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The Ultimate Principle of Human Life

June 8, 2022 Dominic Reichl

An affect, which is a passive state, ceases to be a passive state, as soon as we form a clear and distinct idea thereof. — Spinoza, Ethics, pars V, prop. III

The ultimate principle of human life is to be present in it—to act out of awareness. What this means and what the alternative would be is pointed at by the following table:

activitypassivity
awake, aware, mindfulasleep, unaware, mindless
doing what you truly wantdoing what you happen to be wanting
driven by reasondriven by emotion
insightignorance
flourishingsuffering
agency, autonomyaddiction, compulsion
grounded in personal valuesdirected by social pressures
self-determinedculturally programmed
taking responsibilitybeing a victim
able to detachinvoluntarily immersed
freedombondage

One could also speak of being at the cause rather than the effect, but this would require a free will, which we do not have. What we can have, however, is strength and clarity of will.

Continue Reading

  • What Is a Strong Will?
  • What It Means to Be Free
  • How to Live Without Free Will

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