I know I could be wrong, but I believe there is a reason for our existence.
I believe that each of us has a purpose - something that we are to do while here. And we can work towards that purpose or against it. It is our choice - and it is a choice that we repeatedly make throughout our lives.
I didn't always believe this. For most of my life I believed there was no purpose other than to live for a time and then die - something no one fails to accomplish.
My disbelief stemmed from a desire for justice and a distrust of all traditional sources of authority.
If there was to be a purpose, I didn't want to believe that one person would have a better chance of fulfilling it due their religion or social class - or whether or not they had been abused or abandoned as a child.
To me it seemed that traditional measures of virtue and accomplishment were biased to favor those born to loving parents, healthy parents, and particular religious backgrounds. And so I rejected them. And instead I chose to believe that the world is fair - at least in the sense that our lives are equally meaningless.
This has changed. But I have not given up my belief that the world is fair - at least not in regards to our potential to live meaningful lives.
I believe that our purpose is to gain faith in each other, to share ourselves with each other, and to forgive each other - even when our trust is broken or unrequited (as it most definitely at times will be).
I embrace this as our purpose for many reasons. I embrace it because it feels right, but also because it makes sense.
Life is more enjoyable and meaningful when we try to see the good in each other. And just because we put our faith in someone does not mean we must agree with her ideas. Nor does it mean we should not take prudent measures to protect ourselves. I can have faith in you as a person while telling you it was a bad idea to steal from me and it would be even stupider for you to try to steal from me again. I can forgive you for a crime but still punish you to inhibit you from committing such a crime ever again. Many parent knows this - as they know it is best to follow through with an appropriate punishment even though they have forgiven their child for the transgression. Punishment can and should be administered with love, not anger.
Having faith in and forgiving each other is not only heartening and prudent; it is just. It is something we all have an equal potential to accomplish.
Certainly some of us have endured much greater levels of anguish, cruelty and betrayal than others. But are such experiences catalysts or inhibitors to our ability to trust and forgive?
Anecdotal evidence from my life indicates that it can be both and neither.
And while it is certainly true that victims of violence are more likely to commit acts of violence - that in no way implies that these victims are less capable of forgiving those who committed violence against them. For how can we compare one's ability to forgive his abuser to that of someone who has not been abused in the same way or to the same degree? We can't. Our ability to have faith and to forgive is something that we can only measure within ourselves. We can judge our own success and failure, but it is impossible to correctly judge this in someone else.
In accomplishing or failing to accomplish our purpose, we are isolated from each other.
We are isolated.
But that does not mean we are alone.
Only chairs, benches, forks, spoons, doors, cars, lamps, baskets etc. have purpose. These things are already chosen, but who chooses man? If man is already chosen, then how much more dignity do we have compared to those objects?
ReplyDeleteGood questions. It is the question of choice (and the freedom of will) that drove me crazy. Drove me to quit job, school, friends and family and wander aimlessly in search of meaning.
ReplyDeleteThere are two mutually exclusive answers to your question:
1) We are the intentional creation of some sort of sentient entity or entities.
2) We aren't. We are the direct and unintentional result of uncaused causation.
Both possibilities are conceivable. Just as it is conceivable that we (as a species) could someday gain such heights of intelligence that would allow us to create new universes to give rise to new races of beings - it is conceivable that some earlier race came before us and gave rise to our universe - with the intention of producing us.
Of course, this begs the question: who or what created our creators? And to this question we have the same set of incommensurable solutions: either our creators are also the result of intentional design, or they are not - i.e. they are the direct scion of uncaused causation.
And, if we choose to believe that our creators themselves have creators, then we simply prolong our problem and can continue to do so indefinitely (turtles all the way down...)
There is no good solution! Except perhaps to laugh! I recommend against frustration and anger - they don't help (though they seem to be favored reactions).
I choose to believe we were intentionally created. I choose to believe this because it brings my life meaning, and it is as equally justifiable as the alternative.
As to your question of whether this solution diminishes our dignity. No, I don't think one must agree with that. Chairs, benches, forks, spoons, doors, cars, lamps and baskets were intentionally created, and thus have purpose - but they do not seem to have the ability to appreciate their purpose.
In that sense, I think we are a bit different than they.
Good point Jon. By the way, there was no need for me to remain anonymous. It's Nathaniel, your old student from harmony. Now that you know it's me, are you suprised that the freedom of will card was played?
ReplyDeleteSay i make a chair that has the capability of appreciating or not appreciating its purpose. It is removed from the ordanary chair, only by one degree. In other words how much value do we put in the assigned quality of a being who can appreciate its own percieved purpose.
ReplyDeleteNataniel,
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you - glad to see that you're still philosophizing. As to your question about how much value to give a chair that has self-appreciation... I don't know. To me, that isn't a pragmatic question. Maybe if such a chair ever enters my life, then I'll worry about it.
On the other hand, whether or not I was the intentional creation of a loving creator is a pragmatic question - because how I answer that question has profound effects (as I have witnessed throughout my life) on my behavior and happiness.