Life Is More than Work

What modern society, exhausted by workaholism, needs is more attention towards the self.

 

The Philosophical Counseling priest columnist of the Catholic Peace Weekly explains this in his column.

The Old Testament describes labor as follows: "From the dust you were taken, and to the dust you return; by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread" (Genesis 3:19). In the context of the biblical passage, labor is described as the result of sin resulting from humans breaking God's prohibition, but here lies a more fundamental insight that humans are by nature 'laboring beings'. Humans must constantly labor to survive, but labor has a meaning beyond mere survival for humans.

In “The Human Condition,” philosopher Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) presents an insightful perspective on labor. She argues that through the ancient slave system, humans were liberated from labor in the natural environment and were able to devote themselves to work in a producing environment. 

Suppose labor is an activity corresponding to the biological process by which the human body adapts to its natural environment. In that case, work refers to a unique human activity that relates to objects in the external world through an environment that is producing, rather than only relating to the natural environment. In other words, labor can be an activity in the realm of production that creates products. In this sense, humans in modern society are no longer “laboring humans” (homo labor), but are more deeply related to “humans who make” (homo faber).

However, this separation of labor and 'humans who make' becomes the impetus for the creation of the capital-intensive social structure of modern times. As humans mass-produce goods through work and enjoy the surplus value derived through exchange, modern labor has become unthinkable without the ‘surplus value’ and ‘surplus enjoyment’ that are the results of work. 

In relation to this, Zizek criticizes modern capitalist society for blindly pursuing surplus value and thus encouraging the desire for ‘surplus enjoyment.’ The problem is that this desire causes humans to exhaust themselves. The phenomenon of ‘burnout’ in modern society is not unrelated to this endless human desire.

Today’s working people live ‘performance-centered’ lives, seeking to maximize performance through excessive work and excessive activity. Their lives are full of ‘impatience’ and no ‘leisure’. As seen in the vocabulary of ancient Greek and Latin, ‘work’ (ἀσχολία/negotium) and ‘leisure’ (σχολή/otium) correspond to each other, and fatigue refers to a state of physical and mental exhaustion resulting from not having enough leisure time due to excessive work.

Therefore, to be healthy and happy, it is necessary to change labor from ‘performance-centered’ to ‘fruit-centered’. Fruit-centered labor seeks meaning from labor itself rather than pursuing performance, and also aims for the fruits that are naturally obtained through labor. This is not a ‘performance subject’ who has no leisure at all and pursues excessive self-affirmation and performance, but a ‘fruit subject’ that matches one’s talents and abilities.

German philosopher Plasfoller warns of the ‘depressing labor’ of modern people, arguing that modern people are addicted to work, and that this is due to an obsessive love for recognition from others. Rather than realizing themselves through work, workaholics willingly sacrifice themselves to their work. I think what modern people who are too busy with work to even take care of themselves really need is self-care.

Seeing Shame Positively—

In the Philosophic Chat column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, the Jesuit professor gives us a meditation on shame.

Shame is an essential “self-conscious emotion” that humans possess. Like what  Mencius said many centuries before (孟子, c. 372–289 BCE), it can serve as a healthy and constructive force for self-reflection and self-cultivation, reminding us of our inadequacies. When the “fear of others' negative judgments” becomes excessive, it can lead to severe pathological symptoms, such as extreme social anxiety or depression, thereby harming mental health.

Regarding the origin of shame, Plato (c. 428/7–348/7 BCE) describes it in 'The Symposium' through Aristophanes as “a painful emotion arising from imperfection.” The original emotion felt by humans, who were once complete and spherical beings but were forcibly divided into two by the omnipotent god, is shame. Humans have an innate desire to be complete, and whenever they recognize their own inadequacies, they reveal this fundamental shame.

The story of Adam and Eve in Genesis associates shame with sexuality. Adam and Eve, who were naked in the Garden of Eden but felt no shame, felt shame after they were tempted by the serpent and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

However, this shame goes beyond the simple feeling of embarrassment caused by the exposure of private parts. It fundamentally implies the recognition of the boundaries between oneself and the world, and above all, it is the beginning of the awareness of the gaze of God, or others, on our actions. It is a relationship to a prohibition, an initial emotion that emerges from it.

The gaze of the other is the direct and concrete presence of the other toward me, and it acts as a powerful force that objectifies everything that comes into view, so we have no choice but to live constantly conscious of the gaze of the other. In this regard, Jean-Paul Sartre ( 1905-1980) views shame as a fundamental emotion that arises when I, as a self-conscious “being-for-itself,” am perceived as a fixed and dependent “being” that is, when I am not a free subject but am defined and objectified by others through their gaze.

In contrast, Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) speaks of “existential shame” in a more profound sense with positive connotations. Existential shame is fundamentally different from “psychological shame,” which is a negative emotion that consumes the self. Psychological shame is an emotion we feel when we fail to meet social norms or expectations. Existential shame is a primal emotion felt when we recognize the limitations or imperfections of our own existence. This can be described as a kind of “absolute consciousness” that arises from the attitude of protecting one's authentic self, out of concern for falsehood and misunderstanding in the presence of others. Such shame arises when we recognize our limitations and seek to become our true selves.

Controlling Emotions

 

A philosophy professor in the Catholic Times gives us the thoughts of St. Thomas Aquinas on the Way of Happiness. If you really want to be happy, you need to control your emotions.

An essential role in the realization of happiness is our powers of reason.

Enlightenment thinker Rousseau once argued that human emotions are sacred and outperform everything else in terms of power and value. Modern psychology often defines happiness as 'subjective well-being', a positive emotional state one feels. According to this, most of the problems experienced by individuals or society are due to the suppression of emotions. In contrast, the Stoics treat passion or emotion as an intense sensory impulse that must be fought against and abandoned in order not to violate reason and law. Then, should we follow or abandon our emotions in order to be happy? A theory that can shed new light on this question is found in St. Thomas Aquinas.

Exploring the inner principles of human behavior necessary for happiness, Thomas is the first to deal with the thesis on 'spirit' and dedicates considerable effort in its explanation. (I-II, qq.22-48). However, Thomas rarely uses the word 'emotion'.  He sometimes uses the word (Affectus) to express feelings, but he mainly uses the word 'passio'. 

In the broadest sense, the word passio means receiving something, receiving an action, or being subordinated to it. Thomas defines this word, which is commonly translated as passion, as "in relation to sensory needs, the internal change that occurs when the soul is moved by an external object" (I-II,22,1). Like all sensory activities, passion involves physical change. 

A person's face turns red when he is angry, pale when he is afraid, and his heart beats faster when he has a craving. However, the subject that directly causes the physical change related to passion is not the ability to recognize, but the ability to desire. Furthermore, since passion is a phenomenon that follows sensory perception, not intellectual perception, it belongs to the ability to desire sensibly, not the will. (I-II,22,3), that is, passion, occurs when something perceived sensibly is evaluated as beneficial (good) or harmful (bad) (I,78,4)

Based on this explanation, Thomas does not unconditionally view passion negatively. "The passion itself is neither morally good nor evil. However, when it is guided according to reason, it becomes good, and when it is against reason, it becomes evil." (I-II,24,1)

Thomas believes that it is not an ethical fault for humans to feel passionate in itself, but that responsibility comes when they act under the influence of passion. In other words, it is natural to feel anger, but if you act aggressively in response, you must take moral responsibility for the absence of rational judgment. In this way, Thomas does not ask to abandon emotions, but sees them as the driving force of human behavior. Rather, being well-trained and using reason is essential to creating moral virtue. 

For example, even if you feel a craving or pleasure in sweet food, if you can control it, you will maintain your health. In this way, human ethical legitimacy can be increased by a passion that "comes out" following the judgment of reason. (I-II,24,3,ad1)

Thomas thus criticizes the Stoic view of 'spirit', pointing out that suffering can only be called confusion or disease if it is not under the control of reason. (I-II,24,2) 

The distinction between 'greedy passion' and 'angry passion'

Thomas further divides passion into two main categories according to Aristotle's tradition. First, 'Concupiscibilis passion' is itself attracted to an object recognized as good, and is an inner movement of 'wanting or longing for something'. (I-II, 22, 2) For example, the desire that arises toward clear water when thirsty, good grades, and expectations for friendship with friends. These include love, longing, joy, and sadness, which are reactions to sensory evil contrary to them. 

Second, 'irascibilis passion' is a movement of the mind to resist and overcome any painful difficulties, injustice, or interference for good or evil that is difficult to reach. This includes hope and boldness, which are attitudes toward good that are difficult to pursue; despair and fear, which are reactions to evil that are difficult to overcome; and anger that arises from evil that has already been experienced. (I-II, 23,4) Thomas summarizes passion into 11 categories, each of which has a structure that is paired with its opposite, such as 'love-hate', 'joy-sadness', and 'hope-desperation'.

Proper control of passion is a strong foundation for happiness. Thomas was concerned that excessive passion overwhelms reason, hinders moral decisions, and leads to inappropriate behavioral choices. It can even be crazy because of anger or love. (I-II,77,1) Even if passion does not determine happiness alone, it plays an essential role in realizing happiness when it is well tamed by reason and combined with moral virtue (I-II,59,5). For example, there is a passion for 'anger', but if you judge it rationally and channel it into the practice and realization of justice to help the weak, it can be sublimated into a virtue of 'courage'. In this way, happiness is linked to 'true and complete joy' resulting from the positive embodiment and control of passion.

Wisdom Vs Knowledge

In her Catholic Peace Weekly column 'Did You Have a Good Morning?', a religious sister wants the readers to reflect on the difference between wisdom and knowledge.

It has been two years since GPT appeared. We are amazed by the incredible capabilities of artificial intelligence, yet we feel uneasy about its endless evolution. “Will AI take our jobs?” “Can it really replace humans?” These questions brought to mind a scene from a camp long ago.

It was a summer camp in the United States. Teenagers from South Korea entered the swimming pool. Since most of them were skilled swimmers, the instructor guided them to the deepest part of the pool. However, as soon as they jumped in, they began to struggle. “My feet can’t touch the bottom.” They had learned swimming techniques, but they had no experience in deep water. The instructor called over the 6-7-year-old American children who had been playing in the shallow end. He placed a pole in the water and had each child jump in one by one. The children hesitated for a moment, but all jumped in, grabbed the pole, and emerged safely. The Korean children watching this seemed shocked.

This was not simply a matter of swimming technique. Even with sufficient knowledge and skill, one can struggle in an unfamiliar environment, and this scene resembles our current situation in the AI era.

Knowledge is the acquisition of information, and skill is the ability to perform something using that knowledge. Artificial intelligence has already demonstrated remarkable performance capabilities that surpass those of humans. However, wisdom is different. Wisdom is a living mental ability to act wisely from direct experience and internalization. Knowledge and skill are useful in similar situations, but they reach their limits in unfamiliar environments. On the other hand, wisdom shines in precisely those unfamiliar environments. It is the power to respond wisely to danger based on experience and reflection.

Psychologist Robert Sternberg defines wisdom not as simple intelligence but as “the ability to discern what the real problem is.” Therefore, he says that a lack of wisdom leads to frequent errors in judgment and ethical failures. Philosopher Valery Tiberius describes wisdom as “the judgment necessary for a good life.” Wisdom is the power to understand and embrace deep ethical insights, the unpredictable flow of life, wounds, and silence.

Ironically, as technology advances, the relative importance of human knowledge decreases, while the value of wisdom increases. The ability to ask questions rather than seek answers, to seek meaning rather than efficiency, and to seek direction rather than speed is a unique human domain that artificial intelligence cannot imitate.

Can artificial intelligence replace us? Jobs may change, but it will be difficult to completely replace humans. No matter how advanced AI becomes in mimicking emotions and empathy through knowledge and statistical predictions, it remains merely an imitation. The strength to endure ambiguity through real experience, the intuition to read context, the empathy to understand emotions, the imagination to create new meaning, and above all, the wisdom that comes from ethical reflection and spiritual insight are mental powers that only humans can cultivate and practice.

Of course, AI and humans can create greater value when they collaborate rather than oppose each other. While AI processes vast amounts of information and performs complex calculations, humans can interpret the results, make ethical judgments, and creatively utilize them. The key is not to become dependent on AI as a tool.

For A Beautiful World

A Salesian religious sister gives us a meditation on the beautiful world we all desire in her column in the Catholic News Papers.

“The world that God first created was so beautiful. The moon, stars, and sun shone day and night in the sky, and the mountains and fields provided us with food in the form of trees, flowers, and fruits. However, these precious friends are now suffering. ... Let us befriend these friends so that the world can become beautiful again. Let us share our friendship with these friends.” (For a Beautiful World, lyrics by Lee Mi-young, music by Kim A-ram)

This song is a children's song that remembers the beautiful world created by God, overcomes the climate crisis, and dreams of restoring the order of creation. To realize this dream, we need people who recognize the situation and take action. At the wedding feast in Cana, the Virgin Mary noticed that the wine was running out and brought about a miracle through her son. When a crisis approaches, if there is one person who can see what others cannot, the situation becomes an opportunity.  

The “cry of the earth and the poor” is an urgent signal that the wine is running out in the world, so we need someone like the Virgin Mary who can recognize this and run to Jesus. Climate crisis and war are the crises and challenges facing humanity today. We are God's stewards who must hasten to “rebuild the ancient ruins, restore the foundations, and repair the broken walls and restore the streets” (Isaiah 58:12) rather than “live in houses of paneled wood while the Lord's house lies in ruins” (Haggai 1:4).

We introduce “ecological spirituality friendship education” to restore the order of creation through the eyes of the Virgin Mary in this age. The purpose of education is to nurture spiritual sensitivity to find God in all things, to cultivate and care for a sustainable “common home” where all creatures are united in familial love, and to accompany the cosmic family as they are filled with joy, gratitude, solidarity, and sharing. This is an “education of the heart” based on the Word of God, which speaks of the “story of creation,” the “first and second commandments of love,” and the “new heaven and new earth.” 

Specifically, it is a story of love that creates friendship in relationships with nature, objects, people, and God. The story of creation tells us that all beings are a family that began with God. The concept of “ecology,” which has the meaning of ‘home’ or “dwelling,” is also in line with the story of creation in that it is a story of family members who are all connected to each other.

Education involves encountering the things around us with kindness, forming friendships, and finding stories of love connected to God within them. Through communing with nature amid the changing seasons, we learn gratitude and encounter the invisible mystery of God, sharing love with nature and meeting God. 

Relationships with others begin with recognizing that I am a precious being, and then realizing that those closest to me are also precious beings. This leads to prophetic missions of justice and peace, which involve solidarity with social issues, the poor, refugees, those suffering from natural disasters, and the hungry. 

All these relationships are connected to friendship with God. The development of civilization has brought material abundance, but it cannot fill the emptiness within. The longing for the source of human love can only be fulfilled through friendship with God.

The Beauty of Chastity

An Education Center manager working with young people, in the Catholic Peace Weekly's Peace Column, expresses his opinion on a serious subject often passed over.

Whether you are a believer or not, left-wing or right-wing, there are many things on which our society today can agree. Words such as freedom, peace, environmental protection, and democracy are universally accepted. Even when something that goes against these values happens on the other side of the world, protests break out in our country, and the media raises its voice. This was not the case in the past, so in a way, it is a very positive and beautiful sign of our times. We must make good use of this trend and take it as an opportunity to build bridges and create dialogue. 

However, at the same time, there are some topics that are quietly buried as if they did not exist, even within the Church. These are essential topics. For me, the sixth and ninth commandments are prime examples. These days, many people seem to view these commandments as “optional,” and their deep meaning and beauty are often overlooked.  

How unpopular are these topics? When was the last time you heard the word “chastity” in a sermon? Were topics such as premarital chastity, contraception, in vitro fertilization, masturbation, and pornography mentioned during baptismal or marriage catechesis? This kind of talk is taboo. It is a difficult but necessary topic.

However, chastity is not something negative but a positive virtue and a path of love that can continue to grow. The body was created by God, and His only Son became human and took on a body like ours. Our bodies are also temples of the Holy Spirit. Sex is also a gift from God and one of the most profound and most powerful expressions of humanity. It is an act of love so powerful that it can bring new life into the world.  

The problem arises when we forget the purpose of this gift, which is to “give,” and use it only for ourselves. We were born to love, and if we do not use the power of love that God has given us properly, we end up abusing that energy.

Of course, it is not easy. Temptation is always with us, and today's society does little to help us practice this virtue. We, too, sometimes sin and fall. But what is essential is the willingness to fight without giving up. Many people think, “This is impossible from the start,” and give up easily without even trying. No. It is entirely possible.

Such a change in life does not happen overnight. Even if someone receives baptism at 20 and begins a life of faith, it takes time to fully understand this concept intellectually and put it into practice in daily life. To do so, one must strive to understand the “reason” why the Church teaches this way. And above all, one must sincerely love Jesus. If one loves Him, one will follow Him even if one does not fully understand. Love makes it so. And since the most significant sign of love is the Eucharist, if you try to receive the Eucharist often, you will be able to love more deeply.

In addition, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of “what is sin and what is not.” When you truly love God, if you do something that hurts His heart, you must also feel pain. That pain leads us to ask for forgiveness and to approach Him again through confession.

This virtue was once considered attractive, and society accepted it as a true form of love. That is no longer the case. Therefore, we who know Christ, who is love, have a responsibility to live out this virtue fully and show its beauty to the world. When we sincerely live out chastity, the world will once again be able to smell the fragrance of true love within it.

"The Wisdom of Letting Go"

Renunciation, traditionally associated with religious or spiritual practices, extends beyond these, taking on some very secular ideas.

Instead of withdrawing from the world, modern renunciation is giving up attachments to things, ideas, or anything that prevents us from growing mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Some would express this as minimalism: getting rid of anything that doesn't add value to life. Excessive consumerism, technology, and external gratification for a more internal focus on what is considered essential.

In the Wisdom of the Desert Fathers column of the Catholic Times, the Benedictine monk presents St John Cassian's three stages of renunciation. "The first stage is to give up the desire for this world's riches and possessions. The second is to reject past habits of mind and body, vices, and passions. The third is to turn our hearts away from all that is temporal and visible, to look only to the future, and to long for what cannot be seen." 

Renunciation leads monks to constant prayer. A monk who attains purity of heart through renunciation and ceaseless prayer advances to pure prayer, achieving union with God and living in his Kingdom. Without this renunciation, neither ceaseless prayer, purity of heart, union with God, nor the Kingdom of God is possible. This is the teaching of the Desert Fathers, passed down to us through Cassian.

One day, Macarius the Great, upon encountering some monks asked, "How can I become a monk?" They replied, "Unless I renounce everything in the world, I cannot become a monk".  Therefore, according to Cassian, monks were called "Renunciants". A monk who possesses God's things in his cell renounces the things of this world. In fact, as one elder put it, those who have tasted the sweetness of non-possession find even clothing and a water pitcher cumbersome. Because his mind is now elsewhere. 

The Desert Fathers also emphasize the renunciation of one's own will. One famous Father said, "There are three things that are precious in the sight of the Lord: to face pain and life's difficulties with gratitude; to perform all one's work purely in the presence of God; and finally, to completely renounce one's own will and remain under the spiritual master. When one renounces one's own will, God reconciles with him and accepts his prayers."The human will is a brass wall and a stumbling block between him and God.

"Renunciation" is a prerequisite for following Jesus. But we know from experience that letting go of something we own is never easy. Letting go of our own will is even more difficult. That may be why following Jesus, living as his disciple, is so difficult. Letting go is a discipline that requires practice.

We came into this world empty-handed. Yet, as time passes, we spend too much time and energy trying to possess and hold onto so many things. The things of this world we cling to will eventually vanish in an instant.  Our lives are such that we come empty-handed and must return empty-handed. When we free ourselves from attachment to everything in this world except God, we will become true disciples of Jesus. The Desert Fathers invite us to the wisdom of letting go.