Finality
In these times of moral and ethical equivocation, it is important to understand that death is final. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to support any other opinion. So, for the time being, I would encourage my fellow creatures to wake up and understand that this moment of life is all there is to life. And, if you are fortunate enough to live into a future life, the consequences of each of these moments will live along with you until you die. Then it is over. Living an honorable and responsible life is its own reward, if you accept the finality of death. Respect and responsibility toward the world show in the bearer of these qualities. Therefore, the one who respects and is responsible tends to receive respect and fair treatment. And, if denied respect and fair treatment by the world, the honorable and responsible person can take solace in having lived the best life he/she could. Living an honorable and responsible life requires practice. Those who do not practice in this way are doomed to confusion and bewilderment in the face of adversity. They are rudderless in a sea of addictions, reactions, fears and/or self pity.
It is not necessary to percieve life as finite to acknowledge the preciousness of every life and every moment of life, to value and live in the present moment.
ReplyDeleteEmmanual Kant provided the West with philosphical rationale for this position while retaining his faith in everlasting life.
Ah, yes. I have read Kant. However, why rely on the dead to justify living life in the present with conscience and compassion? Do we so distrust our own motives and tendencies to justice and peace? Or do the dead allow us to rationalize dysfunctional philosophies so we do not have to grow into our own times? Perhaps we can learn from the dead, but live for the living. Kant "provided" nothing. He simply worked as a philosopher, expressed his ideas, and others followed his thought, because it was part of an ongoing conversation in one small paradigm, The Western Academy. Meanwhile, decent, poor, uneducated people were living conscientious and compassionate lives all over the planet without knowing anything about Kant and his brethren. And it has always been the work of the so-called educated classes to wage wars to gain property and money at the expense of others. The Academy has contributed much, but it has also been corrupted by those who rule. And those who rule insulate themselves from the acknowledgement of their own humanity and mortality with money and perceived power. What would Kant say about plastic surgery, gangster rap, celebrity, global corporate fascism, Islamic and Christian extremism and other contemporary issues. Nothing. Kant is dead. We have to look to what we know now and live as best we can with that knowledge.
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