2: The three most important ideas from “The Human Condition”
1. The idea from the movie, “What the Bleep Do We Know?!” and the study on water crystallization regarding the affect of positive or negative thought on water, and thus our bodies, composed mostly of water. A scientific study done by Dr. Masaru Emoto on the effects and patterns in water crystallization when exposed to different music or put in test tubes labeled with messages such as “love and gratitude,” and “you make me sick.” The water in the love and gratitude test tube, as well as the water exposed to a symphony, crystallized in magnificent patterns, while the water in the you make me sick tube and the water exposed to death metal music hardly crystallized at all, making no clear pattern and forming many small, broken crystals.
2. The Problem of Evil: there are contradictions in the statement, “God exists. God is good. God is all-powerful. Evil exists.” One of these seemingly must be false. However, upon examination, there are several possibilities. Either God is not all-powerful, for evil surely exists, God surely exists (See the Summa Theologica), and we believe God to be loving, and all good. Or, there are six other approaches to the problem, and all help to answer the problem. First, we may ask whether evil is not a thing, but a lack of good. Secondly, we realize that we must desire good via our actions. Third, we wonder if we are asking the wrong question, and if we should be wondering instead, “Why do good things happen to any people?” Following this question is the question of who says we are good people, and after that, fifth is the idea that suffering can be redemptive and good can come from it. Finally, and largest of all, “Who says we can know God’s reasons?”
3. Yet, for all of this wonderful philosophy about the problem of evil, philosophy alone cannot solve the problem, as the text points out. Rabbi Kushner talks about the answer to the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” being twofold: the first answer about why, answered by philosophy, but secondly, more importantly, “What do we do now that bad things have happened,” answered practically, through actions. This approach looks ahead, rather than looking backwards and making us feel helpless. Determining what we are to do, whether we will feel sorry for ourselves or move on, whether we will stand there when a friend is in pain or will reach out to her and offer a “I’m sorry,” and then listen, as Kushner advises, these decisions also answer the problem. We must learn to forgive, to forgive the world, to forgive others, and to finally forgive God for letting evil things happen in His world, and then move on; still, as a friend, we must reach out to the person suffering, so that person needs not feel like the suffering they are doing through is their fault, and so they may have help getting through their times of difficulty.
3: The images of water crystallization from water exposed to different thought and sounds help explain the idea that our thoughts have a large impact on everything around us. “If this is what thoughts can do to water, imagine what thoughts can do to us,” as the wise man in What the Bleep said. We must keep in mind what we think, and even more so, say, to others around us. This idea relates to Kushner in that how we treat suffering people can affect them greatly, and how we treat them will change their experience.
"What the Bleep Do We Know" Website
4: The one question I want to keep in mind from this section is: “In what way will I live, knowing that I will die?” Everyone knows in the factual part of their brains that they will die. Nobody can avoid death, and no mere mortal ever has. Nevertheless, most everyone lives as if he or she will live forever. We put off things until tomorrow day after day. We don not say “I love you,” to the ones we love often enough. We get caught up in making money, in routine lifestyles, in the day-to-day that we lose all sense of the good in the world, all sense of what we love, and we especially fail to act on our dreams.
However, I know that I will die, and now I am teaching all or my person, my heart and soul as well as my mind, that I am going to die. Fully knowing this fact can completely change my life forever: I will not worry about trivial things such as getting more money than everyone else, or about having the nicest things, because all will pass away, both me and my things.
5: What I should do to become a better person from this unit:
The above question, “how will I live differently, knowing that I will die,” has an answer in my actions.
Freed from trivial matters, I can live as a true man for others, helping others in everything I do. The time that I get home tonight matters less than waiting around for a relatively few minutes to give someone a ride home after practice. The time I have for sleeping in or Saturday mornings means much less than giving up that sleep to participate in community service.
Also, I can live to do what brings me true joy, not short-term pleasure. I can seek the truth as father Hagen advised. I can overcome addictions to material things and grow instead in faith and religion. I can help others, as mentioned above, rather than myself, knowing from experience that helping others brings many times greater joy that pleasing myself alone does.
Knowing that my time on earth is limited by my death, and that my material achievements really mean nothing at all, frees me to be a man for others in all that I do.