THE MOST IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES-BASIC
VERSION
This is a purely humanistic version of a post in my
blog johnnysonneborn.blogspot.com, “The Most Important Principles.”
[For a full version for students of Unificationism, a stripped-down version of
that, or other posts, click “Archive” on the right panel, then select a year,
and a list of posts will appear.]
Now I am going to write
about this text: You may, if you so wish, skip directly to the text by
finding”1’
[I will soon be posting
several recently-written short pieces.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MOST IMPORTANT
PRINCIPLES
The text is written from
a humanist perspective so that it could be used in all cultures, with a
presenter tweaking according to the culture.
Part 1 begins with an
assumption. On the foundation of the
assumption, general principles are given, putatively elucidating how the human
mind thinks.
Part 2 will set forth
principles relevant to our common life riddled with pain.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 1
ASSUMPTION
1.
Every human being has the fundamental irrepressible impulse
to give love to the greatest scope imagined. (This may
be called “heart”)
1.1.
Unlike other species’, a human being’s imagination becomes
unlimited upon the person reaching adolescence.
HUMAN MATURATION
2. Each human develops toward spiritual and
physical maturity by the force inherent in the creation principle. This
has also been called “innate intelligence”. Within the creation principle,
there are sub-principles, as follows.
3. Development occurs through three stages:
forming, growing, and completing. Jesus teaches an explication of these in
Mark 4:26b-29.
3,1. Emotional growth occurs when love is given
and received, enabling giving of love to a greater social scope, longer
duration, and/or depth (degree of subjective evaluation).
3.1.1 Action, above, is intended to benefit its
recipient. Since the recipient’s fundamental impulse is to give love, it
follows that the loving action should enable the recipient to love more
greatly.
RELATIONSHIPS AND NETWORK
4. The existence of any entity can be described as one
or more four position foundations, which are networks of subject-object
relationships.
5. A
subject-object relationship exists in a project and is established/formed as
follows: a would-be subject partner advertises as such in a new project;
another entity declares interest in becoming an object partner and gives
self-information, thus standing symbolically in the object position; the
subject partner expresses a desire for the other to be a substantial object
partner and states the processes and rules for the project; the other expresses
the desire to join the project as described. Subject-object projects exist
between human beings and within a human being, and we may describe such
interrelationships in the microworld
5.1. An object partner is not passive. The partner
offers information and may offer suggestions. As offerer, the partner is in the
subject position. Alternation of position is continuous. Yet, the subject partner ultimately
determines action, having` taken responsibility for the project and with a
greater awareness of the greater project within which the project is
itself a sub-project.
5.2.
There are types of subject-object partnerships. In one type, the subject
partner has delegated to the object partner responsibility for part of the
project (with the object partner thus poised to stand as the subject in a
smaller project). The subject partner is then bound to unite with and support
whatever the object partner says or does.
5.2.1 In another type, functioning according to
the principle of dual purposes, the subject-partner is designated to pursue
investment toward widening or deepening the project’s impact (purpose/interest of the
whole); the object-partner, being responsible for maintaining the project and
developing it (purpose/interest of the Individual), may warn the investing
partner that the risk involved in that investing appears intolerable, yet
cannot override it I think that the relationships in this horizontal form
are ultimately ones of increase and decrease, with those in the
other form ultimately ones of internal and external.
6. At least when
a project exists as a sub-project, it may be located in a diamond figure
quadruple base, as follows. At the diamond’s apex stands the greater project;
the narrower project’s subject partner and object partner stand at the
diamond’s sides; the fact of their union fills the remaining point. With this,
the occupant of any point may be seen in relation to that of any of the other
three points.
6.1 When a project is aiming for a specific
effect, the purpose of the effect, which is the project, stands at the apex of
a temporary quadruple base, with the result at the bottom: then the subject
partner or object partner takes the project into consideration when choosing
actions. When projects, described as quadruple bases, exist in a hierarchy of
ever greater projects, activity exists in a spiral.
7. In
projects of persons (having minds) a subject partner is always expressing
love, and an object partner returning beauty.
ETHICS
8. The
fundamental ethical principle guiding thinking beings is that of dual interests: an action chosen toward fulfilling an interest
of the self (object) should be taken only if it is hoped that this will enable
the person better to contribute towards the interest of the whole project,
represented by the subject, who proposed
it, while actions taken for the fulfillment of the interest of the whole should
respect the dignity of individuals affected by it and facilitate the attainment
of their self-interests. [This duality may be the creation principle itself:
building upon an existing foundation – developing while maintaining a foundation.]
8.1. At the least in a humanistic perspective,
there is an exception to the second part of this principle, which will be shown
in Part II.
9. God’s three blessings to each human
being, told in Judaism’s creation myth, embody complexification and indicate
that a perfectly mature human being takes the subject position toward any
entity in the natural world or to any angel.
THE IDEAL
CONCLUSION. We can imagine a reality in which all persons live/act
according to these principles – a world of lovingness and joyfulness. However,
reality as we experience it is one of sorrow as well as happiness and can be
analyzed as featuring pain, Impatience, fear, anger, and conflict.
PART 2
I will begin with a suggested origination of our common pain-filled
reality. The reader interested only in the principles derived from this reality
can search for ”10” for the principles.
The origin of painful reality.
(Garden of Eden). During childhood
the boy and girl separated from the maternal species and formed a project whose
goal was the full maturation of each. They exchanged love and beauty, helped
each other, and exercised their creativity in exploring the environment. As
they physically matured, they were able to give love to each other at
increasing depths, and so were growing spiritually/emotionally as well. The
girl, intuitively preparing for motherhood, was more protective of foundations
they had developed. The boy, intuitively preparing for developing the
foundations, was more adventuresome.
On a fateful day in their adolescence, the girl, alone, thought of an
activity that seemed as if it would be pleasurable. She considered it
positively and soon began engaging in it. Soon her innate intelligence,
manifesting in her conscience, impelled her to pause and examine it in relation
to the project, the interest of the whole. There were two reasons for this:
according to the creation principle, it was one of the kind of activities that
were meant to be shared; it was meant to be performed when she had become more
mature emotionally and able to imagine the thoughts and feelings of her twin.
This caused her to reflect; however, at that age of growth, her intellect was
not sufficiently developed to be sure if this self-interest activity was
appropriate for the project. Then the girl, immature in intellect and not get
stable emotionally and already beginning to feel love for the activity,
abandoned her faith in the internal guidance and its warning, and greedily
continued in the activity. Eventually, her love for the activity overrode the
power of her innate intelligence, and she became unable to stop until
exhausted.
Now alone emotionally as well as
physically, the girl felt dread. Having abandoned the project she shared with
her twin, feeling pain from her conscience and, being alone and separated from
any interest of the whole, she also felt fear.
As the girl now had come to know clearly what she had only dimly sensed – the
outcome of the activity – , she proposed to the boy sharing the activity in
an attempt to reenter their project, but what would be, in fact, a new project,
in which she would stand as the subject partner. He, seeing her in the confused
state and having abandoned their project, was weakened and, after not so much
hesitation that was prompted by his principled force and conscience, readily
entered into a reciprocal relationship
and then formed a common base with her . The ensuing giving and receiving
action then propelled them into sexual intercourse.
Their new project was not the maturation of each, but the satisfaction of each
centered on each one’s selfish desire.
The boy and girl, each refusing to
accept responsibility for their selfish actions, could not relate in full
harmony. When they finally did beget children, their internal confusion and
their disharmony affected even their reproductive process as well as the nature
of their parenting.
Human beings, conceived and growing up
in such circumstances, descendants of the couple whose choice to follow the
selfish will overrode the force inherent in the creation principle,
having inherited dread, guilt, and fear, have been continuingly tempted to act
in violation of the principle of dual interests, even though many
display altruistic behavior as early as the second year of life.
RESPONSIBILITY
10.
in our painful reality, the innately urged responsibility of each of us
to grow to emotional and physical maturity is difficult, if not impossible to
fulfill, for the following reasons.
10.1 In early childhood, each of
us acquires from our caretaker(s) the inclination to overvalue the purpose of
the self, and so shy from acting towards the whole interest: this inclination
exists along with the natural inclination for altruistic behavior.
10.2
Each of us exists as an object partner in one or more projects. We
entered a project at the invitation of the would-be subject partner, who
assured us that developmental action would also benefit us, either immediately
or in due time, in accordance with the principle of dual interests. Each of us also exists with unnatural
fearfulness, also acquired from the caretaker. This is not a natural fear
appropriate to our being a human, such as the fear of a newborn upon feeling
the strength of the force of gravity and sensing distance from a solid, nor
instructed or experienced fear such of touching something too hot. Accordingly,
we experience fear when developmental action is about to be undertaken, fear
that we will be depleted without due compensation. In the normal development of a project, this
fear is overcome by our well-grounded faith in the subject partner. However, when, impelled
by our fundamental impulse to give love more greatly, action is contemplated to
give love to another person, stimulating the receiver to pass on the love, fear
is heightened. Love offered to another
is an investment entailing risk. If our offer is received, we and the receiver
unite as an expanded project more able also to benefit ourselves. However, we
know that the receiver may (for reasons that I will soon mention) refuse to, in
turn, love more greatly, so that unity will not occur, and we are left with
depletion of our resources. Overcoming our fearfulness is rhat faith in the
project's plan, ultimately in the subject partner, and belief that the subject
partner participates in projects ultimately stemming from person{s} of
solid goodness. This means that we require courage to have faith in our subject
partner, and, If the fear is too great, we are strongly tempted to act instead
for our own benefit, either to hoard resources or to aggressively seek
acquisition, in both cases fearing future insufficiency, exercising our freedom
to leave the project and embark on our own. It is because we know our own
temptability that we know that the intended receiver of our offer of love will
be tempted to refuse it and may succumb.
10.3.
Further, if our offer of love is rejected, our will to love is
strengthened, but there has been no return of beauty encouraging giving to a greater
scope. Instead, of feeling joy, we, deprived of the object of love, will feel
sorrow, the intensity depending upon the depth of our lovingness.
10.3.1. There seems to be an exception to the second
part of the principle of dual interests. The subject may engage in an activity
that cannot guarantee interests of the object: for instance, enrolling in the
Armed Forces, with the possibility of untimely death.
10.3.1.2. Given the
above possibility, it might be best simply to practice self-denial – refraining
from calculating possible results of our subject’s proposed initiatives –
within an implicit affirmation of our subject’s goodwill and caring. (In the
Hebrew Scriptures, Abram’s response to his god exemplifies this.)
10.4 An additional cause of not acting upon a
desire to further the interests of the whole is uncontrolled addiction. Common addictions include
addiction to the effect of alcoholic beverages, of narcotics, and of
satisfaction of sexual desire. In general, while any pleasurable activity may
be intrinsically good, one should avoid overindulging in any, lest strong
attachment to the expected pleasure make it difficult to act for the purpose of
the whole. We may consider fearful attachment to a food source, to the
well-being of one’s family excluding activity for the sake of the community, of
one’s community excluding the sake of the nation, and one’s nation excluding
the sake of the world also to be forms of addiction.
10.4,1 Ritual sacrifice is a
method for harnessing addiction. Symbolically or actually the next object or
action to which we are attached is placed where we cannot access it. Then, when
contemplating any such object or action, we remember that we had sacrificed the
next one, putting it away, and so are extremely reluctant to indulge. The more valuable the object or activity, the
more the sacrifice is effective. The
purpose of harnessing addiction is that individual-interest attachment to the
object or action is hindering action for the whole interest The sufficiently costly sacrifice,
therefore, is offered to the whole interest, the project. While the addiction remains, it is now as if
it had never been. Thus, the obstruction which we, as the object partner with
uncontrolled addiction, had presented to our subject partner has been removed,
and our subject partner may welcome us, as the object partner with controlled
addiction, back into the project. In Alcoholics Anonymous, the “higher power”
to which desirable alcoholic beverages are sacrificed actuaily is the interest
of the whole, namely, to get on with life.
10.4.2 Internally, if we are
addicted to some thought, such as a fantasy, or to some desire
(e.g., for greater social power), putting it aside may require attaching a
painful action to it.
10.4.3 Any
powerful selfish desire may become addictive. This is notably, even
universally, true of selfish sexual
desire. Sexual desire always arises from
the impulse to give love to the greatest scope imagined. We may imagine a future,
transformed reality with love and happiness. We may even imagine that there is
something greater, transcending what we can imagine, beckoning us on. Then, how
can sexual love best contribute to the coming of such a reality? This would be
in the production of an heir as a step in the scenario leading to an ideal
global civilization, which is the greatest interest of the whole. Therefore, a
sexual desire not accompanied by the intention of such production is inherently
selfish and, being powerful, becomes addictive.
10. 4.3.1 There is a
two-fold reason why appropriate, unselfish
desire is so difficult to maintain. Unlike primates, such as the chimpanzees
who can become pregnant only several years apart, human beings can become
pregnant every 10 or 11 months; upon becoming pregnant and delivering a baby, a
human female must devote several years to rearing the child, and for this she
will not only optimally have the support of her mate, but also have attained
emotional maturity. Thus, there is a multi-year gap between the age of
acquiring the physiological ability to reproduce, along with its appropriately
developing hormones, and the age for optimal reproduction. To deny for such a
long period the natural urge to reproduce, which would lead to a certain
happiness, the interest of the self, requires faith in a greater benefit in a
far future, the interest of the whole. To sustain
such faith requires the utmost courage.
10.5
Suppose we give in to the temptation just to not seek to love more
greatly, fearing possible or even probable pain, but stay in our comfort zone? To do so would
be to imprison within our mind the impulse to give true love. All our actions
would be alienated from our deepest nature. Rather, to continue seeking
opportunity to give greater love will give us a new sense of freedom.
10.5.1
Even this heroic determination, however, would not itself establish the
internal freedom that we seek. The love that we give must be pure.
For the impulse to love to become loving, it must stimulate an emotion. The
emotion, guided by the operation of the intellect, becomes the will to act in a
specific way; then active love will occur if a person has sufficient power. All
too readily, however the impulse picks up not just the emotion of loving, but
one or more other emotions seeking expression. It may pick up the desire to
hurt someone in order to release stored up feelings of resentment and revenge;
in such a case, a kiss may be a bite in disguise. The impulse to love may pick
up the desire to be hurt as punishment for actions considered guilty. It may
take up sexual desire inappropriate to the intended object of love. It may be
affected or diverted by an irrational desire-- a desire intellectually known to
be impossible of satisfaction--, which may result from extreme dissatisfaction
or may be imbibed from a parent. To
be internally free, we must forgive any who have caused us pain and forgive
ourselves. In the case of irrational desire we will need to find a cure in a
therapy.
SOCIETY
1.1. A project of any societal scope (e.g.,
marriage, a plan to share enjoyable activity, a plan to benefit the
neighborhood) purports that – as in every project –actions for the whole
interest will result in benefits for the actor to some extent, and is an
investment, with risk.
1.1.1.
The family has been the basic unit of any society. Societal relationships at any level may be
seen as family relationships writ large.
1.1.1.2.
It is in the family that one learns loving, disrespecting, hating, and
standards for behavior.
1.1.2 The expansion of a society, even one
that was not yet civilized, but definitely a civilized society that is able to
continue to thrive, has usually been dependent upon the example of a person demonstrating the viability of a
greater societal investment, a greater sacrifice involving a new technology –
often a series of such persons. If the example is remembered and societally
practiced, and it becomes a tradition, then, sooner or later, it is likely that
a political entity based upon the tradition will be established. The exemplary person has had greater faith;
and the greater his or her nobleness, the sooner the societal practice
will occur. (In an interpretation of Genesis 4, the roles of the brothers –
presumably, each with their families and living with their parents – are seen
as elder and younger, and this is a true typology in a patriarchal culture in
which the elder participates comfortably in the father’s possessions, while the
younger, with nothing to lose, is more likely to innovate. Nevertheless, what
the younger is doing in the story is to sacrifice the availability of the
animals as food before their maturity, while the elder sacrifices the
availability only of immature plants. Attachment is stronger to that which is
more valuable.)
[ A history of such expansion may be
found implicit in the Hebrew Scriptures culminating in the story of Solomon’s
kingdom, a cautionary tale, written by persons well after the destruction of
the kingdom, it shows the perils of deviating from the tradition. Accepted history shows attempts to revive the
tradition and move forward with it. The Gospels of the Christian tradition may
be seen to trace ultimately unsuccessful attempts to establish a political
entity enshrining an example and the tradition that ensues from it.]
ACTION FOR SOCIETY
12. To act toward
the development of a society, or toward a reformation/transformation
of a society, we may either be the innovative person or seek and find and
assist one.
13. Societies, however, have needed not only
development but also purification, which should, or perhaps must, precede the
development. The purification that a society needs is the purging of injustice.
14.
Therefore, any of us who belong to an oppressor class have the
additional responsibility to seek to end the oppression in which we are
complicit, not only by repenting for it, not only in order to cleanse our
feelings of guilt, but also to facilitate opportunity for forgiveness among the
oppressed. The facilitating actions are
called reparations.
REPARATION
15. Any person can forgive another who
hurt him or her, and this cleanses the feelings of hurt and resentment, and
also works towards harmony. However, simple forgiveness is not benevolent: the
offender is left with feelings of guilt. Towards the removal of these, actions
by the offender to repair historic and current pain are called for. Yet,
historic and current pain will likely be too great to be fully repaired by the
offender’s actions. If this is the case, what may move the heart of the
offended is for the offender to offer reparations to the point of barely
tolerable cost. This may also be accepted by the offender’s conscience. Then, a
fully harmonious relationship between the two can be established.
[J1]THE MOST IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES-BASIC
VERSION
This is a purely humanistic version of a post in my
blog johnnysonneborn.blogspot.com, “The Most Important Principles.”
[For a full version for students of Unificationism, a stripped-down version of
that, or other posts, click “Archive” on the right panel, then select a year,
and a list of posts will appear.]
Now I am going to write
about this text: You may, if you so wish, skip directly to the text by
finding”1’
[I will soon be posting
several recently-written short pieces.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MOST IMPORTANT
PRINCIPLES
The text is written from
a humanist perspective so that it could be used in all cultures, with a
presenter tweaking according to the culture.
Part 1 begins with an
assumption. On the foundation of the
assumption, general principles are given, putatively elucidating how the human
mind thinks.
Part 2 will set forth
principles relevant to our common life riddled with pain.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 1
ASSUMPTION
1.
Every human being has the fundamental irrepressible impulse
to give love to the greatest scope imagined. (This may
be called “heart”)
1.1.
Unlike other species’, a human being’s imagination becomes
unlimited upon the person reaching adolescence.
HUMAN MATURATION
2. Each human develops toward spiritual and
physical maturity by the force inherent in the creation principle. This
has also been called “innate intelligence”. Within the creation principle,
there are sub-principles, as follows.
3. Development occurs through three stages:
forming, growing, and completing. Jesus teaches an explication of these in
Mark 4:26b-29.
3,1. Emotional growth occurs when love is given
and received, enabling giving of love to a greater social scope, longer
duration, and/or depth (degree of subjective evaluation).
3.1.1 Action, above, is intended to benefit its
recipient. Since the recipient’s fundamental impulse is to give love, it
follows that the loving action should enable the recipient to love more
greatly.
RELATIONSHIPS AND NETWORK
4. The existence of any entity can be described as one
or more four position foundations, which are networks of subject-object
relationships.
5. A
subject-object relationship exists in a project and is established/formed as
follows: a would-be subject partner advertises as such in a new project;
another entity declares interest in becoming an object partner and gives
self-information, thus standing symbolically in the object position; the
subject partner expresses a desire for the other to be a substantial object
partner and states the processes and rules for the project; the other expresses
the desire to join the project as described. Subject-object projects exist
between human beings and within a human being, and we may describe such
interrelationships in the microworld
5.1. An object partner is not passive. The partner
offers information and may offer suggestions. As offerer, the partner is in the
subject position. Alternation of position is continuous. Yet, the subject partner ultimately
determines action, having` taken responsibility for the project and with a
greater awareness of the greater project within which the project is
itself a sub-project.
5.2.
There are types of subject-object partnerships. In one type, the subject
partner has delegated to the object partner responsibility for part of the
project (with the object partner thus poised to stand as the subject in a
smaller project). The subject partner is then bound to unite with and support
whatever the object partner says or does.
5.2.1 In another type, functioning according to
the principle of dual purposes, the subject-partner is designated to pursue
investment toward widening or deepening the project’s impact (purpose/interest of the
whole); the object-partner, being responsible for maintaining the project and
developing it (purpose/interest of the Individual), may warn the investing
partner that the risk involved in that investing appears intolerable, yet
cannot override it I think that the relationships in this horizontal form
are ultimately ones of increase and decrease, with those in the
other form ultimately ones of internal and external.
6. At least when
a project exists as a sub-project, it may be located in a diamond figure
quadruple base, as follows. At the diamond’s apex stands the greater project;
the narrower project’s subject partner and object partner stand at the
diamond’s sides; the fact of their union fills the remaining point. With this,
the occupant of any point may be seen in relation to that of any of the other
three points.
6.1 When a project is aiming for a specific
effect, the purpose of the effect, which is the project, stands at the apex of
a temporary quadruple base, with the result at the bottom: then the subject
partner or object partner takes the project into consideration when choosing
actions. When projects, described as quadruple bases, exist in a hierarchy of
ever greater projects, activity exists in a spiral.
7. In
projects of persons (having minds) a subject partner is always expressing
love, and an object partner returning beauty.
ETHICS
8. The
fundamental ethical principle guiding thinking beings is that of dual interests: an action chosen toward fulfilling an interest
of the self (object) should be taken only if it is hoped that this will enable
the person better to contribute towards the interest of the whole project,
represented by the subject, who proposed
it, while actions taken for the fulfillment of the interest of the whole should
respect the dignity of individuals affected by it and facilitate the attainment
of their self-interests. [This duality may be the creation principle itself:
building upon an existing foundation – developing while maintaining a foundation.]
8.1. At the least in a humanistic perspective,
there is an exception to the second part of this principle, which will be shown
in Part II.
9. God’s three blessings to each human
being, told in Judaism’s creation myth, embody complexification and indicate
that a perfectly mature human being takes the subject position toward any
entity in the natural world or to any angel.
THE IDEAL
CONCLUSION. We can imagine a reality in which all persons live/act
according to these principles – a world of lovingness and joyfulness. However,
reality as we experience it is one of sorrow as well as happiness and can be
analyzed as featuring pain, Impatience, fear, anger, and conflict.
PART 2
I will begin with a suggested origination of our common pain-filled
reality. The reader interested only in the principles derived from this reality
can search for ”10” for the principles.
The origin of painful reality.
(Garden of Eden). During childhood
the boy and girl separated from the maternal species and formed a project whose
goal was the full maturation of each. They exchanged love and beauty, helped
each other, and exercised their creativity in exploring the environment. As
they physically matured, they were able to give love to each other at
increasing depths, and so were growing spiritually/emotionally as well. The
girl, intuitively preparing for motherhood, was more protective of foundations
they had developed. The boy, intuitively preparing for developing the
foundations, was more adventuresome.
On a fateful day in their adolescence, the girl, alone, thought of an
activity that seemed as if it would be pleasurable. She considered it
positively and soon began engaging in it. Soon her innate intelligence,
manifesting in her conscience, impelled her to pause and examine it in relation
to the project, the interest of the whole. There were two reasons for this:
according to the creation principle, it was one of the kind of activities that
were meant to be shared; it was meant to be performed when she had become more
mature emotionally and able to imagine the thoughts and feelings of her twin.
This caused her to reflect; however, at that age of growth, her intellect was
not sufficiently developed to be sure if this self-interest activity was
appropriate for the project. Then the girl, immature in intellect and not get
stable emotionally and already beginning to feel love for the activity,
abandoned her faith in the internal guidance and its warning, and greedily
continued in the activity. Eventually, her love for the activity overrode the
power of her innate intelligence, and she became unable to stop until
exhausted.
Now alone emotionally as well as
physically, the girl felt dread. Having abandoned the project she shared with
her twin, feeling pain from her conscience and, being alone and separated from
any interest of the whole, she also felt fear.
As the girl now had come to know clearly what she had only dimly sensed – the
outcome of the activity – , she proposed to the boy sharing the activity in
an attempt to reenter their project, but what would be, in fact, a new project,
in which she would stand as the subject partner. He, seeing her in the confused
state and having abandoned their project, was weakened and, after not so much
hesitation that was prompted by his principled force and conscience, readily
entered into a reciprocal relationship
and then formed a common base with her . The ensuing giving and receiving
action then propelled them into sexual intercourse.
Their new project was not the maturation of each, but the satisfaction of each
centered on each one’s selfish desire.
The boy and girl, each refusing to
accept responsibility for their selfish actions, could not relate in full
harmony. When they finally did beget children, their internal confusion and
their disharmony affected even their reproductive process as well as the nature
of their parenting.
Human beings, conceived and growing up
in such circumstances, descendants of the couple whose choice to follow the
selfish will overrode the force inherent in the creation principle,
having inherited dread, guilt, and fear, have been continuingly tempted to act
in violation of the principle of dual interests, even though many
display altruistic behavior as early as the second year of life.
RESPONSIBILITY
10.
in our painful reality, the innately urged responsibility of each of us
to grow to emotional and physical maturity is difficult, if not impossible to
fulfill, for the following reasons.
10.1 In early childhood, each of
us acquires from our caretaker(s) the inclination to overvalue the purpose of
the self, and so shy from acting towards the whole interest: this inclination
exists along with the natural inclination for altruistic behavior.
10.2
Each of us exists as an object partner in one or more projects. We
entered a project at the invitation of the would-be subject partner, who
assured us that developmental action would also benefit us, either immediately
or in due time, in accordance with the principle of dual interests. Each of us also exists with unnatural
fearfulness, also acquired from the caretaker. This is not a natural fear
appropriate to our being a human, such as the fear of a newborn upon feeling
the strength of the force of gravity and sensing distance from a solid, nor
instructed or experienced fear such of touching something too hot. Accordingly,
we experience fear when developmental action is about to be undertaken, fear
that we will be depleted without due compensation. In the normal development of a project, this
fear is overcome by our well-grounded faith in the subject partner. However, when, impelled
by our fundamental impulse to give love more greatly, action is contemplated to
give love to another person, stimulating the receiver to pass on the love, fear
is heightened. Love offered to another
is an investment entailing risk. If our offer is received, we and the receiver
unite as an expanded project more able also to benefit ourselves. However, we
know that the receiver may (for reasons that I will soon mention) refuse to, in
turn, love more greatly, so that unity will not occur, and we are left with
depletion of our resources. Overcoming our fearfulness is rhat faith in the
project's plan, ultimately in the subject partner, and belief that the subject
partner participates in projects ultimately stemming from person{s} of
solid goodness. This means that we require courage to have faith in our subject
partner, and, If the fear is too great, we are strongly tempted to act instead
for our own benefit, either to hoard resources or to aggressively seek
acquisition, in both cases fearing future insufficiency, exercising our freedom
to leave the project and embark on our own. It is because we know our own
temptability that we know that the intended receiver of our offer of love will
be tempted to refuse it and may succumb.
10.3.
Further, if our offer of love is rejected, our will to love is
strengthened, but there has been no return of beauty encouraging giving to a greater
scope. Instead, of feeling joy, we, deprived of the object of love, will feel
sorrow, the intensity depending upon the depth of our lovingness.
10.3.1. There seems to be an exception to the second
part of the principle of dual interests. The subject may engage in an activity
that cannot guarantee interests of the object: for instance, enrolling in the
Armed Forces, with the possibility of untimely death.
10.3.1.2. Given the
above possibility, it might be best simply to practice self-denial – refraining
from calculating possible results of our subject’s proposed initiatives –
within an implicit affirmation of our subject’s goodwill and caring. (In the
Hebrew Scriptures, Abram’s response to his god exemplifies this.)
10.4 An additional cause of not acting upon a
desire to further the interests of the whole is uncontrolled addiction. Common addictions include
addiction to the effect of alcoholic beverages, of narcotics, and of
satisfaction of sexual desire. In general, while any pleasurable activity may
be intrinsically good, one should avoid overindulging in any, lest strong
attachment to the expected pleasure make it difficult to act for the purpose of
the whole. We may consider fearful attachment to a food source, to the
well-being of one’s family excluding activity for the sake of the community, of
one’s community excluding the sake of the nation, and one’s nation excluding
the sake of the world also to be forms of addiction.
10.4,1 Ritual sacrifice is a
method for harnessing addiction. Symbolically or actually the next object or
action to which we are attached is placed where we cannot access it. Then, when
contemplating any such object or action, we remember that we had sacrificed the
next one, putting it away, and so are extremely reluctant to indulge. The more valuable the object or activity, the
more the sacrifice is effective. The
purpose of harnessing addiction is that individual-interest attachment to the
object or action is hindering action for the whole interest The sufficiently costly sacrifice,
therefore, is offered to the whole interest, the project. While the addiction remains, it is now as if
it had never been. Thus, the obstruction which we, as the object partner with
uncontrolled addiction, had presented to our subject partner has been removed,
and our subject partner may welcome us, as the object partner with controlled
addiction, back into the project. In Alcoholics Anonymous, the “higher power”
to which desirable alcoholic beverages are sacrificed actuaily is the interest
of the whole, namely, to get on with life.
10.4.2 Internally, if we are
addicted to some thought, such as a fantasy, or to some desire
(e.g., for greater social power), putting it aside may require attaching a
painful action to it.
10.4.3 Any
powerful selfish desire may become addictive. This is notably, even
universally, true of selfish sexual
desire. Sexual desire always arises from
the impulse to give love to the greatest scope imagined. We may imagine a future,
transformed reality with love and happiness. We may even imagine that there is
something greater, transcending what we can imagine, beckoning us on. Then, how
can sexual love best contribute to the coming of such a reality? This would be
in the production of an heir as a step in the scenario leading to an ideal
global civilization, which is the greatest interest of the whole. Therefore, a
sexual desire not accompanied by the intention of such production is inherently
selfish and, being powerful, becomes addictive.
10. 4.3.1 There is a
two-fold reason why appropriate, unselfish
desire is so difficult to maintain. Unlike primates, such as the chimpanzees
who can become pregnant only several years apart, human beings can become
pregnant every 10 or 11 months; upon becoming pregnant and delivering a baby, a
human female must devote several years to rearing the child, and for this she
will not only optimally have the support of her mate, but also have attained
emotional maturity. Thus, there is a multi-year gap between the age of
acquiring the physiological ability to reproduce, along with its appropriately
developing hormones, and the age for optimal reproduction. To deny for such a
long period the natural urge to reproduce, which would lead to a certain
happiness, the interest of the self, requires faith in a greater benefit in a
far future, the interest of the whole. To sustain
such faith requires the utmost courage.
10.5
Suppose we give in to the temptation just to not seek to love more
greatly, fearing possible or even probable pain, but stay in our comfort zone? To do so would
be to imprison within our mind the impulse to give true love. All our actions
would be alienated from our deepest nature. Rather, to continue seeking
opportunity to give greater love will give us a new sense of freedom.
10.5.1
Even this heroic determination, however, would not itself establish the
internal freedom that we seek. The love that we give must be pure.
For the impulse to love to become loving, it must stimulate an emotion. The
emotion, guided by the operation of the intellect, becomes the will to act in a
specific way; then active love will occur if a person has sufficient power. All
too readily, however the impulse picks up not just the emotion of loving, but
one or more other emotions seeking expression. It may pick up the desire to
hurt someone in order to release stored up feelings of resentment and revenge;
in such a case, a kiss may be a bite in disguise. The impulse to love may pick
up the desire to be hurt as punishment for actions considered guilty. It may
take up sexual desire inappropriate to the intended object of love. It may be
affected or diverted by an irrational desire-- a desire intellectually known to
be impossible of satisfaction--, which may result from extreme dissatisfaction
or may be imbibed from a parent. To
be internally free, we must forgive any who have caused us pain and forgive
ourselves. In the case of irrational desire we will need to find a cure in a
therapy.
SOCIETY
1.1. A project of any societal scope (e.g.,
marriage, a plan to share enjoyable activity, a plan to benefit the
neighborhood) purports that – as in every project –actions for the whole
interest will result in benefits for the actor to some extent, and is an
investment, with risk.
1.1.1.
The family has been the basic unit of any society. Societal relationships at any level may be
seen as family relationships writ large.
1.1.1.2.
It is in the family that one learns loving, disrespecting, hating, and
standards for behavior.
1.1.2 The expansion of a society, even one
that was not yet civilized, but definitely a civilized society that is able to
continue to thrive, has usually been dependent upon the example of a person demonstrating the viability of a
greater societal investment, a greater sacrifice involving a new technology –
often a series of such persons. If the example is remembered and societally
practiced, and it becomes a tradition, then, sooner or later, it is likely that
a political entity based upon the tradition will be established. The exemplary person has had greater faith;
and the greater his or her nobleness, the sooner the societal practice
will occur. (In an interpretation of Genesis 4, the roles of the brothers –
presumably, each with their families and living with their parents – are seen
as elder and younger, and this is a true typology in a patriarchal culture in
which the elder participates comfortably in the father’s possessions, while the
younger, with nothing to lose, is more likely to innovate. Nevertheless, what
the younger is doing in the story is to sacrifice the availability of the
animals as food before their maturity, while the elder sacrifices the
availability only of immature plants. Attachment is stronger to that which is
more valuable.)
[ A history of such expansion may be
found implicit in the Hebrew Scriptures culminating in the story of Solomon’s
kingdom, a cautionary tale, written by persons well after the destruction of
the kingdom, it shows the perils of deviating from the tradition. Accepted history shows attempts to revive the
tradition and move forward with it. The Gospels of the Christian tradition may
be seen to trace ultimately unsuccessful attempts to establish a political
entity enshrining an example and the tradition that ensues from it.]
ACTION FOR SOCIETY
12. To act toward
the development of a society, or toward a reformation/transformation
of a society, we may either be the innovative person or seek and find and
assist one.
13. Societies, however, have needed not only
development but also purification, which should, or perhaps must, precede the
development. The purification that a society needs is the purging of injustice.
14.
Therefore, any of us who belong to an oppressor class have the
additional responsibility to seek to end the oppression in which we are
complicit, not only by repenting for it, not only in order to cleanse our
feelings of guilt, but also to facilitate opportunity for forgiveness among the
oppressed. The facilitating actions are
called reparations.
REPARATION
15. Any person can forgive another who
hurt him or her, and this cleanses the feelings of hurt and resentment, and
also works towards harmony. However, simple forgiveness is not benevolent: the
offender is left with feelings of guilt. Towards the removal of these, actions
by the offender to repair historic and current pain are called for. Yet,
historic and current pain will likely be too great to be fully repaired by the
offender’s actions. If this is the case, what may move the heart of the
offended is for the offender to offer reparations to the point of barely
tolerable cost. This may also be accepted by the offender’s conscience. Then, a
fully harmonious relationship between the two can be established.
###########END#################
10.5.1
Even this heroic determination, however, would not itself establish the
internal freedom that we seek. The love that we give must be pure. […]///
10.5.2 For the impulse to result in giving love, it
must become an emotion for loving. The emotion, guided by the operation of the
intellect, becomes the will to act in a specific way; then active love will
occur if a person has sufficient power. All too readily, however, the impulse
picks up not just the emotion of loving, but one or more other emotions seeking
expression. It may pick up the desire to hurt someone in order to release
stored up feelings of resentment and revenge; in such a case, a kiss may be a
bite in disguise. The impulse to love may pick up the desire to be hurt as
punishment for actions considered guilty. It may take up sexual desire
inappropriate to the intended object of love. It may be affected or diverted by
an irrational desire-- a desire intellectually known to be impossible of
satisfaction--, which may result from extreme dissatisfaction or may be imbibed
from a parent.
The irrrational desire to flap one's wings and fly would likely bring
few negative consequences in one’s ongoing life. However, the irrational desire
to become one of the other gender can. A person with such a strong desire may
become obsessed with one of the other gender to experience vicariously through
that person being a woman/man (impossible of being in reality). Alternatively,
a person may become homosexual. One crucial negative consequence of that will
very likely be missing the experience of heterosexual intercourse with a
committed partner which,,as explained above, would be the greatest expression
of love and bring the greatest emotional intimacy. Another likely negative
consequence is the person missing experiencing parental love in his or her own
family, or, if by some means raising a child, have the painful experience of
seeing the child bullied by one or more cruel children or their parents upon
saving that in his or her family there are two mommies or two daddies.
SOCIETY
11. A project of any societal scope (e.g.,
marriage, a plan to share enjoyable activity, a plan to benefit the
neighborhood) purports that – as in every project –actions for the whole
interest will result in benefits for the actor to some extent, and is an
investment, with risk.
11.1
The family has been the basic unit of any society. Societal relationships at any level may be
seen as family relationships writ large.
11.2
The expansion of a society, even one that was not yet civilized,
but definitely a civilized society that is able to continue to thrive, has
usually been dependent upon the example of a
person demonstrating the viability of a greater societal investment, a
greater sacrifice involving a new technology – often a series of such persons.
If the example is remembered and societally practiced, and it becomes a
tradition, then, sooner or later, it is likely that a political entity based
upon the tradition will be established.
The exemplary person has had greater faith; and the greater his or her nobleness,
the sooner the societal practice will occur. (In an interpretation of Genesis
4, the roles of the brothers – presumably, each with their families and living
with their parents – are seen as elder and younger, and this is a true typology
in a patriarchal culture in which the elder participates comfortably in the
father’s possessions, while the younger, with nothing to lose, is more likely
to innovate. Nevertheless, what the younger is doing in the story is to
sacrifice the availability of the animals as food before their maturity, while
the elder sacrifices the availability only of immature plants. Attachment is
stronger to that which is more valuable.)
[ A history of such expansion may be found implicit in the Hebrew
Scriptures culminating in the story of Solomon’s kingdom, a cautionary tale,
written by persons well after the destruction of the kingdom, it shows the
perils of deviating from the tradition.
Accepted history shows attempts to revive the tradition and move forward
with it. The Gospels of the Christian tradition may be seen to trace ultimately
unsuccessful attempts to establish a political entity enshrining an example and
the tradition that ensues from it.]
ACTION
FOR SOCIETY
12. To act toward the development of a
society, or toward a reformation/transformation of a
society, we may either be the innovative person or seek and find and assist
one.
13. Societies, however, have needed not only
development but also purification, which should, or perhaps must, precede the
development. The purification that a society needs is the purging of injustice.
14. Therefore, any of us who belong
to an oppressor class have the additional responsibility to seek to end the
oppression in which we are complicit, not only by repenting for it, not only in
order to cleanse our feelings of guilt, but also to facilitate opportunity for
forgiveness among the oppressed. The
facilitating actions are called reparations.
REPARATION
15. Any person can forgive another who hurt him or her, and this cleanses
the feelings of hurt and resentment, and also works towards harmony. However,
simple forgiveness is not benevolent: the offender is left with feelings of
guilt. Towards the removal of these, actions by the offender to repair historic
and current pain are called for. Yet, historic and current pain will likely be
too great to be fully repaired by the offender’s actions. If this is the case,
what may move the heart of the offended is for the offender to offer
reparations to the point of barely tolerable cost. This may also be accepted by
the offender’s conscience. Then, a fully harmonious relationship between the
two can be established.
16. Forgiveness with recognition of
painful reparations may establish emotional harmony – reconciliation if the
parties had been in harmony before the offense –; however, the social situation may be one in which the offender can continue
to impose upon the offended. Therefore, the offending person or class--acting
towards the purpose of the whole, the full cooperation in a project for the
facilitation of greater loving, should set reparations and/or other means
towards the offended’s full external freedom and for equality, for only then
can the internal freedom of each – the freedom to give pure love in the
realistic expectation that it will be received-- be attained. Only then will
there be peace, substantial harmony, and full happiness.
To be internally free, we must forgive any
who have caused us pain and forgive ourselves. In the case of irrational desire
we will need to find a cure in a therapy.
***
SOCIETY
11. A project of any societal scope (e.g., marriage, a plan to
share enjoyable activity, a plan to benefit the neighborhood) purports that –
as in every project –actions for the whole interest will result in benefits for
the actor to some extent, and is an investment, with risk.
11.1 The family has been the basic unit of any
society […]. Societal relationships at any level may be seen as family
relationships writ large.
11.2 The expansion of a
society, even one that was not yet civilized, but definitely a civilized
society that is able to continue to thrive, has usually been dependent upon the
example of a person demonstrating the
viability of a greater societal investment, a greater sacrifice involving a new
technology – often a series of such persons. If the example is remembered and
societally practiced, and it becomes a tradition, then, sooner or later, it is
likely that a political entity based upon the tradition will be established. [2.1.2]The exemplary person has had greater
faith; and the greater his or her nobleness, the sooner the societal
practice will occur. (In Unificationism’s interpretation of Genesis 4, the
roles of the brothers – presumably, each with their families and living with
their parents – are seen as elder and younger, and this is a true typology in a
patriarchal culture in which the elder participates comfortably in the father’s
possessions, while the younger, with nothing to lose, is more likely to
innovate. Nevertheless, what the younger is doing in the story is to sacrifice
the availability of the animals as food before their maturity, while the elder
sacrifices the availability only of immature plants. Attachment is stronger to
that which is more valuable.)
[ A history of such expansion may
be found implicit in the Hebrew Scriptures culminating in the story of
Solomon’s kingdom, a cautionary tale, written by persons well after the
destruction of the kingdom, it shows the perils of deviating from the
tradition. Accepted history shows
attempts to revive the tradition and move forward with it. The Gospels of the
Christian tradition may be seen to trace ultimately unsuccessful attempts to
establish a political entity enshrining an example and the tradition that
ensues from it.]
ACTION FOR SOCIETY
12. To
act toward the development of a society, or toward a reformation/transformation
of a society, we may either be the innovative person or seek and find and
assist one.
13. Societies,
however, have needed not only development but also purification, which should,
or perhaps must, precede the development. The purification that a society needs
is the purging of injustice.
14. Therefore, any of us who belong to an
oppressor class have the additional responsibility to seek to end the oppression in which we are complicit,/////
not only by repenting for it, not only in order to cleanse our feelings of
guilt, but also to facilitate opportunity for forgiveness among the oppressed. The facilitating actions are called reparations.
REPARATION
15. Any person can forgive
another who hurt him or her, and this cleanses the feelings of hurt and
resentment, and also works towards harmony. However, simple forgiveness is not benevolent:
the offender is left with feelings of guilt. Towards the removal of these, actions
by the offender to repair historic and current pain are called for. Yet,
historic and current pain will likely be too great to be fully repaired by the
offender’s actions. If this is the case, what may move the heart of the
offended is for the offender to offer reparations to the point of barely
tolerable cost. This may also be accepted by the offender’s conscience. Then, a
fully harmonious relationship between the two can be established.
/////
16. Forgiveness with recognition of painful
reparations may establish emotional harmony – reconciliation if the parties had
been in harmony before the offense –; however, the social situation may be one in which the offender can continue
to impose upon the offended. Therefore, the offending person or class--acting
towards the purpose of the whole, the full cooperation in a project for the
facilitation of greater loving, should set reparations and/or other means
towards the offended’s full external freedom and for equality, for only then
can the internal freedom of each – the freedom to give pure love in the realistic
expectation that it will be received-- be attained [1.2.5.1]. Only then will
there be peace, substantial harmony, and full happiness. (In Unificationism, the first offenders were
Adam and Eve, and the offended, God, who requested, for the sake of the
offenders, painfully costly reparations to expunge their guilty feelings.)
