don’t want to be on the other side. It is up to us to assume leadership of that revolution, to channel it in a direction that will ensure freedom’s future”. [Walter Cronkite, A Reporter’s Life, 1996]
Man experiences his own life as a problem. Being a thinking creature, he realizes his life depends on what he makes it. Being free, he realizes he can decide; he is responsible for his actions. He turns to philosophy only to discover that reality is not something only out there, but that it also involves him. The quality of his life depends on “his own free response”. [Robert Johann, American Philosopher]
“And hey, if you said “No” one too many times, buck up, little buckaroo. It’s never too late to start living…pursue your dreams…leave your comfort zone…test the waters”. [Rob Cohen and David Wollock, Been There, Done That!]
It is in the nature of philosophy that man searches for the meaning of himself and his world. It can truly be said that philosophy was born the very first time man started wondering at what he saw around him. [Corazon Cruz, 1987]
Philosophy is a dedicated search for meaning. Once it is started it “consumes” the whole person—his attention, concentration, interest, and effort. A philosopher can hardly afford distractions as he goes on his “search”. He observes, reads, reflects, and writes. He does so without let-up until the answer is found, or if the answer is not yet found, the conviction is reached that for the moment at least he has found the best possible although still imperfect solution. [Corazon Cruz, 1987]
The Philosophical Method of Inquiry is not pure reasoning. It includes contemplation combined with and confirmed by experience, observation, and introspection. In other words, the approach is similar to the scientific / rational method but it is coupled with philosophical reflection—
1. Identifying the problem;
2. Organizing and evaluating the data;
3. Proposing the hypothesis;
4. Testing the hypothesis;
5. Discovering the truths [Conclusion]
6. Applying principles to specific cases [Philosophical Reflection]
The Philosophical Method of Inquiry is applicable to solving the mysteries of the human person because what is involved are non-empiriological component which cannot be revealed or disclosed by purely empirical and experimental analyses, however penetrating and efficient these may be. [Felix Montemayor, 1995]
The goal of Philosophical Inquiry is the making of sound judgments about all that man does.
Philosophy as a body of organized and unified knowledge can be attained through scientific investigation. As a science, it rejects myth, hearsay and wishful thinking and makes conclusions using empirical evidence.
Philosophy has been described as a science because it deals with the study of the process governing thought and conduct.
1. Logic. The first condition for an adequate philosophy is theoretical coherence. This means trying to make sense of self-awareness vis-à-vis the environment. This means trying to relate the meanings of life as a logical whole, to make sense of them on the level of thought.
“…this we do affirm—that if truth is to be sought in every division of Philosophy, we must, before all else, possess trustworthy principles and methods for the discernment of truth. Now the Logical Branch [of Philosophy] is that which includes the theory of criteria and of proofs; so it is with this that we ought to make our beginnings”. [Sextus Empiricus]
Logic is a branch of philosophy which deals with the nature of thinking and reasoning using empirical support—data and information that are objective, valid, reliable, quantifiable, and defensible to establish the truth. According to Aristotle, logic is an indispensable foundation of all types of knowledge. [Francisco Zulueta]
2. Phenomenology. This accepts the fact that theoretical coherence is not enough, for this may not have practical relevance. Logical patterns can have independence all their own and, therefore, need to be complemented and continually tested by what we may call phenomenological adequacy. This refers to logic vis-à-vis human experience. It pertains to the relationship between empirical observations and the totality of human experience.
“When you’ve eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth”. [Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1890]
3. Meta-Pragmatics. Philosophy must self-consciously plan itself in the context and service of human life. It refers to the formulation of an ideal of human wholeness.
The study of man himself is called philosophical anthropology. This study is unique in the sense that man is the subject as well as the object of knowledge.
1. Monism. This theory holds that man is composed of one basic substance or principle as the ground of reality. In other words, the reality of man consists of a single element, whether matter or spirit.
2. Dualism. This theory holds that man is made up of two irreducible elements—matter and spirit.
a. First View. Man’s matter and spirit are two independent entities and they interact with each other. As two independent elements, it is possible for the spirit and the body to either temporarily or permanently separate at a particular period of time.
The temporary condition may be when the person becomes unconscious or in a clinical state of comatose; or permanent, when the person dies and the physical body decomposes. This view was supported / advocated by St. Thomas Aquinas, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud.
According to Karl Rahner: We are a unity of body and soul. Body and soul are equally real, true, radical, substantial, and original. They are neither uniform nor deducible from each other. There is no existential cleavage between them. Yet they can be distinguished from each other. Soul is the form of the body. We can never encounter mere body and never encounter pure soul.
b. Second View. Man is matter-spirit.
c. Third View [Biblical View]. Man is made up of body, soul, and spirit.
The body is the external, physical part of man which he uses for seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Through the body, he is able to have physical contact with his environment.
The soul, which is regarded as a distinct entity from the body and the spiritual part of man is something that cannot be seen and constitutes the inner part of man, i.e., the mind and the will.
According to Aristotle: There are living things and non-living things. The soul is the characteristic activity of living things. The body is alive if it has a soul.
The spirit is the innermost part of man. It is a “supernatural” and “incorporeal” being with which man communicates with God. It is the essential part of man’s nature, the heart of human life.
Man is finite and infinite, mortal and immortal. “Man is flesh [and] spirit in divided union” [Felix Montemayor].
Flesh and spirit are antithetical realities: the first is a tangible and material substance while the second is just the opposite. The flesh signifies material bodily, tangible substance. The spirit or the soul signifies the immaterial, non-bodily, invisible, reality in man. Yet the two seemingly contradictory concepts are realized and united intimately in man. Hence they are one yet divided, conjoined yet disjoined. Hence, man paradoxically speaking, is the “divided union”—the disjunction-conjunction of opposites.[Felix Montemayor]
As a living existential reality, man is invested with individuality, i.e., with individuating, differentiating, accidental characteristics, such as height, weight, complexion, sex, size, and all those qualities by which he is physically and personally identified. As a human being he shares the same human nature with all other men, and is therefore a universal human entity.
The most undeniable fact about man is that he constantly changes. Yet equally undeniable and indisputable is that he remains unchanged by change. He remains the same before, during, and after the change. For example, in the Law of Obligation and Contracts, the same person who borrowed money, say 10 years ago, is the same person to pay despite the many changes that took place in him in the interval—physical, physiological, psychological, etc. [Montemayor, 1995]
There’s no greater dynamism in life than life itself. The odds of life’s existing are rare, but once it starts it’s very difficult to stop. And we are part of that dynamic process of life: cells dividing and finding new ways to beat the odds. [Tim Allen, Don’t Stand too Close to a Naked Man]
Being a part of the physical order of nature, man develops size, weight, shape and color and other biological attributes followed naturally by other living things. He is able to reproduce. “He occupies space and moves through time” and is “subject to the laws of gravitation”.
Our bodies are constantly changing. They exhibit defect, vulnerability, change, and decay. They bear the intimations of our mortality. The way we perceive and feel about our own bodies contribute significantly to the way we perceive and feel about the world.
_____
The second surgeon said, “I think librarians are the easiest to operate on. You open them up and everything inside is in alphabetical order.”
The third surgeon said, “I like to operate on electricians. You open them up and everything inside is color coded.”
The fourth surgeon said, “I like to operate on lawyers. They’re spineless, gutless, and their heart isn’t there.”
[Jordan Seaward, Reader’s Digest]
_____
The statement “man is an embodied subject” implies that our bodies are not accessories. Our bodies are essential to our being integrated persons. Our bodies are symbols of interiority and are subject to the laws of the material world. Bodily existence also means that we must accept our genetic endowment, which sets the baseline for certain possibilities and limitations to our physical, intellectual, and psychological capacities. [Maria Imelda Nabor-Nery, Philosophy of Man, 2007]
“Man is not only body, but he is something infinitely higher. Of all [the] animal creation[s] of God, man is the only animal who has been created in order that he may know his maker. Man’s aim in life is not to add from day to day to his material prospects and to his material possessions but his predominant calling is from day to day to come nearer to his maker”. [Mohandas Ghandi, 1948].
The word “have” in the sentence “I have a body” means possession. Now this is different from “I have a book”, although both statements refer to possession. First because I cannot dispose of my body in the way I can dispose of my book; second, I is not equal to “my body”, I am more than my body. [Engelbert J. Van Croonenberg; Corazon Cruz, 1987]
Man is “himself”, while a thing is “another’s”. Man calls himself “me”; and he calls his possessions “mine”.
“Animal nature, however perfect, is far from representing the human being in its completeness; and in truth, is but humanity’s handmaid, made to serve and obey”. [Pope Leo XIII]
“Man is of the earth, but his thoughts are with the stars. Mean and petty his wants and desires; yet they serve a soul exalted with grand glorious aims—with immortal longings—with thoughts which sweep the heavens and wander through eternity. A pigmy standing on the outward crust of this small planet, his far-reaching spirit, stretches outward to the infinite, and there alone finds rest.” [Thomas Carlyle, English Essayist (1785-1880)]
The body is not something that one has. The body is essentially oneself. This implies that human existence, though made manifest in a physical way through the body, is a primordial experience of transcendence. Transcendence means that: “I am my body but at the same time I am more than my body. The things that I do, all those physical activities and attributes which are made real through my body, reveals the person that I am”. Transcendence in this sense, means that man is a meaningful whole, an embodied spirit who puts meaning into his life.
The meaning of human existence, man’s being in the world is most felt in man’s direct involvement in the world. It is not abstract. It is not ideal. It is to be found in the awareness of the concrete ends of human action. [Maboloc, 2009]
Man is endowed with superior intelligence and is the highest form of animal whose activities are determined and regulated by natural laws that govern all matter in the physical environment.
The traits and characteristics which differentiate man from other forms of animals are his social, cultural, and intellectual attributes.
1. Language. Man has the ability to communicate, compose sentences, and carry on intelligent conversation. Communication is an essential means by which people are linked together to achieve a common purpose for the common good.
2. Creativity. Man’s highly developed brain enables him to invent or create. Because of his power of imagination, he can make tools, machines, devices to make his life easier and enjoyable.
3. Social and Legal Perspective. Man as a social being passes laws, establishes rules of conduct and develops policies that reflect his needs and that of others.
4. Historical Consciousness. Man is conscious of history, the branch of knowledge dealing with significant past events that affect his life and that of others.
5. Aesthetic Taste. Man has aesthetic taste and appreciation.
6. Ethics. Man values right and wrong to promote order in his life and in his society.
7. Faith or Creed. Man is a religious being. He engages and worships a super being to whom he owes allegiance, loyalty and respect. He gets involved in ritual and ceremonial practices that provide him spirit nourishment.
[Reader’s Digest]
Subjectivity means that each person possesses the freedom and the intrinsic capacity to look into the core of his being and ask himself questions about the truth of his life. [Maboloc, 2009].
It is only through his own being that man comes in contact with reality. The experience of self necessarily has many modalities, but there is one basic experience which makes all others possible and without which they could not be. It is the experience of one’s own existence. [Engelbert J. Van Croonenberg; Corazon Cruz, 1987]
Man is self-aware. He is conscious. And to be conscious is to be conscious of a real world. Consciousness only becomes real by being immersed in the word. Thus, as a being, man can move his body in relation to whatever possibilities the world presents. [Paul Ricoeur]
Part of what it means to be who you are is to realize that you are thrown into this situation, into a world that has this past and this history and this culture surrounding it. You surely didn’t put yourself there. Nonetheless, there you are! And that shows that the ways in which you can understand yourself and the world, or the ways in which you can be affected by the world, are already given to you as a part of your thrown nature. You’re thrown, against your will, into the whole enchilada! [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
I am a being-in-the world and a being-with-others. I am in contact with things and persons. I am part of the space structure and time constellation, which are inherent in this world. As a subject, man is a being who participates in the world. Being in a situation means one is able to respond to the demands of an event through the conscious act of willing and doing. Thus, man is not only conscious of a self, but is conscious of a world. Man is not just an ego. He transcends it. The world always presents itself to man as something that he can transform. [Maboloc, 2009; Engelbert J. Van Croonenberg; Corazon Cruz, 1987]
Man has the fundamental character of being always already thrown. By being thrown into the world, man has “the power to be in the world.” This “power to be” means that man realizes who he is by being in the world. The world exists as man’s horizon of possibilities and meaning. The world exists as man’s potentiality for being.
I am a being-in-situation. Situation stands here for that zone of reality which is influenced by me and which influences me. Many elements of my situation are not of my own making. I did not choose my parents, my country, the time of my birth. On the other hand, there are elements where my free action is decisive: choice of friends, interests, and activities. [Engelbert J. Van Croonenberg; Corazon Cruz, 1987]
As an embodied being, man is also a being-for-death. The common man tries to avoid its very possibility, but the philosopher, who wants to come to the ultimate root of all reality cannot leave it unconsidered. Death gets its full meaning only in relation to life of which it is the end. Man’s view of life will necessarily influence his understanding of death. [Engelbert J. Van Croonenberg; Corazon Cruz, 1987]
To be a subject demands self-examination. This is because man is morally obliged to know himself if he wants to live well. Outside there exists a crowd, a crowd that tempts every man and woman towards an inauthentic existence. Being dissolved in them means being dissolved in the “they-self” or the uncaring self that knows nothing except the pleasure of the crowd. It also means being immersed in routine where man loses his wonder and the hunger of the human spirit. [Maboloc, 2009]
I am more than my life. “I live my life” is different from “my life is lived”. The first means I am the master of my life. The second means I am a slave, dictated upon by others, such as the media. [Engelbert J. Van Croonenberg; Corazon Cruz, 1987]
Man sees himself as a project that needs to be realized. He directs himself to a future where he is able to realize his possibilities in the world. The task of man is the realization of his being, and this happens in a world which serves as the field for the fulfillment of his existential possibilities. [Maboloc]
As long as man is in the world, he is a “not yet.” He is not complete. He is not whole. Man continually realizes himself in the world in terms of his possibilities. To be in the world therefore means to be an unfinished project. This means that man, being ahead-of-himself, projects himself in the world. This projection means that man is continually actualizing his potentialities for existence. [Maboloc].
As long as man is alive, he is not yet finished. Thus, there is nothing final in man as long as he is living. His finality, his completion, only comes to him in death, where man will no longer be. Death, if seen from the context of a whole, is the fulfillment of the being of man. It is a condition where man is no longer possible, and as such, man no longer stands up in the light of being. In death, man loses his power to be, and as such he no longer is. [Maboloc, 2009]
Being a subject, man is an autonomous being, free to determine himself and become the person he wants himself to be. Subjectivity in this regard implies human possibilities—possibilities for becoming, and possibilities for self-realization. [Maboloc, 2009]
Simply put, the personal vocation of man is the perfecting of his life and personality to the full measure to which he has been destined. “Creative fidelity” is the actual continuation of the original dedication to one’s personal vocation. “Fidelity” means loyalty to a given word and commitment in spite of adversities. This fidelity is dynamic and creative. “Creativity” refers to man’s being a homo viator and therefor, in need of his transforming his life to a continuous growth—to authenticity. “Creative” also means man’s ability to adapt to constantly varying circumstances”. Fidelity to vocation is severely tested when a man is faced with pain and suffering. The proper attitudes are: [a] accept them, for these also have existential value, and [b] try to find out their meaning in your life. [Engelbert J. Van Croonenberg; Corazon Cruz, 1987]
Subjectivity implies that man is in search for his authenticity. But he looks for this meaning not merely in the factual or the practical. This is because man is not a mere collection of observable phenomena. Physicists can translate into laws what they observe. The same cannot be said of man. This is because as a subject, man is free. [Maboloc, 2009]
Our authentic growth takes place in the here and now of the concrete situation. [Engelbert J. Van Croonenberg; Corazon Cruz, 1987]
Man has a super-temporal dimension. When man commits himself to his personal vocation, his decision is based upon that which is permanent in his being, and thus, he transcends the changing elements of time and space. He knows that with the emergence of his spirit his real self will find its highest expression. [Engelbert J. Van Croonenberg; Corazon Cruz, 1987]
Everyone is endowed and blessed with natural capacities and abilities. Primary here is the ability to reason and decide freely. The person has the ability to grasp, recognize and appreciate truth and goodness, and the ability to choose among options to promote or disregard.
The objects of the will are the body and the world. Their relation to one another is revealed through the human act. To will something is to do something in view of a project man intends to do in the world. It is a project that includes the movement of man’s body, the word it intends to deal with, and the people who will be affected by man’s plans. What man does then reflects who he is as a person. [Maboloc, 2009]
Who am I? I am what I do. What I do will eventually constitute my character. My character is formed by means of my own decision. My capacity to act and realize this project that I am means that I exist in the world as a responsible subject called to action. Since I am aware of my actions, I should be aware of them. [Maboloc, 2009]
The movement of the will constitutes deciding, acting and consenting. Deciding means attending to the things man has to do. Man decides in view of the possibilities that the world offers him. Man’s will is concretized in human action. Man acts in view of the situation he is in. And his actions characterize the person that he is. Man has the capacity to “be”; he can actualize his potentials regardless of his limitations as a physical being. [Maboloc, 2009]
[The Three-fold Order of Human Existence]
1. Thrownness or Factuality [Being-already-in-the world]—Man as already involved in the world. His existence is situated at a particular here and now. I, myself and that which I care for already exists in the world. Man is thrown into the world. He fell into the world. He did not choose to exist, but once he exits, his existence becomes his own responsibility.
2. Existentiality or Projection—Man as a project and a possibility. Man’s existence is active in character. He is a creature of care; i.e., he is concerned with his existence. He is occupied with his own being. He is ahead of himself.
3. Fallenness or Forfeiture—Man as having the tendency to become a mere presence in the world, failing to make the most of his possibilities.
1. Anxiety [Angst or Dread]—It is through his anxiety that man realizes that he faces a life that has no meaning and then in the end he would just die. He is living a life that is finite and he can never satisfy his yearning for infinity.
2. Conscience— Everyone comes equipped with an existential conscience that calls to them to live authentically. This conscience turns out to be you talking to yourself about yourself. Conscience is you trying to shake the part of you lost in the crowd out of its stupor and conformity. When you heed the call of your conscience, you take a necessary step toward embracing yourself and living authentically. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
With your conscience you realize that possibilities available to you for self-definition are limited and that in fact, the options you have are structured by the historical and cultural world you’re born into. You also realize that you can’t make all the possibilities available to you a reality. Your possibilities are restricted by concrete situations such as intelligence, race, temperament, environment, heredity. Essentially, your history gives you a context in which your task of self-definition must be carried out; in addition, when you make choices, you’re forced to further limit your possibilities by always ruling out other paths for yourself forever. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
3. Destiny—this is the decision achieved by the individual to make his life mean something.
Every time you choose, the set of what’s fixed and possible for you in a concrete situation changes. Each moment of your life, your destiny is in your own hands. Every time a door opens and you choose it, the others close forever; now new doors, specific to the choice you’ve made, open. Thought of in this way, choosing is really a heavy responsibility, and the consequences of choice for your own identity are monumental. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
What is Death? It is the act or process of dying which involves the shutting down of the body’s physical, sensory and mental functions. This process can take minutes or months, depending on what is going on inside the person’s body. [Wikipedia].
The German Philosopher Martin Heidegger calls man a “being-for-death”. Death is a certainty. Only the when is a big question mark. [Corazon Cruz].
In death, human existence ends. Death is thought of as an event where man is no longer possible. It is a point where all man’s potentialities shall have been completed. Death is an own-most possibility, and it is the fulfillment of man’s being, the completion of his life. [Maboloc].
“Every moment that passes is one less moment in your lifetime”. [Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein]
“Man is the only animal that finds his own existence a problem he has to solve and from which he cannot escape. In the same sense, man is the only animal who knows he must die.” [Erich Fromm, Clinical Psychologist]
Memento Mori is a Latin phrase that means, “Remember you are mortal!” In ancient times, the phrase was repeated by a slave boy who walked behind a war hero returning to the streets of Rome in a triumphant march. Its purpose was to serve as a reminder that “Okay, you’re on top of the world today, but like all of us, the day will come when you are dog meat!” [Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein]
The Existentialist Philosophers accept man as finite—his life having an ending. They say that the real death that lies ahead of a man is the possibility of himself as not being at all. [John Wild, “Existentialist Ethics: Integrity and Decision,” The Challenge of Existentialism, Bloomington: Indiana University Pres, 1955, p. 119].
Death is a typically human event, not just a biological occurrence. It is a separating of body and soul, but it is not just the body that dies, it is the whole man. It is difficult to talk of the very moment of death, since some people who had been there, did not talk of their experience. There are some written accounts of such experiences and from these we get glimpses of the next life. [Corazon Cruz]
Doctor: I have some good news and some bad news.
Patient: What’s the good news?
Doctor: The tests you took showed that you have twenty-four hours to live.
Patient: That’s the good news? What’s the bad news?
Doctor: I forgot to call and tell you about it yesterday.
A man hasn’t been feeling well, so he goes to his doctor for a complete check-up. Afterwards, the doctor comes out with the results.
“I’m afraid I have some very bad news,” the doctor says. “You’re dying, and you don’t have much time left.”
“Oh, that’s terrible!” says the man. “How long have I got?
“Ten,” the doctor says sadly.
“Ten?” the man asks. “Ten what? Months? Weeks? Days? What?”
The doctor interrupts, “Nine…eight…seven…”
[Nabin Dongol, Reader’s Digest]
_____
A violent car crash can kill a person in minutes, and a bullet shot into a person’s skull or heart can take an even shorter amount of time. Immediate and quick death causes many of the active stages of dying to happen all at one time. [Wikipedia].
A man dies and goes to the Judgment. Saint Peter meets him at the Gates and says, “Before you meet with God, I thought I should tell you—we’ve looked at your life, and you really didn’t do anything particularly good or bad. We’re not sure what to do with you. Can you tell us anything you did that can help us make our decision?”
The man thinks a moment and replies, “Yeah, once I was driving along and came upon a woman who was being harassed by a group of tough bikers. So I pulled over, got out my tire iron, and went up to the leader of the bikers. He was a big, muscular, hairy guy with tattoos all over his body and a ring through his nose. Well, I tore out his nose ring and told him he and his gang had better stop bothering the woman or they would have to deal with me!”
“I’m impressed,” Saint Peter responds. “When did this happen?”
“About two minutes ago.”
Two men are waiting at the gates of heaven and they strike up a conversation.
“How did you die?” the first man asks the second.
“I froze to death,” says the second.
“That’s awful,” says the first man, “how does it feel to freeze to death?”
“It’s very uncomfortable at first,” says the second man. “You get the shakes, and you get pains in all your fingers and toes. But eventually, it’s a very calm way to go. You get numb and you kind of drift off, as if you’re sleeping. How about you, how did you die?”
“I had a heart attack,” says the first man. “You see, I knew my wife was cheating on me, so one day I showed up at home unexpectedly but found her alone watching television. I ran around the house looking for her lover but could find no one. As I ran up the stairs to the attic, I had a massive heart attack and died.”
The second man shakes his head. “That’s so ironic,” he says.
“What do you mean?” asks the first man.
“If you had only stopped to look in the freezer, we’d both still be alive.”
According to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross we go through five emotional stages of dying: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
1. Denial and Isolation is where the person denies that death is really going to take place. The person may say, “What the f@%#! No, it can’t be me. It’s not possible. I feel just fine.” He has difficulty believing that he is so close to death; and he refuses to accept that anything could be wrong with him. This is a common reaction to terminal illness. However, denial is usually only a temporary defense and is eventually replaced with increased acceptance when the person is confronted with such matters as financial considerations, unfinished business, and worry about surviving family members.
2. Anger or Resentment is where the dying person recognizes that denial can no longer be maintained. Denial often gives way to anger, resentment, rage and envy. The dying person’s question is, “Why me? Why not someone else? It’s not fair!”At this point, the person becomes increasingly difficult to care for as anger may become displaced and projected onto physicians, nurses, family members, and even God. The realization of loss is great, and those who symbolize life, energy, and competent functioning are especially salient targets of the dying person’s resentment and jealousy.
3. Bargaining or Negotiation is where the person develops the hope that death can somehow be postponed or delayed. Some persons enter into a bargaining or negotiation—often with God—as they try to delay their death. The person is saying, “I understand I’m going to die, but if I could just have more time I will…” In exchange for a few more days, weeks, months of life, the person promises to lead a reformed life dedicated to God or to the service of others.
4. Depression is where the dying person comes to accept the certainty of death. He says, “I’m so miserable, why bother with anything?” At this point, a period of depression or preparatory grief may appear. The dying person may become silent, refuse visitors, and spend much of the time crying or grieving.
5. Acceptance or Resignation is where the person develops a sense of peace; an acceptance of one’s fate; and, in many cases, a desire to be left alone. He says “It’s going to be okay. I can’t fight it so I may as well prepare for it.” This stage may be virtually absent of feelings and physical pain. This is described as the end of the dying struggle, the final resting stage before death.
Some individuals, though, struggle until the end, desperately trying to hang onto their lives. Acceptance of death never comes for them. Experts believe that the harder individuals fight to avoid the inevitable death they face and the more they deny it, the more difficulty they will have in dying peacefully and in a dignified way.
Katrina goes to Doctor Kho for a check-up. After several extensive tests the doctor tells her, “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you, Katrina. You only have six months left to live.”
Katrina is dumbstruck. After a while she says, “That’s terrible, doctor. And I must admit to you that right now I can’t afford to pay your bill.”
“Okay,” says Doctor Kho. “I’ll give you a year to live.”
Death is one of the immutable facts of human life. But even though we know objectively that we are mortal, we cook up all kinds of schemes to escape the devastating truth that we are all going to die. We humans fear death. And we instinctively fear being killed. Why do we deny our mortality? Because the prospect of death is terrifying! Death scares the hell out of us. It brings the ultimate angst. It means we are here only for a short time and when we are gone, we are gone for eternity. How can we enjoy life with the clock ticking so loudly in our ear? [Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein]
An Italian, Frenchman and Filipino are about to be executed by lethal injection. They are told that they can have whatever they want for their last meal. The Italian replies: “I would like to have a nice bowl of linguini with clam sauce.” He enjoys his plate of pasta and is thereafter duly executed.
Next it’s the Frenchman’s turn. “I would like to have French fries, French toast, and a hot bowl of bouillabaisse.” He relishes his meal, and is executed.
Finally, it is the Filipino’s turn. She thinks for a moment, then says, “I would like a basket of santol fruit which I will eat with salt, chili and some vinegar.”
“Santol?” says the warden. “They’re currently out of season.”
“No problem. I’ll wait.”
During a sermon, the priest warned his listeners about the suddenness of death. “Before another day is ended,” he thundered, “somebody in this parish may die.”
Seated in the front row was a little old woman who laughed out loud.
Irritated, the priest said, “What’s so funny?”
“Well!” said the old lady “I’m not a member of this parish.”
Three friends die in a car crash. When they reach heaven, Saint Peter meets them and asks them a question: “When you are in your coffin and friends and family are mourning upon you, what would you like to hear them say about you?”
The first guy says, “I would like to hear them say that I was a great doctor of my time and a great family man.”
The second guy says, “I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher which made a huge difference in our children of tomorrow.”
The last guy replies, “I would like to hear them say, ‘Look, he’s moving! He’s alive!’”
According to German Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer there is no reason to be afraid of death because it is actually the ultimate aim and purpose of life. Life is a constant process of dying. The past, when you really think about it, is just a repository of death—a heap of events that no longer exist and are gone forever and are irretrievable. Death is a welcome relief from life which is supposedly a constant source of suffering and frustration. Be that as it may, we cling on to life because we have this perverted “will-to-live”, which—contrary to our best interests—keeps us from embracing our true destiny which is death. [Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein]
“I’m not afraid of death. It’s just that I don’t want to be there when it happens.” [Woody Allen]
Pedro opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend Cosme. “Did you see the newspaper?” asked Pedro. “They say I died!!”
“Yes, I saw it!” replied Cosme. “Where are you calling from?”
Immortality Systems
Immortality Systems are non-rational belief structures that give us a way to believe we are immortal. These systems demonstrate that we humans are the only creatures who comprehend that we are going to die and that we are also the only creatures who can imagine or believe that we are capable of living forever. [Thomas Carthart and Daniel Klein].
1. Immortality through culture. We identify ourselves with a group, class, clan, profession, tribe, race, or nation that lives on into the indefinite future, with us somehow a part of it.
2. Immortality-through-art. Artists [and actually even non-artists] foresee their work enduring forever, and when it does, they are immortalized, too.
For the German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, man in all instances needs the unity of passion and reason, as exemplified in art, in order to survive human life. Art is the deification of man, thus, it does not teach man resignation. Art is to be understood as the will to live eternally. Thus, the aesthetic man says no to the pessimistic tendencies of life, to the ugly degradation of his existence, to his disharmony and abrupt degeneration. [Maboloc].
3. Immortality through religion. Most religions claim that, by adopting proper beliefs and/or practices, a person can appease the Divine and be chosen to enjoy some kind of everlasting life. You either live on as part of the cosmic energy or in heaven or maybe in hell.
After a priest died and went to heaven, he noticed that a jeepney driver had been awarded a higher place than he.
“I don’t understand,” he complained to God. “I devoted my entire life to my congregation.”
“Our policy here in heaven is to reward results,” God explained. “Now, was your congregation well attuned to you whenever you gave a sermon?”
“Well,” the priest had to admit, “some in the congregation fell asleep from time to time.”
“Exactly,” said God, “and when people rode in this man’s jeepney, they not only stayed wake, they even prayed.”
____
A one-dollar bill, five-dollar bill, and hundred dollar bill all died and went to heaven.
God saw the one-dollar bill and said, “You’ve been good,” and lets him in. He also lets the five-dollar bill in for the same reason.
When the hundred-dollar bill came up to him, God said, “Well, I never see you in church.”
[Alleine Nicole, Reader’s Digest]
A priest was preparing a man for his long journey into the night. Whispering firmly, the priest said, “Denounce the devil! Let him know how little you think of his evil.”
The dying man said nothing. The priest repeated his order. Still the dying man said nothing.
The priest asked, “Why do you refuse to denounce the devil and his evil?”
The dying man said, “Until I know where I’m heading, I don’t think I ought to aggravate anybody.”
A bad person dies and is greeted by Saint Peter. Saint Peter tells the man he must choose between three hells.
The first hell is very hot and he sees a lot of people burning in fire. The next hell is freezing cold and he sees people shivering and clamoring. In the third hell, he sees people standing in shit up to their waist but they look quite happy. They are drinking a cup of coffee and are chatting with each other. So the bad person says to Saint Peter, “I choose the third hell with all the people standing in shit up to their waist.”
So Saint Peter admits the bad person to the third hell. He gets a cup of coffee and feels quite comfortable. Suddenly he hears a beep from a loud speaker that says, “Attention. Attention. Coffee break is over. It’s time to stand on your head now.”
4. Immortality-through-wealth. The more money and resources, the more our legacy and devices you pass on to the next generation. Or you can donate to an institution in the hope that it will emblazon your name on the front of a building. Or you can build a monument to yourself just like what the late President Ferdinand Marcos did.
Pepito died. His lawyer stood before the family and read Pepito’s last will and testament: “To my dear wife Esther, I leave the mansion, 50 hectares of land, and Five Hundred Million Pesos and Fifty Centavos. To my son Berto, I leave my big Lexus, my BMW, my Porsche Cayenne and my Jaguar. To my daughter Suzy, I leave my yacht and Nine Hundred Ninety Five Thousand Pesos. And to my brother-in-law Carding, who always insisted that health is better than wealth, I leave my sun lamp.”
An ailing grandmother is talking to her favorite granddaughter. She says: “Lori, I am old and weak, and I know that the time for me to leave is near. I want you to inherit my farm, including the barn, the villa, the tractors, the farmhouse, all the livestock and the piggery.
“Wow,” said Lori, stunned. “Thank you so much, Grandma! I didn’t know you even had a farm. Where is it?”
Her grandma replied. “You can find it on my Facebook account. Just click on the Farmville bookmark after you log on. My email address is ‘dgranny@yahoo.com’ and the password is ‘jus4lori.”
[Maricel Manugo, Reader’s Digest]
5. Immortality-through-relations. This is reassuring ourselves that we will live on in the hearts of those who knew us. This strategy assumes certain sentimentality on the part of our loved ones that may or may not be there.
“I don’t care about the flowers, but I’d like very much to have someone remember me long and often. Each of us hopes for this. We have some kind of dream of immortality; but we know in our hearts that at best we’ll only be remembered for a generation or two. I remember my father and mother, of course, and I remember their fathers and mothers. But who remembers my grandfathers’ and grandmothers’ grandfathers and grandmothers? Or theirs? Not me, and in the long hard history of the world, that isn’t much time. It’s all too much to consider—and too depressing.” [Andy Rooney]
“I suspect the best thoughts of old friends come not on specific days set aside for remembering them, but from the things we used to do with them and from the special way we do things because that was the way they did them. The life they lived is now part of our own.” [Andy Rooney]
When my boss returned to the office, he was told that everyone had been looking for him. That set him off on a speech about how indispensable he was to the company.
“Actually,”interrupted his assistant, “you left with the key to the stationery closet.”
[Alec Kay, Reader’s Digest]
Walking home after a Halloween party, two young men decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery for a thrill. They both stopped abruptly when they heard a mysterious tap-tap-tapping noise in the shadows. Their eyes grew large until the mist cleared and they saw an old man with a hammer and chisel, chipping at one of the headstones.
“Geez, mister!” one of them exclaimed. “You scared us half to death! We thought you were a ghost! What are you doing working here so late at night?”
The old man replied angrily, “Those darn fools misspelled my name!”
Noli was lying on his deathbed, moaning and carrying on.
“Mike,” he says, “I know I’m a goner.”
“Have faith, Noli. You still have many years ahead of you.”
“No, Mike, I’m finished and you’ve been such a great friend. There is one thing I would like you to do when I’m gone.”
“Ahh, Noli, I’ll do anything you ask. I swear it to the Saints and the Holy Mother.”
“Well, dear friend, I have been saving a jug of fine whiskey that my brother sent me from Europe some eight years ago, and I would like you to pour it on me grave when I’m buried.”
Mike sits silently for a long time and Noli asks again, “will you do that for me whom you consider your best friend?”
Mike draws a big breath and says, “You know I will do that for you Noli. But would you mind if I filter the fine whiskey through my kidneys first?”
6. Immortality-through-heroism. Do something extremely significant for your nation, country or your community and you will be forever remembered in the history books or maybe in museums. Schools, streets or thoroughfares may be named after you. Or your image may even be printed on legal tender [money or paper currency].
Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities. The movement regards aspects of the human condition, such as disability, suffering, disease, aging, and involuntary death as unnecessary and undesirable. Transhumanists look to biotechnologies and other emerging technologies for these purposes. Transhumanist thinkers predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label “posthuman”. Transhumanism is therefore sometimes referred to as “posthumanism” or a form of transformational activism influenced by posthumanist ideals. [Wikipedia]
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology. The stated rationale for cryonics is that people who are considered dead by current legal or medical definitions may not necessarily be dead according to the more stringent information-theoretic definition of death. It is proposed that cryopreserved people might someday be recovered by using highly advanced future technology. [Wikipedia]
Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing or previously existing human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning; human clones in the form of identical twins are commonplace, with their cloning occurring during the natural process of reproduction. There are two commonly discussed types of human cloning: therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning. Therapeutic cloning involves cloning adult cells for use in medicine and is an active area of research. Reproductive cloning would involve making cloned humans. A third type of cloning called replacement cloning is a theoretical possibility, and would be a combination of therapeutic and reproductive cloning. Replacement cloning would entail the replacement of an extensively damaged, failed, or failing body through cloning followed by whole or partial brain transplant. [Wikipedia].
Would life have a radically different significance if we lived forever? After a millennium or two, would we be overcome by existential boredom and long for an end to it all? [Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein]
According to Claude Geffre, death is a necessity and liberty. Just think of how it will be if you continue to live on and on, a hundred, two hundred years, without retaining your youth as well. Death is also a release from pain and suffering. [Claude J. Geffre, O.P., “Death as Necessity and as Liberty”, Theology Digest, Vol. XII, November 3, 1964, p. 193.
What is the meaning of life—especially if it’s all going to end one day? How should our consciousness of death affect the way we live our lives?
Life is short and death is sure. Our time limited selves can’t handle the unlimited options that present themselves to us in both our everyday lives and in our fantasies. There is much to do and yet there is so little time. If you had an infinite amount of time, you could try an infinite number of options. Since I’ve got a one-time limited life, I don’t want to waste it. It was actually this dilemma that led current modern day philosophers at Nike Corporation to coin the trademark leap of faith: Just Do it. [Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein]
Knowledge of one’s death inevitability permits us to establish priorities and structure our time accordingly. As we age, these priorities and structurings change in recognition of diminishing time. Values concerning the most important uses of time also change. For example, when asked how they would spend 6 remaining months of life, younger adults described such activities as traveling and accomplishing things they previously had not done; older adults described more inner-focused activities. [Kalish and Reynolds, 1976; Simons, Kalichman and Santrock, 1994]
“You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?” [Steven Wright].
According to Martin Heidegger, we have to confront death head-on in order to live authentically—to live honestly, realizing what life really is. Without death consciousness, we’re only half alive. He declares: “If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life–and only then will I be free to become myself.” We actually need the anxiety of death to keep us from falling into “everydayness”, a state in which we’re only half alive, living with a deadening illusion. [Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein]
Death as a possibility for man is revealed in anxiety. Death is man’s personal possibility that individualizes him. It is a possibility that is his and his alone—a thing that cannot be taken over by another. Thus, in dying, what is at issue is man himself, for man alone stands and confronts the reality of his being. Man alone confronts the reality of life as a being-towards-an-end. [Maboloc].
Man is anxious about the reality of death not because he fears what will happen in the after-life but because he dreads the possibilities that will be lost forever. For instance, his being-with-others—those people he loves, his family, his potentials, and the career he will leave behind. [Maboloc].
We live in denial of death and in Heidegger’s opinion that is not living at all. We can’t fully realize life unless we are conscious of our upcoming demise. Heidegger says we should not deny death. He explains that the anxiety of anticipating death, contrary to interfering with life, brings “unshakeable joy.” [Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein]
It is only when we dare to experience the fully anxiety of knowing that life doesn’t go on forever that we can experience transcendence and get in touch with the infinite. It is only when we’re willing to let go of all of our illusions and admit that we are lost and helpless and terrified that we will be free of ourselves and ready for “the leap of faith”. [Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein]
“Life is an issue of mere existence when you cannot find meaning and happiness, when you cannot be thankful for being alive, and when all you see is pain and prejudice. Life becomes an issue of living well when you know you’re gonna die soon, when somebody you’ve hurt forgives you [and] when you are loved unconditionally.” [Francis Kong]
“The minute you cease to live for something, you begin to die.” [Lewis Timberlake, Born to Win]
Death presents itself as a “challenge for me to change, that I must be steadfast in the quest for human responsibility.” [Maboloc].
To exist is to be in time. To be in time is to be temporal. Temporality is the basis of time. This makes us realize that we are finite. Being is understood and conceptually comprehended by means of time. Temporality must be seen in the ekstasis of time: Past, Present and Future. Temporal mean one has a beginning and an end.
Heidegger thinks authenticity demands embracing your existential nature, which means acknowledging the finitude or set of limitations specific to you as a self-choosing, self-determining being. As he sees it, living authentically requires that you have the right orientation toward the past and toward the future. After all, death lies in the future, your historical context lies in your past, and you must make choices in the present. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
What would it mean to be oriented toward time? What we call everyday time treats time as something that’s outside you, external to your life and to your experiences. Everyday time sees the past, present, and future as separate and disconnected, like a series of independent moments. On the other hand, the existential view sees life itself as immersed within time and also holds that the experience of the past, present, and future aren’t separate, but intimately interrelated. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
When you have all the time in the world, life is frivolous; on the other hand, the inevitability of death invigorates life. Recall those times when an awareness of the possibility of death wasn’t present to you. What happened? You treated the moments before you superficially. It happens all the time. Have you ever been in the midst of some project that you think you have to do while promising yourself that when you’re done, you’ll get back to that other project — the one you think is more important and that you’ve been neglecting? Maybe it’s your work; it gets in the way of your spending time with your family. Maybe it’s something else, but the story is always the same: You always have time later. This is the essence of treating life superficially. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
Think of the future moments of your life as something you want. You have a demand for life. Now consider the law of supply and demand to see how much those moments of life are worth to you. When you treat death as an event that’s far off and distant from you, you’re clearly reasoning that that you have a decent amount of supply (of life) lying around. You’re convinced that even if you’re going to die, it won’t be today or tomorrow or even next week! You see supply as high, so the value of life winds up being low. That’s why the important stuff gets put off. You think you have plenty of time get back to it. You live frivolously. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
Now imagine something different. Say that you thought you had half that time left to live. Or a quarter of it. Or perhaps that you had two weeks to live. Would your way of interacting with life change? It should! The reason is obvious: The demand for life remains constant, but the supply of life just got drastically smaller! As a result, the value of life goes up in response. Choice starts to matter. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
The moral of the story is clear: When you live with death, as part of the very way in which you approach life, you take your life more seriously. The embrace of death invigorates life. You invest each moment with seriousness. You ask real questions about why you should live in this way as opposed to that way. Each moment matters. After all, you realize that you aren’t going to get a mulligan or a do-over at any point. When you make choices in life, it’s like the sign in the store window: “All sales are final.” Death increases life’s value. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
Perhaps you’re thinking, “Maybe death is part of life, but wouldn’t it be better if it weren’t?” If the supply-and-demand theory of life is accurate, the answer is no. The supply of life would go up, infinitely! But if that’s right, the value of life drops infinitely as well! As a consequence, immortality doesn’t sound particularly attractive. Sure, you’d have an infinite amount of time to experience things. But you wouldn’t value the moments. You’d forever put things off. Why not? You could always do the important stuff later. The immortal would live with no zest. No passion. Not for us, thanks! We’ll choose death! [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
After you look at things in this way, you start to see that the possibility of living with death — or acknowledging your finitude — is a gift. It gives you the possibility of taking your life seriously. Without it, meaningful life would be impossible. Of course, that doesn’t mean that everyone uses the gift he’s been given. Most people, sadly, live their lives as though they’re really immortal. [Christopher Panza and Gregory Gale].
Human action has a historical dimension. The past is not simply past. The past is always in relation to the present and the present is always in relation to what one hopes for in the future. [Maboloc].
“Life is lived forward, but understood backwards”. [Soren Kirkegaard].
Man’s life is a story. Every story must be understood as a story that occurs in time. Here, we must distinguish between the linear and configurative understanding of time. Linear time is seeing the series of events in a story in episodic succession. But human life is not a series of datable events. History is not the mere recording of successive occurrences. History, or human life, is rather, a happening. It is only in this sense that we can speak of a being-in-time. Being in time means that human existence is a being in the world. This is that possibility for the unfolding of human existence. [Maboloc]
There is no better way of interpreting what man does in his life except through the creative power of the narrative. Paul Ricoeur tells us that the narrative provides the venue for gathering and seeing together the events of our living, of recognizing the significance of our acting together with others. Having narrated and spoken also affords directives for acting once more in ways responsive to events already told, fulfilling the story that had already begun.
Any day we wish: we can discipline ourselves to make important changes in our lives. Any day we wish: we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish: we can start a new activity. Any day we wish: we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year. [Jim Rohn]
We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed: “The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.” We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. [Jim Rohn]
We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated everyday, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.
And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life—if you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life—and it all beings with your very own power of choice. [Jim Rohn]
Not making a choice is likewise a choice in itself so we better examine our lives and see whether we’ve made the right ones. Then, look at our future to check where our purposes life and what options to take to get where we want to go. [Francis Kong].
Every choice flows into the water of life. [Astorga]
It is vital to remember that choices are connected to one another, that each choice reinforces or alters the direction of our lives. There is an old adage: “Plant an act, reap a habit; plant a habit; reap a virtue; plant a virtue, reap a character; plant a character, reap a destiny.” This means that in a real sense, we become our choices. Our choices enter more and more deeply into the shaping of our person and the kind of person that we become determine the choices we make. [Astorga]
If, for instance, we only work for what is the minimal requirement in our school work with no motivation for quality work and no serious effort done for excellence, we are in a way becoming a particular kind of person. This minimalist attitude, unless reversed by later conversions in our more mature years, would be carried over to all the other aspects of our life. In our career, in our relationships and commitments, in our family life, and even in our life of religion and worship, we will only settle for what is the minimum. Never able to walk the extra mile for anyone, not even for those whom we claim to love, thus so much less for the poor and the suffering, we sadly missed the whole essence of life for having failed to live it fully. [Astorga]
Into the tapestry of our life are woven our choices and decisions. Such choices, made in the everydayness of life no matter how commonplace or mundane, slowly and gradually shape our moral becoming, and mold a deepening sense of our moral self. It is in the realities of everyday life and in the choices that are made—breaking of confidences, acceptance of a volunteer work, involvement in cheating, efforts at self-control in one’s sexual life, refusal of drugs, the day-to-day living earnestly of a commitment in a relationship that our moral identity and destiny is shaped and determined. [Astorga]
There is ultimately no human act that is private. All acts have a social dimension by virtue of our being social beings. What we do even in the privacy of our lives affects us as persons, and thus, affects our whole way of relating with others. The network of relationships which is at the heart of social systems and structures has its origin in the individual person. We can only see the multidimensional effects of the moral acts of individuals in the family context. For instance, the trauma that an alcoholic, violent and irresponsible husband and father inflicts on his wife and children has far-reaching social effects. It brings about psycho-emotional and spiritual consequences which could leave his children impaired for life. Wounded and dislocated, the children need deep and tremendous healing so that the trauma inflicted on them, they would also not inflict on their future wife and children. Unless the cycle of sin and violence is broken by the breakthroughs of grace, it will perpetuate itself in the next generations and the generations after. [Astorga]
Again, this is true for the seemingly small acts of cheating in an exam. If this is excused and tolerated as socially acceptable and sometimes even hailed as a daredevil adventure of beating the system by the brave and strong, values are turned upside down and the moral basis of society is weakened. The “under the table” cheating engaged in by students has already initiated in them in the “under the table” deals they might do as corrupt public officials in the future. [Astorga]
When we speak of social consequences, we must speak of both short term and long term consequences. For instance, euthanasia relieves the suffering of a dying patient, but in the long run and from a social point of view, it may have serious consequences. It threatens the trust upon which the physician-patient relationship depends, and it can devalue human life as well as the quality and attitude among health-care providers. Also, we need to reflect on the foreseeable effects of marijuana. Its immediate consequences seem harmless enough, a mild high and no hangover. But what of possible long range consequences of genetic deformation and brain damage? The case of abortion must also be evaluated in terms of its social consequence on a long range basis. While it may be a solution to a problem in the short term for a particular individual, a practice of generalized abortion in the long run from the social point of view destroys the respect for the beginning and end of life.
In the same way, breaking promises would create damaging effects on the social dimension, as it endangers the positive values of inter-human confidence on which relationships are built. Shoplifting is a case in which long-range consequences come into play. Usually what people take are only of certain value that will not put a big store out of business. But to cover its losses, the store raises its prices. IN the long run, everybody will suffer the consequences of the petty crimes of others, especially those who are already suffering enough, the poor who cannot afford the stiff prices. [Astorga]
Very crucial in decision-making is the consideration of the social consequences of a choice made. A business decision in one of the air-conditioned offices of Makati City may affect the lives of millions of Filipino laborers or farmers. Our lives are in a real sense so interconnected that there is no choice or decision that is solitary and private. Every person’s pain or death diminishes us, for we share a common humanity. [Astorga]
Therefore, in making a decision, we should ask the following questions—
1. If this course of action is taken, what would be the immediate consequences? What could be the far-reaching social consequences?
2. If this decision is universalized or if everybody were to do the same thing, would objective moral values be protected or would they be compromised or destroyed?
3. What could be the actual and concrete consequences of the choice on the person, on his or her relationships and his or her sphere of social influence? [Astorga]
Your Blogger,
Gian Patrice Montero
PhiloTech 