Life is the art of balance.
Life is the art of balance.
'How can I live a good life?'
It was originally an ethical question. Underlying this question was the perception that economic wealth never guarantees a happy life. But now this question is understood only economically, and 'living well' means 'living wealthy'. In the end, the question of 'how to live and live well' is regarded as synonymous with 'how can one achieve wealth'.
The moral values and social structures that supported traditional societies have long since been torn down. Oil value becomes ridiculed, and new values show no sign of being formed. The trends of globalization and individualization make ethical questions banal and meaningless by universalizing capitalist lifestyles.
However, even if they each have different values, there must be a minimum common value that everyone can recognize and agree on. The problem is that capitalist life does not readily allow for these common values. It is economic values and logic that determine our lives, and in reality, we are all chased by the 'deadline'. Capitalist time management, which requires us to complete tasks by a certain time, doesn't give us time to think. We mistakenly believe that we can decide our own lives, but what governs our lives is a tightly woven schedule. In the end, we fall into a sense of ethical helplessness that we do not know how to live.
A state of panic in life where you work hard and don't know what you're living for. As the capitalist lifestyle becomes more prevalent, the content of life becomes exhausted.
The art of life has become an urgent challenge of the times. In the era of relativism, where skepticism about the moral laws that apply to everyone, you must focus on yourself so as not to be swept away by extremes. Because it is a problem we have to deal with in our daily life. We cannot choose life the way we choose goods in the market. The art of life is 'this or that?' It's not a matter of choice. For a sensible happy life, the decision to be made is 'Is it too much or too little?' the same kind of problem. All issues directly related to personal life, such as whether I work too much, how much time I have for myself, and how much wealth I want, are ultimately a matter of degree.
So, what kind of effort is needed to keep this balance?
In what ways can we find our own balance, equipped with the logic of maximization to get the maximum benefit at the minimum cost?
A hint may be drawn from Aristotle, who developed the theory of moderation and balance to find balance in life in an era of extremes. Many people doubt the practical utility of this theory, but Aristotle's theory of equilibrium still provides a valid answer to the existential and practical question of 'how to live well'. His theory of equilibrium is simple. Excess and defect, excess and deficiency should be avoided. No matter what you do or how you feel in life, in order to live well, you must not go too far or too little.
It is very simple, but difficult to put into practice, to strike a balance between excess and lack. Maybe this is why people find balance banal and trivial. Common sense is something everyone knows but cannot put into practice.
Common sense is enough to know that we need to be in balance, but we think balance is empty because we can't.
A capitalist life that pursues economic wealth doesn't even allow you to ask questions for yourself.
To answer the questions you ask yourself, you must have your own purpose in life. This is because only when you have a purpose in life can you interpret and solve the problems you encounter every moment from the perspective of your purpose.
The purpose of life is what I want to achieve over the course of my life.
The art of life is fundamentally the 'art of balance' because it is possible to achieve balance in life only if there is a purpose.
Aristotle defines balance as intermediate between excess and deficiency. As a guide to restore the art of capitalist life, Aristotle's 'moderate theory' is no longer a banal or empty theory. If happiness in life is still related to purpose or meaning of life.
Comments
Post a Comment