Platos Closet

Its easy to believe that good is and should be rewarded, and evil is and should be punished. But the hard part is accepting that the world doesn’t work that way. From a young age we are indoctrinated that our hard work always pays off. Despite the reality of the situation, we are blinded by the ignorance of youth. This is apparent in the way we set up our society. We have schools that give the illusion that our grades and achievements are proportional to the amount of work we put in to our homework or how much we study. What systems like schools can’t account for is our start in life. We can’t control where we were born, our family, or our financial situations. Our differences like the skills we have, our gifts and our situations are apparent from a young age, but as we grow up they become more apparent as we develop our skills, and our situations change. The reason why we set up these systems is to try to encourage people to do the right thing for themselves and others. Working hard is viewed as important because it increases your chances of success. But it cannot guarantee your success. There are many instances of people who worked hard enough to become skilled, but their hard work wasn’t enough. They might not have been as good as someone who was naturally skilled, or they may have been a victim of their circumstance.

The idea of lasting forever in some way can be found all across the world, and through different times. In our contemporary society, people attempt to become immortal through outlets like religion or legacy. Christians and Muslims believe in an afterlife, while Judaism is more complicated, since their idea of afterlife isn’t like Christianity or Islam but there is a possibility of immortality after this life. Other major religions also have an idea of immortality with Buddhism and Hinduism believing that people’s souls are united in a state called Nirvana. Unlike religious people, non religious people have no basis for a belief in the afterlife like religious people, but that doesn’t stop people from trying to become “immortal”. Today people try to live through their work or legacy. People also try to stop the process of aging through beauty products to look younger, to the extreme where people try to deage the cells in their body. But is this pursuit of immortality really worth our time? Is it really worth the effort and struggle that we put ourselves through? 

If one were to succeed at becoming immortal, they would lose a vital part of life: death. While the fear of death is common in people, death allows a person to be free of their suffering. A common idea of death is that it is a release from everything. Someone who is immortal would still have to deal with all the problems in life, and more so since they would see the death of loved ones, war, disease, the end of humanity, and the destruction of the world. This everlasting suffering would ruin life. In an essay called “The Meaning of Life” by Kurt Baier, he explains that “It may be sad that we have to leave this beautiful world, but it is so only if and because it is beautiful. And it is no less beautiful for coming to an end. I rather suspect that an eternity of it might make us less appreciative, and in the end it would be tedious. Baier understands that death is necessary to truly embrace and enjoy life. When someone is obsessed with staying alive like Gilgamesh who instead of listening to the goddess Siduri who advised him to abandon his search and instead “fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man” (102), man loses sight of what makes life worth living. Living in the fear of death like Gilgamesh will only ruin the limited time you have.  

Life has no objective purpose or meaning. The infiniteness of the universe makes everything relatively meaningless. Relative to my life and the world, I believe that the meaning and purpose of life is subjective. There are way too many things to consider when you have to give your life meaning, and everyone’s going to have a different list of things that are important to them. For example a Christian would say God gives their life purpose, someone might find purpose in helping other people, and someone else might find their purpose in their job. All of these reasons are reasonable because it keeps people living their lives. Completely understanding life is outside of humanities capabilities, but the next best thing is to try to understand your own life.  

Reflection is necessary to understand yourself. One way to reflect on yourself is to look at what you desire. It is important to note that desire serves as a motivation for people to live their life in what they see is the best way. So in analyzing what you desire, you can understand why you do the things you do. Desire comes in many forms like possessions, experiences, or a state of being like well being. While the things people desire and desire itself is universal, the reasons and combination of things you desire says a lot about a person. In seeing what you desire and why you want it, you can realize traits you have. In reflecting on these reasons, people learn that there is a disconnect between how you view yourself and how you are viewed. For example, someone who may want to have a lot of money may think that money will give them happiness and security, while someone else would say that person is greedy. These judgements are made when people attempt to achieve what they want. People are remembered for their actions much more than their intentions, because actions have the biggest impact on the world. The way we do things and the results of our actions leave an impression on people that forms archetypes of traits like bravery, honesty, or kindness. By acting or not acting in ways that fit certain traits, you are assigning yourself to who you are in society’s eyes. Society decides if these traits are good if they are helpful in living a productive life, which varies across the world but generally consists of helping people in some way whether its your community, family, or yourself. For example, someone who is a good leader would be helpful in times of crisis. Someone who is strong or resilient would be able to push through bad times, and strength is often associated with being a good leader. Our qualities serve a purpose in helping us find not only who we are, but also our purpose. 

Despite life having no universal discernible meaning, people can find purpose in their life by reflecting on who they are, and what they want to be in their life. Our abilities, qualities, and interests make our lives worth living because they motivate us to pursue them.

Bertolt Brecht once said “Unhappy the lands that need heroes”. For an archetype so common and admired in our culture, how can heroes symbolize our unhappiness? It is important to first define what makes a character a hero. Some characteristics of heroes include virtuousness, courage, and strength among other characteristics society views as “good”. Heroes though aren’t perfect, and have flaws that may be their downfall. But to be a hero is more than a set of characteristics, those characteristics have to be put to the test. This test comes in the form of a quest where the hero is given a task like defeating a dragon, or retrieving an elixir. Oftentimes this quest is done not just for the hero, but for the good of his town or country. Through the quest, heroes learn and grow. This distinction is important because as humans, we relate to the characters we create. Heroes are no exception. Heroes represent the qualities people society believes people should strive towards. What Brecht meant by that quote is that a society reliant on heroes is in desperate need of virtue and guidance. Heroes fill the void left when society strays from their ideals, or when society faces a challenge that seems too great. What Brecht missed with that statement is the power of heroes to transform. Heroes are a version of ourselves as people we can turn to in times of need to inspire and empower us to overcome our struggles, and to grow as people. Every land needs heroes, since humans are not perfect. We face constant challenges and change that will always require a guide on how to carry ourselves. 

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