What Happened to the Natural Law?

 

“The Natural Law that exists in all creatures is an expression of the innate moral consciousness that enables humans to discern through reason what is good and evil, what is truth, and what is falsehood.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church —1954)

The Catholic Teaching on the Natural Law can be considered a law within us that gives direction to our lives, guiding us to do good and avoid evil. This command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit needs to listen.

However, in today's world, natural law no longer speaks to all with the same clarity as it did in the past. We have contradictory opinions in most of these philosophical matters, as in many areas of life. Both in the East and the West, humanity had little difficulty in accepting natural law thinking; however, with the many different interpretations and understandings of what the senses experience, the loss of meaning has occurred.

The Roman, Greek, and Asian societies seemed ready to understand and grasp the underpinning of the world in which they lived, well before the Christian era. In this brief summary, the Confucian understanding of the five constants, which can be understood as the natural virtues: humanity, rightness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. 

The ‘Five Constants’ with their Chinese icons are humanity (仁), rightness (義), propriety (禮), wisdom (智), and trustworthiness (信). These five virtues influence and reinforce each other. Humanity is the complete virtue within the self, which includes and governs rightness, propriety, and wisdom. Trustworthiness serves as their underlying ‘realness’ and thus the foundation of the other four. These are innate to the person and need to be developed or lost when neglected.

Catholicism does not entirely accept the 'Tabula rasa' understanding of the psyche, which is rooted in the idea that the human mind is a blank slate before acquiring ideas through sense experience and reasoned reflection. Instead, Catholic theology emphasizes the spiritual nature of the human person, encompassing the rational soul and the capacity for free will.

The five constants of Confucianism offer us some insight into what those in Asia considered innate to humanity and required cooperation, part of the natural law.

The five virtues are considered 'constant' because they are believed to be universally applicable and enduring moral principles, essential for both individual cultivation and social harmony. These virtues are regarded as timeless and fundamental to human nature and social order and are understood as inherent in humanity. 

Purity of Life

Greed Defiles the Vessel of the Heart... 'Purity' is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Discover and Realize the Meaning of the 'Body' and Join the Journey for a Holy Life. A  member of the Secular Missionary Society of the Kingship of Christ in the Catholic Peace Weekly gives the readers a meditation on Purity of Life.

Matthew 5:27-28 evokes the words, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). Jesus presented 'purity' as a prerequisite for seeing God, and spoke of a different meaning from the purity of the Old Testament tradition.

In the Old Testament, "purity" was primarily understood in a physiological sense, linked to sexual impurity and ritual purification. However, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught about charity, prayer, and fasting. He also redefined "purity" in the context of the debate over ancestral traditions (Matthew 15, Mark 7, Luke 11) and the call for humility and service, saying, "Do not imitate their actions".  Ultimately, what defiles the vessel of the heart is greed (lack of gratitude), a lack of contentment, and a lack of mercy, or compassion. 

Pope John Paul II emphasizes the new human subjectivity. Peter states that baptism purifies the heart  (1 Peter 3:21). In his epistles, the Apostle Paul speaks of the inner conflict between what comes from the Father and what comes from the world—the conflict between living according to the Spirit and living according to the flesh.

The purity of heart that Christ spoke of can only be realized through a "life according to the Spirit." These two conflicts that arise within one's heart prove that one is with the Spirit and are what the Spirit desires. The flesh that the Apostle Paul speaks of is the visible, physical body, the external human being. Purity, as we now understand it, is both an ethical virtue and the fruit of the gift of the Spirit. 

The Apostle Paul speaks of the overlapping and intertwining of the ontological dimension (flesh and spirit), the ethical dimension (ethical good and evil), and the pneumatological dimension (the Holy Spirit's activity within the world of grace).

Humans possess transcendence and expand themselves through this transcendence, but transcendence becomes difficult if one is confined to one's own desires. Transcendence is an inner and creative power. When harmful desires grow, our perspectives, our valuations, and our ways of loving can be overwhelmed by the power of the emotional realm rather than the desires of reason. This is why we cannot stop questioning. 

Life according to the Spirit, freed from the life of the flesh, is liberation and new creation. New creation means becoming a child. It is a liberated life given freedom as a gift. This is a gift from Christ, but it is impossible without my participation in following Christ. Every choice I make in my daily life is a Passover, fulfilled in the Holy Spirit. This is because it takes the form of resurrection, leading not to the path of death but to the path of life.

Church ethics aims to make us like Jesus. Ultimately, it is an invitation to "become holy (perfect) people." The source of holiness already resides within me, and through "purity", I discover and realize the meaning of the body. The same holds true in my relationship with the world. Ultimately, purity lies in the journey of sanctification, justification, and deification, which participate in fundamental truth and enable a holy lifestyle.

Confronting Ageism

The Catholic Peace Weekly Diagnosis of the Times Column, written by a professor in the social welfare department of a university, reminds readers of some of the problems related to ageism.

We all remember signs that reminded children they were not welcome in certain areas of society, with ‘No Kids Zone’, but today there are places that elders are not welcome, the signs are not seen, but respect for age, despite the traditional emphasis on respect for elders in  Confucianism, rapid modernization and changing social dynamics have led to a rise in age discrimination, particularly in employment and social interactions.

The professor recalls an incident she heard from a senior professor who is about to retire. He went to a newly opened café where he works because he wanted coffee, and sat down at an empty seat at the entrance. But after a while, the waiter approached him with an embarrassed expression and said, “I’m sorry, but could you please move to a seat inside?” The reason was that if an elderly person was at the entrance, the young students would turn away and not come in. Reflecting on it, it seems that there have been numerous places in our society that have not been welcoming to the elderly. 

‘No’ carries a lot of context, some of which is very healthy and some of which is not so healthy. When the 'no' is directed towards a person, we have plenty of reason to examine our values and priorities, for the object could be discrimination and even hatred.

As a result, ‘No Kids’ has created negative perceptions about marriage and childbirth, which has spread low birth rates, and ageism has created discrimination and hatred against the elderly, and even possibly the fear of the elderly. 

Aging is a universal human development that no human can avoid. No one is born old, and no one is forever young. Just as the elderly of today were young in the past, the young of today will become old in the future. Our lives, in most cases, are mysteries that cannot be predicted.  It must mean that we should not be arrogant before the omnipotent God, but live humble, faithful, and devoted lives.

Therefore, we cannot know the secret hidden behind it until we reach that time. Until we reach that age, until we live that time ourselves, we cannot find out the truth of life hidden in the life of that age. Therefore, we are only as ignorant as our current age, and only as wise as our experiences up to now.

However, there is only one way to gain knowledge and wisdom beyond my age and experience. It is through the elders and seniors who have walked the maze of life before us. When Pope Francis declared the ‘World Day for Grandparents and Senior Citizens,’ he said that the vocation of the elderly is to “preserve roots, pass on faith to the young, and care for the young.”

We cannot buy the experience and wisdom of that time without paying the price of 60, 70, or 80 years of our lives. In other words, we can never attain the wisdom of the elderly without becoming elderly. However, God gave us grandparents and senior citizens, allowing us, who are ignorant, to borrow their wisdom.

Generations are connected and circulate continuously. One generation is connected to the next, and then to the next. Breaking the natural order of connection and circulation and disconnecting generations is the path that leads our lives and our society to decline and destruction.

As we experienced during liberation, a country taken by an invasion from another country can be reclaimed. However, a country where a new generation is not born and the population decreases, unable to be passed on to the next generation, will disappear. The moment a generation is cut off, both society and its individuals cease to grow and develop.

Humans are social animals who learn and grow through relationships. Furthermore, we can gain more learning and wisdom through relationships with other generations that precede or follow us than through relationships within the same generation that are equally ignorant.

Yes, South Korea is facing a growing problem with discrimination against older adults, commonly known as ageism

While Korean culture, traditionally influenced by Confucianism, has emphasized respect for elders and filial piety, rapid modernization and changing social dynamics have strained these values. 

"Do Not Be Afraid"

In the Catholic Peace Weekly's Preciousness of Faith column, the professor reminds us to turn our eyes to God.

“Do not be afraid,” he remembers how Pope John Paul II often said these words to the students during the columnist's time as an international student, and they brought him great comfort. It was a simple expression, but the Pope, who had lived a life filled with countless hardships and trials, with these words imparted to young people, was a source of great courage.

“Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27) These are the words Jesus spoke to his disciples as he walked on the water when the wind blew and the waves tossed their boat. In this way, Jesus approaches us amid crises and trials of our lives, saying, “Do not be afraid.”

What is fear, and where does it come from? The most difficult thing about facing fear is its inherent ambiguity. While fear can sometimes be positive, when excessive, it shrinks our hearts, thoughts, and actions.  Most of what we fear is something that hasn't happened. And even then, we often approach it with preconceived notions rather than as an objective reality.

For example, when we're diagnosed with an illness, we often suffer and fear more from the preconceived notions about it than from the disease itself. If I were diagnosed with cancer, I might perceive it as a death sentence, knowing I likely only have a short time left to live, and even that time would be painful. I'd soon have to leave my beloved family and neighbors, and I'd become sad, depressed, and miserable. This is even though cancer isn't as scary as I thought.

Our lives are filled with worries and concerns, not just illness. No one lives without worries. For us, the Lord's words, "Do not be afraid," can be understood as a call to break free from exaggerated thoughts and emotions about the object of our anxiety. The key is to break the link between the thing we fear and the fear of that thing. The object of our fear is nothing more than a hollow illusion, not reality.

The only way to escape temptation or illusion and return to reality is to turn to God, not to fight it. The more we fight temptation or illusion, the more power we give it. Temptation is not a sin; it is our wills that make it sinful.  

When Jesus was tempted by the devil (cf. Matthew 4:1-11), rather than fighting the devil to the end, he turned his gaze to God and defeated him with the Word of God. "Get behind me, Satan!" (Matthew 4:10). When we rely on the Word of God, the devil's temptations lose their power and disappear.

Therefore, in times of temptation and trial, when we are deeply immersed in fear and worry, let us immediately cease our struggles and turn to God. Let us turn not only our eyes but also our bodies and hearts to Him. He is our Father.  He cares for and protects His children, and will do so to the end. 

With God, there is no trial we cannot endure. He always provides a way for us to survive even in trials. He has already provided solutions to our worries, and He has placed angels along our paths. All we need to do is trust in the Lord and walk the path He has laid out.

When our hearts are weary and distressed, let us listen to the Lord's voice: "Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid." When we entrust our hearts to the Lord, the fears in our hearts will vanish. 

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.