Freedom and Happiness

Asking St. Thomas Aquinas the Way to attain true happiness, a Catholic University philosophy professor wants us to reflect on whether we can achieve true happiness by absolutizing human freedom. This is the topic in his column in the Catholic Times. 

Today, people live free from many shackles, natural disasters, poverty and famine, various diseases, superstitions, and the oppression of tyrants compared to previous generations. The recent emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and the rapidly growing technologies of transportation and communication have broken down even the barriers of time and space that have restricted humans. In this way, we enjoy conveniences and live freely in a completely new world compared to the past.

When looking at the aspect of the inherent human right that all humans should enjoy without discrimination, that is, the ‘right to freedom,’ we can see that significant historical progress has been made today. However, do people truly feel happy as much as they feel free?

The emergence of the tendency to absolutize freedom and criticism of it, St. Thomas Aquinas, in opposition, clearly stated that humans have freedom. 

Furthermore, modern thinkers such as J. P. Sartre presented notable reflections emphasizing the freedom and responsibility of humans who devote themselves to the future. However, some scholars have emphasized human freedom so much that they have moved toward absolutizing ‘indeterminism’ without acknowledging any kind of constraint on freedom. In other words, since humans are beings who complete themselves in freedom, they argued that a higher power, such as God, that can restrict human freedom should not be acknowledged.

However, this position of acknowledging infinite freedom for humans has been met with much criticism. Humans are primarily limited by their dependence on the world, society, and history. Humans are also limited not only by external factors but also by their passions and psychological pressures. In reality, only a tiny number of people can confidently say that they are genuinely free, and even fewer are happy.

Humans constantly pursue freedom, but when they do, they feel ‘anxiety’ or ‘loneliness’, and sometimes, unable to bear the psychological weight, they want to escape. To overcome this dilemma, we must note that human freedom is not a simple idea, but a complex one. For example, St. Thomas Aquinas, while acknowledging that the will’s tendency toward good is inevitable, distinguished three cases in which the will can act freely.

Freedom of execution (Exercitii) refers to the ability of the will to perform or not perform its own acts of will, that is, to desire or not to desire. Freedom of specification (Specificationis) is the ability to choose this and nothing else. And freedom of opposition (Contrarietatis) is the ability to choose good, not evil. 

‘Freedom of execution’ is entirely at the discretion of the will, but ‘freedom of specification’ can be enjoyed more freely the more one possesses values such as power, honor, and wealth, and it can be enjoyed when one is not hindered externally. However, is it possible to move beyond the ‘negative freedom’ that Erich Fromm called ‘Liberty from~’, that is, the state of being free from relationships, compulsion, restraint, and interference, and move toward ‘Liberty for~’?

However, in terms of the ‘opposite freedom’ of avoiding evil and choosing good, the aspect of ‘positive freedom’ allows one to act autonomously when a clear goal is revealed. However, it is very questionable whether freedom can be considered to have improved in this aspect today. Today, people feel they are free only on the surface, and in reality, they are not free, and in some aspects, they seem to be regressing. This is because they are obsessed with external success, leading to the prevalence of selfishness and hedonism, and the contempt for sacrifice, moderation, justice, and consideration for neighbors.

Human freedom is the freedom to choose while being restricted by specific and historical circumstances. However, we humans can choose one of various values, but we cannot ultimately define the value itself. Humans must say, “I do this because it is good,” but cannot claim, “It is good because I do it,” and the standard of that value does not lie with the subject of the action.

“The truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) If human will determines what is bad, this is a defect in freedom. Immoral decisions, although they formally have the appearance of freedom, are neither freedom nor a part of freedom. The choices that many modern people indulge in, such as gambling and drugs, only leave behind the lack of freedom that is addiction. Humans must constantly choose between good and evil objects, and the direction that matures or suppresses their liberty. If immoral desires diminish the freedom of the will, the more firmly the will is directed toward good, the greater the freedom will be.

 

Price of Excessive Greed

The Catholic Peace Weekly's Philosophy Chat column warns us to be wary of excessive greed, as it can be a barrier to a happy life.

It is not an exaggeration to call modern society, where people constantly feel pressured to achieve something, an era of excess desire. Han Byung-chul (1959~), a philosopher living in Germany, defines modern society as a ‘fatigued society’ caused by ‘excess positivity.’ Is it really the excess of positivity that makes us tired, or is it the excess of desire?

Humans are the only subjects in nature who seek to satisfy their desires mentally beyond their physical instinctive desires. However, since desires can never be satisfied, a life that pursues only desires can only lead to despair. Lacan (1901-1981) defined this desire as a ‘subject’s deficiency that constantly pursues an ambiguous object that arises from the unconscious. 

Desire has long been understood as one of the instincts that originates through organic union with the body (flesh), and the desire of the body that comes from physical deficiency has been philosophically evaluated more negatively than the desire of the mind that comes from mental deficiency. 

This is mainly due to the influence of Western mainstream thought, which has traditionally valued the unchanging spirit over the changing body, and pure reason over emotions that are easily influenced from the outside. 

Human desires, however, are fundamentally mental acts that have no limits, unlike general desires that are naturally generated from biological needs and demands and disappear when they are satisfied. In other words, physical desires have physiological limits, but mental desires are never satisfied.

The reason humans are ‘subjects of desire’ is not because they are a result of the body, but because humans are mental beings. However, this does not mean that desires are completely unrelated to the body. Since the body is a means of mediating the mind for humans, desires are also essentially impossible without the functions of the body.

Desires fundamentally come from trying to fill a lack, but there are various factors that incite desires. Modern society structurally leads humans to various desires by constantly provoking greed. Greed is one aspect of human desire that is not satisfied with the present and wants more. 

McLuhan (1911-1980) argued that the development of media brought about the ‘extension of humanity’, modern society, with the dazzling development of media, the Internet, and artificial intelligence, overcomes the limitations of physical reality and realizes dreams that seem impossible, thereby creating a new desire for human expansion.

In contrast, Zizek (1949- ) defines modern society as a society dominated by everyday ideology and warns against it, saying that the ideology of modern society is a type of ‘fantastic construct’ that conceals the reality of fundamental human desires.  This ideology of desire is used as a faithful tool to hide the interests and power of groups, especially in our society.

As Father Grün (1945- ), a theologian, said, greed eventually develops into pathological possessiveness; for a healthy life, we need to be wary of excessive greed that incites desire more than anything else. 

Altruistic Selfishness

A few years ago, a book called "The Survival of Cities" was published. It was written by two Harvard economics professors in response to the COVID pandemic. The authors ask: "Cities are always faced with crises such as disasters, wars, and epidemics, but can they survive?" 

In the View from the Ark in the Catholic Times, a professor in the department of Urban Engineering, after reading the book, gives the readers some of his thoughts on the subject. 

The authors' answer is very optimistic. The history of cities has always been amid crises. Still, they have responded wisely and survived, and they will continue to do so. When asked to provide endorsements for the Korean edition, he found that their argument was altruism. For him, this lack in our society was the reason for the problems. 

The history of cities has always been a series of crises. Still, they have responded wisely and survived, and they will continue to do so. 

All humans are 'selfish', but when a community faces a crisis, self-interest is put aside, and selflessness is demonstrated. In the face of a situation, if everyone acts selfishly, we will perish, so we instinctively know that we must act selflessly for our own survival and benefit. Thanks to Covid, the columnist found a valuable book that reminded him of the causes and solutions of our 'Korean Situation' — an unhappy developed country'.

South Korea is a shining example of a developed country that has developed quickly. Its cultural and artistic capabilities are among the best in the world. However, the happiness level of the people in this rich country is very low. We are living in a country that shines in many areas but is also sick. 

South Korea is the only country where the 'competitive education' pressures children to compete unconditionally. The soaring real estate prices, which make it impossible for one to live even by saving a lifetime of salaries, are another symptom of a sick country. 

Home prices should naturally go down, but will they? If more than half of the population owns their own homes, how many people desire a drop in housing prices? This is the reason why stabilizing home prices is difficult. Advanced countries recognized and responded to this issue early on. The reason housing laws were established from the late 19th century was because homes were seen as a 'human rights' issue rather than 'assets'. 

Rental and social housing in advanced European countries constitutes about 20-30%. This is starkly different from our country, where it falls below 10%. Among the citizens of Vienna, Austria, considered one of the most desirable cities to live in, only 25% live in homes they own. The prediction that our population will rapidly decline and will be the first to reach 'zero population' is also evidence that we are in a lot of pain. 

The core issue of the population problem lies not in the decrease but in the concentration. The population is concentrated in the metropolitan area, leading to intense competition that causes individuals to give up on marriage and childbirth, while in the country, they are approaching extinction due to a lack of sustaining population. The nation has become advanced, but why are the people not happy? 

What could be the cause? Are we losing the balance between selfishness and altruism and rushing ahead selfishly? Could it be that the indifferent sentiment of 'as long as my child does well, competitive education is acceptable, home prices must never fall, and I don't care if my hometown disappears' is at the heart of it? 

Even in the days of poverty, 'altruism' was always alive in our hearts. There were always people in need everywhere, but we embraced them. We have become a 'wealthy nation' through hard work and tightening our belts to escape poverty.

Even when we were poor, 'altruism' always lived in our hearts. There were people in difficult situations everywhere, but we embraced them. We worked hard to escape the endless poverty and became a 'rich country.' Still, we live as 'unhappy citizens' who have to compete from cradle to grave. How can we cure this disease?

The realization that 'altruism is self-interest', 'altruistic egoism', is the path to healing. It is the recovery of common sense that a community in crisis must prioritize altruism to survive. It appears that this disease has deepened since we began using the words "Get rich!" 

Let's restore balance and fix it. Let's create a truly advanced country where everyone is happy, anywhere, and return to a time when our hearts were warm and our values were in place. 

Seekers of Truth

In the "Preciousness of Faith" column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, a seminary professor offers insight into the potential dangers to seekers of truth.

When studying theology, you meet great theologians and spiritual leaders, are amazed by their prophetic insights, and sometimes feel as if your faith has been upgraded to another level. Studying theology indeed helps your faith. However, there is always the risk of pride and failing to appreciate the faith of ordinary believers who have not studied theology.

Theology does not automatically increase your faith. Instead, the experiences in life, both the good and the bad, depending on our responses, can help us grow spiritually.  As you grow older, you gain wisdom and your faith deepens. Therefore, he recommends that students studying theology meditate on the following words of Jesus:

"I give you thanks, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to foolish people. Yes, Father, this is your good pleasure." (Matthew 11:25)

The greatest weakness of the wise and learned is that they rely only on the wisdom and knowledge they possess. As a result, they believe that only they are right and disregard the words and thoughts of others. Naturally, it is difficult to entrust everything to the will of God.  However, people like foolish children often find it easier to entrust everything to God. 

As a priest, the columnist has interacted with many believers over the course of time. He has become increasingly convinced that the people with the most profound faith are not famous theologians or preachers, but rather ordinary people who live quiet lives of faith. They are people who have acquired the wisdom to entrust everything to God. That is why, like Jesus, they can rejoice in the Holy Spirit and taste the joy of being thankful for the fulfillment of the Father's will.

The Lord gives even the most insignificant and ignorant among us the opportunity to see His face. Of course, it is not a matter of seeing the Lord with one's own eyes, but there are those who, without even realizing it, have encountered the Lord and entered deeply into His mystery. They unknowingly reveal the image of God. The God who shines upon them is humble and poor, without pretense or deceit, pure, revealing His heart as it is, without hesitation or reservation, flowing like water.

The truth of life and the truth of God are contained in their lives. We live our faith to become like God. Not to appear noble and holy on the outside, but to become people who exude sincerity and overflow with genuine humanity. The ordinary parishioners we meet in our churches are precisely such people. We need eyes that can recognize the face of God in them.

He concludes the column by asking the Lord for the freedom of heart to entrust ourselves to the Lord like innocent children, the courage to reveal ourselves without reservation, the wisdom to consider another person's circumstances before pointing fingers and judging, the resolve to reach out to those in need, and the sense of responsibility to speak up for what is needed for a better tomorrow.

Death— Helps us Live Life Holistically

“Oh Lord, grant to each of us our own proper death.” As Rilke (1875-1926) confessed, there is no event more unique in human life than death. The philosophy professor in his Catholic Peace column, Philosophical Chat, brings our attention to this always-present topic.

Death is a very unique event at the end of life that no one can do for us. Death has been a topic of debate in religion and philosophy since the beginning of human existence. Death is an eternal severance, a deep darkness, a heavy silence, that turns everything into nothingness. Humans fundamentally feel existential anxiety in the face of this inevitable death, and dream of a hope to overcome death.

The understanding of death varies from ‘death as the severance of life’ seen by natural science to ‘death as eternal immortality’ claimed by religion. Feuerbach (1804-1872), a materialist, emphasized the meaning of ‘natural death’, which involves living healthily in this life, reaching the end of one’s life, hopefully in old age, and recognized the importance of the unique life of this world and urged people to actively live their lives for meaningful causes.

However, natural death, which derives its significance only from its relevance to worldly life, has limitations in understanding death as a limiting situation that we face, regardless of age, even though it is a representative symbol expressing the world view of natural science and modernity. Even if natural death in old age is ideal, it is actually difficult for a dying person to reconcile with the unfamiliar death that is approaching.

Existential philosopher Jaspers (1883-1969) argues that death, as a fundamental and limiting situation of the human condition, contains significant meaning that goes beyond the biological end, which is to understand and clarify human existence. Death is something that humans can never overcome and is, in itself, inaccessible to experience and comprehension. 

Death represents an 'absolute ignorance' and 'absolute silence,' being something that cannot be described or contemplated. The moment death comes meaningfully is not at the moment of biological death, but at the moment of encountering death as a limiting situation that awakens the possible abyss of existence. This attitude is neither a stoic calmness that does not fear death nor a denial of the world that overcomes the emptiness of death through a life beyond. Instead, the true meaning of death is revealed in the attitude of willingly shouldering and enduring the weight of pain that comes from being aware of one's own death and the end of one's existence. 

Heidegger (1889-1976) defines human existence as 'being towards death.' Death signifies the 'absence of being' where everything becomes nothing, and only when humans proactively approach death do they come to make meaningful commitments regarding their existence. Humans fundamentally worry about their own existential possibility, and this worry is founded on the presence of death. What humans ultimately and terminally bear is the possibility of death. When faced with the possibility of death, humans can finally exist as their true selves. Humans are not beings who come to an end with death at every moment; instead, they are beings who are driven towards the end from the moment they are born. Death does not signify only the end of life or a rupture in life; rather, it is a fundamental element that allows one to view life holistically and comprehensibly, thus enriching life with greater meaning.

The moment when death approaches meaningfully is not the moment of biological death, but the moment when we existentially encounter death as a limiting situation that awakens the possible abyss of existence. This attitude is neither a Stoic calm that does not fear death, nor a denial that overcomes the futility of death with life on the other side. Instead, the true meaning of death is revealed in the attitude of being aware of one’s own death and willingly bearing and enduring the weight of the pain of one’s own existence ending.

Human beings do not face death at every moment, but are born to die. Death does not signify a disconnection from life, but instead it allows us to view life holistically and comprehensively, making it more meaningful through its limitations.

Remembering the Elderly

The Science and Faith columnist of the Catholic Peace Weekly tells readers a story about a rabbit and a turtle compiled during the reign of King Injong of Goryeo in 1145.

It is a famous story about a turtle that went up to land to get the liver of a rabbit to use as medicine to cure the daughter of the Dragon King of the East Sea, who was sick, but the rabbit cleverly avoided the situation. 

In this story, adapted into the pansori “Sugungga” and the classic novel “Tokkijeon” during the late Joseon Dynasty, the rabbit’s wisdom prevailed over the turtle.

A fable written by Aesop in Greece around the 6th century B.C. tells the story of a race between a rabbit and a turtle. In this story, the turtle’s efforts to crawl slowly but diligently won over the rabbit. In this way, rabbits and turtles have been the main characters of stories that teach lessons to humans since ancient times. How would you compare the characteristics of the two animals? 

First of all, the most significant difference is their lifespan. The average lifespan of a wild rabbit is 2-3 years, which is short. The lifespan of a turtle is generally known to be around 100 years, and some land turtles live up to 200 years. Therefore, turtles are considered a symbol of longevity to humans. 

Rabbits are herbivores at the bottom of the ecosystem food chain, so they are always exposed to the risk of predators and suffer a lot of stress due to their social lifestyle. Stress promotes the secretion of the hormone cortisol and weakens the immune system, making them vulnerable to various diseases and shortening their lifespan. On the other hand, turtles that live alone are less stressed and have strong immunity to bacteria and viruses, so they do not get sick easily. In addition, they can regenerate telomeres, which are the ends of chromosomes that determine cell aging, resulting in slower aging. 

Also, rabbits, which are mammals, are homeotherms with a constant body temperature, so they consume a lot of energy to maintain their body temperature and spend a lot of time finding food. However, turtles, which are reptiles, are cold-blooded animals whose body temperature changes depending on the surrounding temperature, so they do not need to consume energy to maintain their body temperature like rabbits, so they use energy efficiently and their body metabolism is about 5 times slower than other animals, so they can survive with a small amount of food. If people react sensitively to stress, like turtles, they will eat less and use energy efficiently, allowing them to live healthier, happier, and longer lives. 

Nietzsche said that aging is not something you can choose, but you can choose how you age. So, what if you choose the wisdom of turtles that adapt to nature and live with the aesthetics of slowness? 

The fourth Sunday in July is designated as ‘World Grandparents and Senior Citizens Day’ by the church. Everyone ages and eventually becomes an old person and a grandparent. As of December 2024, the number of people aged 65 or older in Korea is expected to exceed 10,244,550, accounting for more than 20% of the total population, and thus making Korea a super-aged society. 

Just as water flowing for a long time cuts through rocks and soil to create deep valleys, the sweat and sacrifices of the older generation for the future of their children and the younger generation have created valley-like wrinkles on their hands and faces. In this way, the hands and faces of our elderly parents and grandparents contain the history of their hardships. This is one of the reasons we hold the elderly in high regard. ‘Stand up before the old and show respect to the old.’ (Leviticus 19:32) 

Sense of Smell

In the Science and Faith column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, we find some interesting insights into the sense of smell. One of the five senses, and often considered the weakest and least important.

This year, the rainy season has come, and we carry an umbrella because we don’t know when it will rain. When rain starts to fall from a cloudy sky, we see the rain with our eyes and hear the sound of the rain with our ears. And sometimes, we feel the rain not with our eyes or ears but with the smell that enters our nose. It smells like grass or the smell of the earth, and that is the smell of rain. 

This smell that comes when it rains is not the smell that comes from the rainwater itself. When raindrops fall on the soil, the oil components produced by plants are dispersed into the air in the form of aerosols (small water droplets suspended in the air) along with the raindrops. These aerosols contain chemicals produced by bacteria in the soil, creating a distinctive, earthy smell similar to the scent of the soil itself. Scientists call this rainy smell petrichor.

Although people can sense rain with their senses, such as their eyes (sight), ears (hearing), and nose (smell), in the past, the sense of smell was looked down upon more than sight or hearing. Plato believed that the world of ideas could be accessed through the senses of sight and hearing, so he considered the sense of smell unimportant. His disciple Aristotle, who valued the senses, also said that the sense of smell in humans was inferior to other senses. Even Immanuel Kant considered the sense of smell to be the “most superficial and unnecessary sense,” and it has been underestimated.

In 1991, Richard Axel and Linda Buck of Columbia University in the United States discovered a group of olfactory genes, comprising approximately 1,000 genes, which led to a deeper understanding of the human olfactory perception mechanism and marked the beginning of the solution to the mystery of olfaction, the most complex of the human senses. They were awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology— Medicine in recognition of this achievement. 

In addition, scientists in the fields of neurology and brain science have discovered that olfaction, unlike other senses, not only accepts stimulus information analytically, but also emotionally. Olfactory information is sent to the limbic system of the brain, which includes parts responsible for not only olfaction but also human memory and emotions. Therefore, if a particular smell is associated with a person or event, when you have that smell again, the memory of that time comes to mind, and emotions are revived. In other words, olfaction plays a role in memory. This phenomenon is known as the ‘Proust effect’, originating from the French novelist Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time, where he recalled memories from his childhood while smelling a madeleine soaked in black tea.

Fragrance comes not only from flowers or food, but also from people. It is not a chemical substance that stimulates the brain through the olfactory cells of the nose, but a fragrance of life that is remembered in our hearts through the words, actions, facial expressions, and personality of that person. To the columnist, Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan and Monk Beopjeong, a Buddhist born in South  Jeolla Province, South Korea, who died in 2010 (77 years old), are two persons remembered with such fragrances. The deep and resonant fragrances they left behind in the world will be remembered by the columnist for a long time. He wants to live a fragrant life like them.

But what is my fragrance, what is your fragrance right now? Are we emitting an attractive fragrance, a humane scent that makes people smile and miss what they remember just thinking about it? I must now examine myself to see what kind of fragrance I will be remembered by others. “We are the fragrance of Christ, rising to God.” (2 Corinthians 2:15)