suomalainen wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 9:08 am
But is this our exclusive purpose and nature? Is it really true for all people? At all stages of life?
Probably not. Though I view these things exclusively through a religious/Christian/Catholic lens, which I of course recognize is not how everyone comes at these things (though as a Catholic I nevertheless believe is universal in truth). So for me, our exclusive purpose at all stages of life is to know, love, and serve God; i.e., to live holy lives, which means to become like God as much as is humanly possible, and God is love. Material possessions, marriage, work, sexual intimacy, money, positions of authority, etc. are some of the opportunities life presents to live holy lives--i.e., to show love. And you live a holy life by living a virtuous life. And the role of work (or labor), is only secondarily about providing for our temporal means. It's primary role is to provide us an opportunity to grow in virtue (temperance, prudence, fortitude/courage, justice (to each his fair share, and for me no more than my fair share), faith, hope, and of course love/charity).
suomalainen wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 9:08 am
Second panel, man: As we enter adulthood, that message changes to: I'm great!
That's just pride.
suomalainen wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 9:08 am
Third panel, old man: And as we enter our golden years, with the wisdom that comes with age, we let out a hearty "$%&# you!" at every opportunity.
God, I hope that's not what we're working towards.
suomalainen wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 9:08 am
In my mind, I find your statement to be "middle age" centric, which is fine because you're middle aged, but perhaps isn't (yet) applicable to your kids and perhaps won't be applicable to you at some future point in time (even if the difference becomes one of degree rather than kind).
Certainly my perspective is of a man in middle age (see Dante quote in earlier post). But at all stages of life our essential purpose remains the same: to know and love and serve God. And when you see that as your central purpose then it necessarily follows that life isn't about you; which is no less a radical idea in today's world than Jacob's spot-on ideas regarding consumerism and ERE (and, from a religious perspective, the two ideas--ERE and life's not about you--are very much complimentary, as I noted earlier in my post about St. Ignatius). So I guess, if you wanted to break it out into your 3 panels, and to your point about differing degrees, I'd said that Panel 1 is a little more focused on coming to "know" God (but serving and loving are still important); whereas the second panel is more about serving and I guess panel 3 is a little more about loving God. But the purpose remains the same.
suomalainen wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 9:08 am
I myself wonder whether that "nature to seek responsibility and to labor" is really a nature thing (as in "psychological nature") or a cultural thing or an ego thing or something else. Labor to me is really just a necessity of existing in a physical world - the universe owes you nothing and if you don't lift the spoon to put soup in your mouth (or pay or enslave someone to do it, which also requires work), you will die. As to responsibility outside of yourself and your family? That seems totally optional. Some want it, some don't. Some want it sometimes, but not other times.
Burdens seem to find us; we don't really have to go looking for them. Thus happiness is more linked to how we approach our burdens rather than whether we have them.
I get what you're saying, but I don't agree. First, as I said above, labor is only secondarily about existing in the physical world; it's primary role is to provide opportunities to live a virtuous life (just like being a father and husband are primarily focused on providing you opportunities to live a virtuous life--my struggles with patience (i.e., the theological virtue of love/charity) immediately comes to mind). If your goal is to live a virtuous life (and I recognize that's not necessarily how many people view their life goal), I just don't see how you can do that without voluntarily undertaking some responsibility in life. How do you exercise justice (to each his due) without taking on the responsibility of being in a position to exercise justice over another? How do you exercise courage without voluntarily confronting obstacles. Same is true for prudence and temperance. These aren't Puritanical or even Christian constructs; the cardinal virtues go back to Aristotle. Same goes for the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. Love isn't a feeling, it means to will the good of the other (i.e., the real meaning of the Golden Rule). And I don't think you can
really will the good of the other by sitting on a beach drinking margaritas for the rest of your life or whatever a "free," hedonistic life looks like for you. That's all good and great for a short time, as a
vacation from your labor and responsibility, but the vacation cannot become the means and ends of life itself. That's just selfishness (and sloth). And it will ultimately lead to listlessness, boredom, and depression--EVERY TIME.