Final Paper (4/29)

The final paper is an opportunity for reflecting on the “big picture” and uniting the various streams of thought we have been exploring this semester. In your paper, please address the following questions:

•    Why do human beings live in community?

•    How do we help communities progress and people flourish?

•    How do we ensure that communities do not become dystopian?

•    Is the perfect community possible? Will we ever achieve perfect social justice?

Why or why not?

•    What would the ideal community look like?

•    What role might faith, doubt, and reason play in avoiding dystopia and striving for the ideal community?

The paper will be between 10 and 15 double-spaced pages long and must incorporate at least the following:

•    Two religious texts (the Ten Commandments, Amos or Micah, the Beatitudes, King texts)*

•    Two philosophical texts (Plato, Freud, Marx and Engels)

•    One dystopian text (Orwell or Atwood)

* Each of these will count as one text. In other words, you may not use the two versions of the Ten Commandments, the two prophetic books, the two versions of the Beatitudes, or two of the King texts as your two religious texts. You must pick two different groups

of texts (e.g. the Ten Commandments and King, King and Amos or Micah, the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments, etc.) for your two religious texts.

Additional texts from the course may be used. Please cite biblical texts by book, chapter and verse, and all other texts by author last name, title, and page number.

FYS 121

Throughout all of history, humankind has relied on other people to live. Whether it was cavemen relying on fellow cavemen to warn them of danger, pilgrims relying on natives to teach survival skills, or countries relying on other countries for support in peace treaties, it is apparent than individuals need other people in order to survive. Although not always ideal, community living reflects the ideas of working together for the greater good and the importance of sharing a common goal. This semester in FYS,

there was a large emphasis on community and all the benefits and advantages people gain from living with others.

Civilization is not only possible for human beings, but it is actually necessary for human life. Humanity is extremely interdependent; we were not meant to live alone. The goal of human life is to be happy. “They strive after happiness, they want to become happy and to remain so” (Freud, Civilization and its Discontents, 25). Happiness, however, is composed of three main elements: feelings of belonging, relationships, and good health, none of which can be achieved single-handedly (Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, 25). For example, relationships require two parties. It is only after a relationship is established with another person that both individuals can attain true happiness. Likewise, feelings of belonging require another human being as well. These feelings of fellowship can only arise from interaction with other people and the bonds created between them. Finally, good heal will always be acknowledged as a wonderful thing, but it really only brings happiness when there is another person with whom to share one’s good health.

Although it is true that human beings can survive in solidarity for small amounts of time, it is impossible for them to flourish without happiness, which can only result from relationships with other people. Even though it is extremely beneficial for people to live together, it is important to acknowledge the few disadvantages associated with living in a community, most of them relating to sacrifice (Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, 69). Self-sacrifice is a major disadvantage experienced in a community because people are expected to put the greater good before their own personal gains. A lack of privacy, individuality, and specific freedoms can be assumed when living with many other people in a community. Additionally, some instinctive human characteristics must be tamed in order to coincide with others peacefully. Selfishness, violence, and aggression are just a few of the attributes not tolerated in a community (Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, 71).

Even though these disadvantages may seem sizable, they are minute in comparison to the many benefits a community has to offer. For instance, with more

people working together towards the same common goals, efficiency and productivity are significantly increased. Likewise, living in a community emphasizes the regulation of rules and relationships, visibly seen through the support system created by civilians (Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, 38). Living in a community not only gives

people a purpose in life, but it enriches their experiences and leads a life filled with more happiness and pleasure.

When societies such as these become advanced through improvements in the arts, education, and overall cleanliness and order, there is opportunity for progress and flourishing. The two main reasons for initially starting a community are to master nature

and regulate relationships (Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, 27). When these two actions are applied throughout a community, it leads to an increase in happiness and a decrease in suffering. Although it would be ideal for all communities to be filled with happiness and contain no suffering, it is not possible because of the people who live in them. Human beings have two sides to their nature: Thanatos and Eros. Thanatos symbolizes the destructive side of human nature, complete with death, aggression, anger, and death. These characteristics resist life in communities and make it nearly impossible for humans to live with others in tranquility.

Eros, on the other hand, represents all the characteristics that make it possible for human beings to coexist in communities. For example, Eros can be defined as the love of life drive and includes elements such as love, cooperation, and creativity (Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, 77). When people act in ways that reflect the Eros side

of humanity, communities can flourish and prosper, resulting in an abundance of happiness for all people. There are some instances, however, when actions straddle the line between Thanatos and Eros. Although they are completely opposite sides to human nature, there are some gray areas that are neither completely negative nor completely beneficial. Education is a prime example of this. While it is thought that education is one of the best solutions for almost any problem, it can also be the origin of certain dilemmas. If the education system is teaching the wrong things, especially to children who are very easily influenced, it can strongly impact society in a negative way. On the other hand, if people are being taught in a beneficial way that generates happiness and prosperity, society will be affected in a positive manner. Recreation, luxury items, literature, and religion are some other “gray” areas that can influence communities (Plato, The

Republic, 54). When portrayed and experienced in a productive way, these facets spur progress and flourishing in a community.

There are many ways to ensure that communities do not become dystopias, but one of the most influential methods is to mandate a legal system that promotes and ensures justice. Laws have always proven to be extremely helpful and authoritative throughout history when working towards order and justice. Even before the 10

Commandments were given to Moses atop of mount Sinai, rules have kept people from disrespecting others and encouraged peaceful living. “Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, ‘All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.’ And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord” (Exodus 24:3-4). Humans are not perfect creatures, and it is in our human nature to sin. Because of this, the 10 Commandments that were created so many centuries ago are still extremely relevant today.

Rules and laws, such as the 10 Commandments, give people an ultimate concern to which they should focus their time and efforts. Once people have established their personal ultimate concern, they can then work on their relationships with other people. This is exemplified through the tablets God gave to Moses. “’Carve out two tablets of stone like the former ones, and come up to me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood’” (Deuteronomy 10:1). The first tablet consists of Commandments concerning people’s relationship with God, while the second tablet focuses on people relating to their neighbor. This represents the idea that in order to have peace and justice with other people, one must first rebuild their relationship with God.

In 1984 by George Orwell, the reader learns many ways other than rules in which dystopias can be resisted, the most effective way being education. Learning can give people a broader view of life, specifically learning about the past. People can compare this knowledge of the past to their current lifestyle and decide for themselves if they are being treated fairly and justly, and if not, find a way to rebel and fight for their freedom.

Another way people can rebel against a dystopia is by cultivating relationships with other people. Most dystopias forbid any type of personal relationships because they offer an opportunity to communicate freely with others and share ideas and opinions (Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, 168). This is a threat to the oppressors of a dystopia because it gives power and strength to all the oppressed people who then come together for one common goal, which significantly outnumbers that of the ruling class. A final method of resistance against a dystopia is valuing everyone as a human being. It is easier for people to oppress others when they first turn them into objects and disregard their individuality as a human being. Margaret Atwood writes about this idea explicitly in The Handmaid’s Tale. “That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before” (Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, 193). Once the worth and dignity of each person is recognized, oppression will become almost impossible.

In order to achieve perfect social justice, people must first conquer the three greatest evils facing the world today, according to Martin Luther King Jr. These evils include racism, poverty, and militarism (King, I See the Promised Land, 2). Although many people would argue that a few of these evils are problems of the past that have since been solved, there are many current examples in the United States alone that prove these evils are still quite relevant to life in society today. For example, the large gap

between the rich and poor gives the community an extreme imbalance in power and resources. The rich increase this gap by using their money to provide a better education for themselves, living in safer areas, and participating in more sophisticated and spirited recreational activities. This leaves the poor not only with less material goods, but also with an inferior education, marginal living conditions, and therefore less time for recreation and enjoyment. Unfortunately, most societies today follow this pattern and are structured so that people are born into the same social class they will remain in for the rest of their life.

There are, however, a few ways to combat these injustices and work towards a

fair and just society. The first is empathy. If people try looking at a situation from another person’s point of view, they will most likely be understanding and aware of the differences between them. Second is education. Teaching kids from a young age the importance of peaceful coexistence throughout the world could eliminate the number of prejudice adults. By broadening their vision and encouraging children to think critically and form their own opinions about society, justice will become a central point in the lives of human beings. Finally, the last way to fight against injustice is persistence. Although it may be discouraging at times with no signs of improvement, is it crucial to never stop fighting for justice (King, I See the Promised Land, 4). The passion and dedication of one person, such as Martin Luther King Jr., can affect thousands of people and create a ripple effect throughout the world.

In The Republic, Plato talks about success and the different ways it is perceived in communities. Society today defines success as social status, amount and worth of possessions, or career ranking. These conditions are fruitless, providing no true happiness

or prosperity for anyone. He then talks about what should determine success in an ideal society, including relationships, satisfaction, and discovering passions. These aspects will lead one towards an ultimate concern, which in turn will bring about joy for both the individual and the community (Plato, The Republic, 118). Plato, however, does not believe in the existence of a completely just society. After the creations of his ideal community, Kallipolis, he explains that a successful community only leads to the seeds of its destruction. He justifies this by explaining the types of government a community

cycles through before its fall, including Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy and finally Tyranny (Plato, The Republic, 220-226). While Plato is skeptical about the long-term sustainability of a perfectly just society, his creation of Kallipolis proves his optimism about the human race, even if it is short lived.

While there has been no long-standing example of a perfect community in the past, letters in the Old Testament such as Amos and Micah put much emphasis on justice and how a society needs to operate in order to be “just.” There are three main types of justice in the world: punitive justice, distributive justice, and rational justice, or “getting what you deserve.” Although seemingly easy, these three forms of justice are much harder to live out than expected, as the early Christians soon realized. For example, Micah talks to the people of Judah and rebukes them for their moral corruption and lack of true faith. ”Now, I am devising against this family an evil from which you cannot remove your necks; and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be an evil time” (Micah

2:3). Some of the main themes in his book are not only condemning the corruption in people’s lives, but also the idea that people need to restore their faith and never lose hope.

God will have mercy on those who ask for it if they truly repent and trust in the Lord that justice to come (Micah 6).

In an ideal community, according to the prophets, everyone would back up religious practices and rituals with daily actions, which was the exact opposite of the communities Micah and Amos encountered while serving the Lord. Even though the people of Judah knew what God wanted them to do, their actions completely disobeyed God’s commands (Micah 3). Some prophetic ideas for altering this cyclical disregard of God included equality in dignity and value, shared moral vision, economic flourishing, and genuine faith. Even with all these attributes present in a society, there is still little chance of perfection because it is impossible to force people to have genuine faith, which is necessary for a community to flourish.

According to Plato, on the other hand, an ideal community would resemble his Kallipolis. This city is based off the necessities: food, water, shelter, and clothing. For each of these essentials, certain professions were created in order to fulfill the needs of the community, such as farmers, builders, weavers, and tailors (Plato, The Republic, 47). Plato then describes the social class system in Kallipolis, consisting of producers (lowest level), guardians (middle class), and rulers (highest class). He assigns the characteristics of wisdom, courage, and moderation to each class and says that only when these three virtues coexist will justice be possible (Plato, The Republic, 103-108). Plato continues to explain Kallipolis by describing the government, which is significantly different than the government in most societies today. Wisdom is necessary for efficient rule, and a righteous leader is one who works not for fame or fortune, but for the greater good of the community. When a ruler is best fit for the job, exemplifying qualities such as virtue,

humility, empathy, and wisdom, they are most beneficial for the community as a whole (Plato, The Republic, 89). Although Plato believes he has created the ‘ideal community’ when he constructs Kallipolis, he knows there is no such thing as a perfect society. Kallipolis, much like all other great communities through the history of the world, eventually self-destructs because human beings cannot sustain perfection for a long period of time.

Faith, doubt, and reason play a large role in striving for an ideal community and avoiding a dystopia. According to Tillich, faith is a necessary aspect of human life. No matter who they are or where they came from, everyone must have an ultimate concern in their life to which their actions, words and thoughts relate (Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, 1). Even in dystopias, faith cannot be completely eliminated from people’s lives, seeing as it is part of what makes them human. Instead of terminating all forms of faith, those in power simply direct it towards a definite being, object, or idea, which removes any opportunity for doubt and reason, two components necessary for true faith (Tillich, Dynamics of Faith, 4). In 1984 by George Orwell, all citizens of Oceania are forced to accept Big Brother as their ultimate concern and embrace his words and actions as the truth. This type of idolatrous faith, however, is extremely unsatisfactory – it is blind faith. Any doubt of Big Brother is forbidden, and the oppressed people are not given the resources or means of reasoning out this faith for themselves. Instead, they are forced to believe everything they are told, using the party’s faith as their own (Orwell, 1984).

If the oppressed people start thinking for themselves and doubt the beliefs they are pressured to accept, however, new ideas of freedom and resistance may start materializing. By giving these people the opportunity to really contemplate their