Life versus Righteousness: A Philosophical Reflection on Mencius text 6A:10

Roland Aparece, MA PM; MAT PH (A sample reflection paper for my students)

by

Reflection Paper on the book of Mencius text !A "#. Mencius said, I li e fish and I li e the !ear"s pa#. If I cannot have !oth of the$, I shall give up the fish and choose the !ear"s pa#. I li e life and also righteousness. If I cannot have the$ !oth, I shall give up life and choose righteousness.% $n this text, Mencius %i&es us a %ood example about a taste and preference, and a closely examined ethical principle based of the hierarchy of &alues' (or this reason, this reflection paper is di&ided into t)o ma*or points, first, on matters dealin% )ith taste and preference and, second on the ethical principles based on the hierarchy of &alues' +hich do you )ant fish or bear,s pa)$n the first part of the text, Mencius attests that he likes both fish and bear,s pa)' $n matters of taste and preference, fish is delicious but maybe bear,s pa) is far more tasty and expensi&e than fish that,s )hy Mencius opted to choose the bear,s pa)' $n matters of supply, ob&iously fish is more abundant and easier to catch, )hile, bear is rare and much dan%erous to hunt' Thus, it,s not ordinary to eat bear in a daily meal compared to the a&ailability of fish' .o) from this simple example on hierarchy in matters of taste and preference, Mencius proceeds to e&aluate the ob*ecti&e &alues of life and ri%hteousness' +hich )ill you choose life or ri%hteousness- $n the same line of thou%ht, Mencius attests the he likes both life and ri%hteousness' All these are &aluable in themsel&es' /ut if he cannot ha&e both of them, he )ill choose to %i&e up life and choose ri%hteousness instead' 0n the le&el of first impressions, choosin% ri%hteousness abo&e life sounds %ood and holy' Ho)e&er, this %ood con&iction demands philosophical analysis both in theory and abo&e all in practice' May be one )ill ask, )hy not fa&or life- Ho) could one pursue ri%hteousness if one is already deadThe immediate response is, ri%hteousness is )orth dyin% for1 /ut upon analy2in% closely, )hat then are the dan%ers of %lorifyin% life abo&e ri%hteousness(irst, this simply means that human life is the measure of all thin%s' The &alue of e&erythin% )ould be relati&e to the human person )ho %i&es it &alue and meanin%' This is *ust like the 3ophist )ho claimed that human bein% is the measure of all thin%s' $n other )ords, e&erythin% is relati&e to man' 3o, it follo)s that there is no uni&ersal norm of morality' .o) assumin% )ithout concedin% that human life is the measure of all thin%s, then )hat,s there in human life that makes it as the hi%hest &alue- 4xternally, human bein%s ha&e body' (or us to sur&i&e, )e need to eat nutritious food like fish and bear,s pa), and a refreshin% drink; )e need also to clean oursel&es, do re%ular exercise, and sexually reproduce oursel&es in order to perpetuate human existence in this )orld' /ut is it &alid to claim that the de&elopment of the human body is hi%hest &alue of all- .o, $ think it is false' That claim is &ery shallo)' $f our %oals in life are to simply eat, drink, clean, exercise and ha&e sex, then there is no difference bet)een human bein%s and animals' All animals do the same' $f this is the case then, the external dimension of bein% human is not &alid reason' Thus, a closer examination on the sub*ecti&e dimension is needed' +hat is it that mo&es human bein% from )ithin- +hat are the passions that impel us to mo&e$nternally, human bein%s are mo&ed by pleasure, )ealth, po)er, and honor in his pursuit of happiness in life' /ut )hat are the norms to follo)- $t is e&ident that this is merely dependent on the human bein% concerned' Thus, ethics in this re%ard is relati&e to the human bein% because he is the measure of all thin%s' /ut if )e )ill continue to %lorify human life as the hi%hest &alue then the 5uestion is )hose life $,m %oin% to preser&e- +hat about the life of my enemies- 6ltimately, this )ill lead to extreme anthropomorphism )hose bottom line is self7 preser&ation' $t )ill lead to the sur&i&al of the fittest' All actions in this paradi%m )ould be *ustified, e&en to the extent of doin% e&il, as lon% as the end %oal is the preser&ation of life' Thus, 8the end, *ustifies the means'9 Moreo&er, from this perspecti&e, it )ill be okay to destroy the en&ironment' After all, the earth is *ust a means for us to li&e' /ut basin% from history, )e also suffered en&ironmental calamities precisely because )e don,t protect the en&ironment' $t follo)s then that )e belon%ed to the )eb of life, the circle of life that affects us all' Therefore, %lorifyin% life abo&e ri%hteousness does not ha&e a moral %round'

0n the other hand, )hat are the conse5uences of follo)in% ri%hteousness abo&e lifeThere are three important implications of ri%hteousness that $ ha&e in mind, first, the effects of ri%hteousness to my life as an educator, second, the effects of ri%hteousness to the community and third, to the .ation' (irst, this is concerned about my &ocation as a missionary teacher' $ ha&e been teachin% in the 6ni&ersity of /ohol for the past four years and it has been clear to me that my &ocation is to be a missionary teacher in my o)n little )ay' $ may not be a missionary priest, but $ )ill be a missionary teacher' $ndeed, if my academic life as educator is simply about sur&i&al, then teachin% )ill remain career in my life' $ may become an expert soon in the fields of my speciali2ation but my %oal is to simply ser&e my personal needs and the needs of my family' $ may be able to satisfy the thirst for kno)led%e of my students, but it )ill be only about kno)led%e and some technical skills' Teachin% )ill al)ays be an ea%er anticipation of the pay day' 0n the other hand, if $ see my academic life as a pursuit for ri%hteousness, then teachin% )ill be a &ocation for me' $n this perspecti&e, the teacher transcends beyond personal sur&i&al' The teachers )ho choose ri%hteousness teach both kno)led%e and &alues' Personally, as philosophy teacher $ )ill be an a%ent of cultural transformation' $nstead of %lorifyin% the pre7 philosophic period )herein they explained and predicted phenomena on the basis of )itchcraft, ma%ic and mytholo%y, or simply asked practical 5uestions for sur&i&al, my task )ill be to teach my students ho) to philosophi2e, ho) to explained and predict phenomena on the basis of reason' /y choosin% ri%hteousness, the hori2on of the teacher,s &ision extends beyond my life' :ust like the heroic story of ;r' :ose Ri2al' He died lon% time a%o, but his &ision about lo&e of country and education remains &alid fore&er' 3o, in follo)in% ri%hteousness, one is buildin% a country' 3econd, this concerns the impact of ri%hteousness to the community' $f ri%hteousness is the choice of e&eryone then there is al)ays hope for solidarity amon% community members' 4ach indi&idual )ill do his *ob' 0ne needs not to belittle nor exa%%erate oneself' 4&erybody )ill really participate for the %ood of the community' This is similar to the /ody of <hrist in the Pauline tradition' $t is impossible to ha&e a body composed of all heads, or eyes' $t )ill not be a complete body' The community is a di&ersity of talents' $ *ust ima%ine )hat )ill happen if all dri&ers )ill die- +hat )ill happen if all %arba%e collectors )ill die- 0r )hat )ill happen if all the tailors and dress makers )ill die- Thus )e really need each other' More so, the community is in a constant state of becomin% since all members are ali&e and mistakes and failures of the members are ine&itable' /ut it,s %ood to ha&e a tar%et )hich is ri%hteousness' +e may fail on se&eral occasions but that stru%%le to follo) ri%hteousness must %o on' The ultimate test here is on limit situations' +e are li&in% in a morally complex )orld' A simplistic approach is not &iable' There are cases )hen one is forced either to choose life or ri%hteousness' +e ha&e the classic case of =alileo; to a&oid death, he chose to detest his scientific disco&eries' He may be actin% practically because he )as already &ery old at that time' /ut )e ha&e many cases also )hen men choose to be radical in choosin% ri%hteousness e&en if their li&es are at stake' +e ha&e the examples of ;r' :ose Ri2al, (r' Rhoel =allardo, <M(, /ro' Richie (ernando, 3: and many others' $n these cases, the path of ri%hteousness is )orth dyin% for' The life of :ose Ri2al is &ery familiar to all (ilipinos' $t )as possible for him to choose a %ood career as a doctor' He could ha&e chosen a beautiful life' More so, it )as possible for him to escape )hen he )as captured but for the lo&e of the Philippines he chose to face death' This is true also in the case of (r' Rhoel =allardo' His martyrdom is not so familiar to all except maybe for the <laretian Missionaries in the Philippines' $ndeed, )hen he )as kidnapped by the Muslim terrorists to%ether )ith some teachers and many students, he could ha&e opted to escape by embracin% the faith of the kidnapers' $n fact, he )as e&en offered to ha&e a Muslim )ife to allure him of embracin% their faith' /ut he chose to be firm and therefore died on the process' The case of /ro Richie (ernando is familiar amon% the :esuits' He )as an alumnus of <laret 3chool that,s )hy $ kno) also his case' He chose to %rab the %renade from the man so that the man could not thro) it to the children inside the school' Thus, the %renade exploded and he died to%ether )ith the man' The call of ri%hteousness is &ery radical at times especially )hen the situations call us to %i&e our life' $t demands absolute immediacy' 0ther)ise, our conscience )ill condemn us for not doin% )hat is %ood and ri%hteous here and no)' The third implication deals )ith the impact of ri%hteousness to our country' The Philippines ri%ht no) is troubled by corruptions, political maneu&ers aimed for po)er, economic instability and many more' $ think, part of the solution here is to choose ri%hteousness o&er life' $ al)ays feel this stron% emotion )hene&er $ read the analysis of the Philippine Re&olution by 2

Apolinario Mabini (The Philippine Re&olution by http >>)))'uni&ie'ac'at>&oelkerkunde>apsis>aufi>history>mabini?'htm)

Apolinario

Mabini,

To sum it up, the Re&olution failed because it )as badly led; because its leader )on his post by reprehensible rather than meritorious acts; because instead of supportin% the men most useful to the people, he made them useless out of *ealousy' $dentifyin% the a%%randi2ement of the people )ith his o)n, he *ud%ed the )orth of men not by their ability, character and patriotism but rather by their de%ree of friendship and kinship )ith him; and anxious to secure the readiness of his fa&orites to sacrifice themsel&es for him, he )as tolerant e&en of their trans%ressions' /ecause he thus ne%lected the people forsook him; and forsaken by the people, he )as bound to fall like a )axen idol meltin% in the heat of ad&ersity' =od %rant )e do not for%et such a terrible lesson, learnt at the cost of untold sufferin%' $ choose to 5uote the )hole summary because this )ill be the extreme implications if one makes the preser&ation of life as the hi%hest &alue' The issue here is about self7interest &ersus national interest' $t,s %ood that one of our national heroes reflected on this issue because )e experienced a similar case ri%ht no)' +e could hardly mo&e for)ard because our identity as a nation is not absolutely in lined )ith ri%hteousness' Thus, )e really need to %o back and reflect a%ain the lessons learnt from the &ery foundation of our .ation' +e really need to follo) ri%hteousness, least )e )ill continue to do the same mistakes a%ain' @astly, $ )ould re%ister here the boundless dis%ust of Mabini e&ery time he heard that (ilipinas )ere raped by (ilipino soldiers durin% the Re&olution yet the criminals remained unpunished by their commanders' This case is similar to )hat happened recently in this country' (ormer Presidents Marcos and 4strada 8rape9 the money of the people' 3ad to say the multibillion dollar money of the Marcos, family )ere ne&er returned to this country' @ast year, President 4strada )as con&icted of plunder but he )as released immediately by presidential pardon of Pres' Macapa%al7Arroyo' 3o, )e are simply repeatin% the past' +hat a shameAbut the challen%e to choose and li&e a ri%hteous life must %o on' $t )ill be a &ery lon% en%a%ement as $ en&ision the future of this country' The challen%e seems insurmountable' /ut $,ll al)ays find hope for a better Philippines' 0ur national heroes encountered these problems before and they made a difference' .o) this is our time and $ think this is the reason )hy )e need to read a%ain the literatures durin% the &ery foundation of our .ation' $n this )ay )e are in communion )ith them' There is al)ays hope' A *ourney of thousand miles al)ays be%ins )here you stand' Hopefully, this )ill be the mission that $,m %oin% to share )ith my students )hen $,ll %o back to /ohol' $ hope and pray $ )ill make a difference in my o)n little )ay' @et,s choose ri%hteousness o&er life' May =od /less the Philippines1