As I discussed in Meditation 2, it seems likely to me that humans are reverted to existence when they no longer have control of their actions — like in cases of political brainwashing. If we assume what I had talked about in Meditation 1, that humans have an innate set of faculties that makes them different from animals, then it is part of a human’s purpose to exercise those faculties as they see fit. Just as when a lame lamb is denied its ability to exist when it cannot procure food and protection, a human is denied their ability to live when they do not have the agency to exercise their faculties. That is why I said people being brainwashed are simply existing, not living.
On a side note, I do think there’s some comfort in thinking that drive and passion is merely an element of being human. Although I cannot even fathom the idea of answering my big question in just a few paragraphs, I almost find solace in the idea that the reason to live is not anything deeper than it just being a biological function like hunger.
In any case, I think there’s much to be said about why political institutions must be structured a certain way. Specifically, they must be structured so that individuals’ agency is not imposed upon. I don’t claim to have created this idea. Countless theorists have established the necessity for government to protect freedom, and why it’s we even establish government in the first place.
I think a more difficult question is how we reconcile equality with that freedom, which I will discuss later.
In any case, I seem to have lost some structure here. Let me quickly remind myself of what I have written thus far. 1) I want to know why we live. 2) I believe that humans have different faculties that give them a drive to live, not exist. 3) With these faculties comes a surprising sense of cruelty, and 4) the suppression of these faculties is almost akin to being deprived of food. I suppose the next logical step is to decide what humans should be doing with this agency, which I will take up later. I apologize for how messy this meditation was.
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