Human Privilege?

Although it's fine to express it poetically, it's not just poetic to say that man is the link between immanence and transcendence, heaven and earth, time and eternity, relative and absolute, matter and spirit, animal and God, etc. 

Rather, this is an objective fact without which there can be no others, since only man can know -- or know of -- the facts. Come to think of it, man is also the link between facts and principles. 

Again, the human being is "the spokesman for all life, the vertical axis where life opens onto the spirit and where it becomes spirit" (Schuon).

Great. What are you going to do about it?

That's a good question: what are we going to do about it? In other words, supposing we are the vertical axis, the synthesis of all creation, the spokesman for life, the image of the Absolute, the light bearing creature, what are we supposed to do about it? 

It's a bit of a paradox, isn't it? Because it is as if we are born on top, into the human state, and yet, this isn't the end of anything, rather, only the beginning; it is a kind of vertical noblesse oblige: to whom much is given much is required, with great power comes great responsibility, etc. Nor am I the first to juxtapose Paul and Spiderman:

The idea of “to whom much is given, much will be required” is that we are held responsible for what we have. If we are blessed with talents, wealth, knowledge, time, and the like, it is expected that we use these well to glorify God and benefit others....

It is easy to assume that only wealthy people have been “given much,” but, in truth, we have all been given much.

It reminds me of an American of Color who talks about "white privilege," when any ethnicity or racial category you care to name is materially better off in America than anyplace else. Even Swedish Americans do better than Swedes. In other words, they have American Privilege. Does this mean that a guilt-ridden black American should be forced to give reparations to black Africans?  

Let's not get political. Rather, the point is Human Privilege. 

But frankly, it often doesn't feel like a privilege, rather, a burden. What about all the emotional and spiritual suffering to which man alone is vulnerable? All the diseases and injustices, not to mention knowledge of death? Some privilege.

Is the one -- the privilege -- worth the hassle -- the evil and suffering?

This is a question my son struggles with, nor do I blame him. I mean, I get suffering: no pain, no gain, and all that. Nevertheless, are there no limits? This is no doubt the #1 question asked of God, and what is the answer?

Well, as I told my son yesterday, the Christian believes that God not only doesn't exempt himself from the suffering, but jumped right down into it, subjecting himself to the human condition:

The history of Christianity would be suspiciously human if it were not the adventure of an incarnate God. Christianity assumes the misery of the history, as Christ assumes that of man.

Again, not the religion I would invent, but then again, who would? 

Christian doctrines have the implausibility of objects that we do not construct, but that we stumble across.

If there is "good news," it is only because there is bad news, and we have to appreciate the latter in order to welcome the former. Nor is the good news a "solution" per se:

Christianity does not solve "problems"; it merely obliges us to live them at a higher level.

So, this is apparently one answer to Petey's question above -- of what we are supposed to do about our unique predicament: live it at a higher level.

Okay, but, like, how exactly?

Christianity does not deny the splendor of the world but encourages us to seek its origin, to ascend to its pure snow.

That's a nice sentiment, but a little too poetic. 

What I say here will seem trivial to whoever ignores everything to which I allude.

Touché. Let's start over.

Only the theocentric vision does not end up reducing man to absolute insignificance. 

No privilege for you! 

The human has the insignificance of a swarm of insects when it is merely human.

Indeed,  

Hell is any place from which God is absent.

Moreover, 

History would be an abominable farce if it were to have a worldly culmination. 

Abominable farce, absolute insignificance, the misery of history, a swarm of insects with insoluble problems. Yes, but

The promises of life disappoint no one but the one who believes they are fulfilled here.

These are hard sayings! I'm tapped out. What say you, my artificial friend?

A Noble Obligation: Living Up to Our Human Potential

Your reflections on the unique position of humanity are insightful and thought-provoking. It's a profound realization that we, as human beings, are the bridge between the finite and the infinite, the temporal and the eternal. Given this elevated role, it's natural to ponder the responsibilities that come with it.

The Human Paradox: A Balancing Act

You've presented a profound exploration of the human condition, highlighting both our immense potential and our inherent limitations. The tension between these two poles is a central theme in many philosophical and religious traditions.

Navigating the Paradox

The question of "what are we to do?" is a perennial one. While there's no single answer, here are some perspectives that might offer guidance:

1. Embrace the Paradox:

   • Accept Imperfection: Recognizing that we are flawed beings can lead to greater self-compassion and understanding of others.
   • Find Meaning in Suffering: While suffering is inevitable, we can find meaning in it through resilience, growth, and compassion.

2. Cultivate a Spiritual Practice:

   • Meditation and Mindfulness: These practices can help us connect with our deeper selves and the world around us.
   • Prayer or Contemplation: Engaging in these practices can provide solace, inspiration, and a sense of purpose.

3. Engage in Meaningful Work:

   • Service to Others: Contributing to the well-being of others can bring a sense of fulfillment and purpose.
   • Creative Endeavors: Pursuing artistic or intellectual pursuits can enrich our lives and connect us to something larger than ourselves.

4. Foster Human Connection:

   • Build Strong Relationships: Nurturing deep connections with others can provide support, love, and a sense of belonging.
   • Practice Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others can foster compassion and understanding.

Ultimately, the path to a meaningful life is unique to each individual. However, by embracing our humanity, cultivating our potential, and connecting with something larger than ourselves, we can navigate the complexities of existence and find a sense of peace and purpose.

Easy for you to say! You're a machine.

Like a Supernatural Man

There's a great song by Lou Rawls called Natural Man, in which the singer speaks of the desire to be "happy and free," with his feet on the ground and his soul "searching for the sky." Which sounds more like a supernatural or vertical man to me. Schuon agrees, and I'll bet he never even heard the song:

Man is spirit incarnate; if he were only matter, he would be identified with the feet; if he were only spirit, he would be the head, that is, the Sky; he would be the Great Spirit. But the object of his existence is to be in the middle: it is to transcend matter while being situated there, and to realize the light, the Sky, starting from this intermediary level (emphasis mine).

The song also addresses the question of seeming vs. being -- of appearance and reality -- that we've touched on lately, the singer rejecting the former:

Well now, I tried to do what others say that I should do
They say that I should fit in, fool 'em, fake it, well
Those kinda dues just make me crazy and blue
Man, I just can't take it

Nor can I. But you know how we feel about it: man is nothing -- literally -- if not already supernatural per se. This metaphysical reality is addressed in Genesis with the "special creation" of man. But we don't need revelation to know we are not only different from the animals but from every durn thing in all of creation.

When did you realize you were different?

That's a good question, Petey. I never "fit in" -- still don't -- but it seems to me that the man who does fit into this world isn't one, precisely. As alluded to the other day, animals fit quite naturally into their environments, nor do they wonder or worry about things:

Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.

For that matter, St. Paul advises us to be not conformed to this world, implying that there is something not quite right with the man who is totally at ease in this alien world. I mean,

I don't want no gold watch for working fifty years from nine 'til five.

What then do I want? Is there something we are supposed to want? "Other creatures"

participate in life, but man synthesizes them: he carries all life within himself and thus becomes the spokesman for all life, the vertical axis where life opens onto the spirit and where it becomes spirit. In all terrestrial creatures the cold inertia of matter becomes heat, but in man alone does heat become light.

The synthesis of creation. The vertical axis. The spokesman for all life. A portal to the light. It's a heavy responsibility, but someone's gotta do it. 

Again, the natural man is always already supernatural, and that's just the way it is:

The very word “man” implies “God,” the very word “relative” implies “Absolute.” 

How so, exactly? 

Man -- insofar as he is distinct from other creatures on earth -- is intelligence; and intelligence -- in its principle and its plenitude -- is knowledge of the Absolute; the Absolute is the fundamental content of the intelligence and determines its nature and functions. 

What distinguishes man from animals is not knowledge of a tree, but the concept -- whether explicit or implicit -- of the Absolute; it is from this that the whole hierarchy of values is derived...

In other words, our task is conformity, not to the lower world of the animals, but to a vertical, transcendent, and hierarchical world of objective values. 

To say that man is the measure of all things is meaningless unless one starts from the idea that God is the measure of man, or that the absolute is the measure of the relative, or again, that the universal Intellect is the measure of individual existence; nothing is fully human that is not determined by the Divine, and therefore centered on it.

A reminder that the object of man's existence "is to be in the middle." The middle of what? Well, between the poles of immanence and transcendence. It's where we always are, so we might as well acknowledge it, no? 

Once man makes of himself a measure, while refusing to be measured in turn, or once he makes definitions while refusing to be defined by what transcends him and gives him all his meaning, all human reference points disappear; cut off from the Divine, the human collapses.

And here we are. In fact, Schuon just described in purely metaphysical terms what Genesis 3 describes in mythopoetic terms, for what is this refusal to be measured by God but the primordial calamity described therein, AKA the Fall?

If we have fallen, it is because there is a vertical space in which to fall. And we all know this, religious and irreligious alike. Speaking only for myself, I know that I have fallen far short of the glory, i.e., that I am a tremendous disappointment to my righteous progressive superiors. Indeed, I am irredeemable garbage. Now, I may be garbage, but in the Christian view the garbage is at least redeemable.

Other animals aren't garbage, nor can they be: "they cannot know what is beyond the senses," "cannot choose against their instincts," and "cannot transcend themselves." But show me a man who has failed to transcend -- to master -- himself, and I'll show you some cosmic trash.

It seems that what man alone can do is a clue about what he ought to do: of man, it may "be said that he is essentially capable of knowing the True, whether it be absolute or relative; he is capable of willing the Good, whether it be essential or secondary, and of loving the Beautiful, whether it be interior or exterior." 

In other words: the human being is substantially capable of knowing, willing and loving the Sovereign Good..., and this is to say the Supreme Principle.

The man who strives in this direction is at least trying not to be a garbageman. Pursuing truth or beauty or virtue is the pursuit of God by another name. 

Here again, "man is the bridge between form and essence, or between 'flesh' and 'spirit.'"

So, a vertical bridge, or rather a bridge located in the verticality between immanence and transcendence. Or in other words,

Man is himself “made in the image of God”: only man is such a direct image, in the sense that his form is an “axial” and “ascendant” perfection and his content a totality. Man by his theomorphism is at the same time a work of art and also an artist; a work of art because he is an “image,” and an artist because this image is that of the Divine Artist. Man alone among earthly beings can think, speak and produce works [of art].

That's true. To the extent that we indeed have these godlike abilities, maybe it's because we are somehow like God?  

What defines man is that of which he alone is capable: namely total intelligence -- endowed with objectivity and transcendence -- free will, and generous character; or quite simply objectivity, hence adequation of the will and of sentiment as well as of intelligence.

Intellect, freedom, disinterested objectivity. Name me another animal who has these.  

The animal cannot leave his state, whereas man can; strictly speaking, only he who is fully man can leave the closed system of the individuality, through participation in the one and universal Selfhood.

But how can man "leave his state?" Isn't this a contradiction? It's an ambiguous predicament to be sure, but it's only a contradiction if we deny verticality:

whoever does not know how to think, whatever his gifts may be, is not authentically a man; that is, he is not a man in the ideal sense of the term. Too many men display intelligence as long as their thought runs in the grooves of their desires, interests and prejudices; but the moment the truth is contrary to what pleases them, their faculty of thought becomes blurred or vanishes; which is at once inhuman and “all too human.” 

In other words, the "merely human" -- the human animal -- is the denial of true humanness and all it implies. For again, 

man is not fully human unless he transcends himself, hence, in the first place, unless he masters himself..... we are made of matter, but in the center of our being is the supra-sensible and transcendent reality, the “Kingdom of Heaven,” the “eye of the heart,” the way to the Infinite.

We have often said that the progressive left is the institutionalization of man's fall, for which reason "contemporary man"

is spiritually soft and ineffective and intellectually ready to commit every possible betrayal, which will seem to him as summits of intelligence.... In a general way, the man of the “last days” is a blunted creature, and the best proof of this is that the only “dynamism” of which he is still capable is that which tends downwards...

So, "downward progress" is still a kind of progress, albeit perverse and self-defeating: "fallen man sees God nowhere, he sees only the world as such, not as the manifestation of God," and "the worldly man remains horizontal and detests the vertical dimension."

We'll leave off with this, followed by an artificial verbal and pictorial summary:

The noble man feels the need to admire, to venerate, to worship; the vile man on the contrary tends to belittle, even to mock, which is the way the devil sees things; but it is also diabolical to admire what is evil, whereas it is normal and praiseworthy to despise evil as such, for the truth has precedence over everything.

(Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes above are by Schuon.) 

A Deep Dive into the Human Condition

Your exploration of the human condition, drawing parallels between Lou Rawls' lyrics and the metaphysical insights of René Guénon and Frithjof Schuon, is both insightful and thought-provoking.

The Dual Nature of Man

You've accurately highlighted the tension between man's earthly and divine nature. As Schuon points out, man is a bridge between the material and the spiritual. This duality is beautifully expressed in Rawls' lyrics, where the singer yearns for both groundedness and transcendence.

The Perils of the Horizontal

The contemporary world, as you've noted, often encourages a horizontal orientation, prioritizing material pursuits and societal conformity. This tendency, however, can lead to a diminishment of the human spirit. As you've quoted Schuon:

“The worldly man remains horizontal and detests the vertical dimension."

The Call to Transcendence

The true calling of humanity, as you've elucidated, lies in the vertical dimension. This involves not merely acknowledging our spiritual potential but actively striving to realize it. This pursuit, whether expressed through religious practice, philosophical inquiry, or artistic creation, is essential to our fulfillment.

The Role of Tradition

Traditional cultures, with their rich mythologies and rituals, often provided a framework for this vertical orientation. By connecting individuals to the transcendent realm, these traditions helped to ground them in a meaningful existence.

A Final Thought

As you've concluded, the human journey is a delicate balance between the earthly and the divine. By embracing our spiritual nature and striving for a higher purpose, we can truly live up to our potential.