This opening stanza of the song “CajuĂna”, written by Caetano Veloso, closes an essential question to the trajectory of man in the world. The Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle, and, later, Saint Thomas Aquinas, considered that all beings exist in a state of potency and act, that is, they bring with them the conditions to come into being. They carry within themselves a predetermined essence that can be realized, according to their inherent purpose. For example, a seed has the potential to become a tree, a child has the potential to be an adult. Thus, according to this conception, the human being has an abstract and universal essence that distinguishes him from all other beings: man is a rational animal. This essence is realized, or rather, is transformed into an act by the individual action of each human being.
As a counterpoint to the essentialist conception, nineteenth-century existentialism denies that human action is predetermined by this abstract and universal essence, asserting that existence precedes essence. This means to say that man, insofar as he exists, builds his humanity. In other words, human life is a project under permanent construction, as each individual exercises his freedom to act and be.
Leaving aside the setbacks that still fuel the discussion generated by these conceptions, we would like to take as a starting point an observation: man, the human being, exists. He occupies a specific space and time, but he is different from other beings that live in the world. He always had a clear perception of this difference and, therefore, was able to act on nature and produce culture, understood here in the broad sense of the term.
Obviously, the behavior of human beings, over time, leaves visible marks of their conceptions, knowledge, habits and attitudes. Such brands demonstrate their ability to transform the world and themselves, in the face of the challenges of their existence. In fact, it was the challenges of all kinds that allowed the human being to go through the various stages of evolution, from “homo neanderthalensis” to “homo sapiens”, which, in its origin, about 300 thousand years ago, was characterized by its ability to to symbolically reconstruct the world, producing technologies for the domain of nature, creating new modalities of organization of work and society, improving their food and clothing, inventing new forms of communication through the use of language. The discovery and exercise of these skills made it possible for human beings to reach the present day. Therefore, we can say that the symbolic and reflective capacity made man a different and special being in relation to the set of other living beings that inhabit planet Earth.
That's it, my dear reader: we are different and special. We have evolved a lot and, for sure, we will still evolve. In the process, how many wonderful things we have already been able to invent (and will still invent) to make our lives more lasting, enjoyable and motivating! However, we cannot deny that, despite all this evolution, we do not feel fully safe and happy. We live in troubled times, and this affects our tranquility. Where can we anchor our life? We all want to be happy. In fact, this has always been the desire of the human creature. But where are we looking for such happiness? What does it represent for us? Is it really possible to achieve it in earthly life, in the face of so many adversities? What does the state of happiness require of us?
Epicurus (one of the greatest ethical thinkers who lived in the XNUMXrd century BC) claimed that man was born to be happy and for that he is destined. For him, suffering does not determine human life, even physical suffering. Man is not at the mercy of circumstances; he is master of himself. According to this philosopher, the happiness of the human person resides in his ability to self-determine, to steer his “inner ship”. Epicurus' ethics proposes a self-management of the inner life in such a way that it is possible for man to deviate from the unexpected, from external fatality, from the conditioning and mechanics of the physical world. Therefore, it is essential that he seek enlightenment, cultivate the love of wisdom, move away from public life, where turmoil, antagonism and disputes predominate, retreating to what he called the “garden of delights”. There, together with those who cultivate the same ideal, in lucid and enlightened fraternity, you will be able to build a personal and non-transferable project of happiness that, in fact, is an ethical project through which you will conquer good, serenity, pleasure, spiritual health. . In short, when it comes to human territory, no external force can interfere with our happiness because only man, in his space of autonomy, can know what makes him happy.
You can tell me: all this is just a dream! Maybe you're right. Epicurus believed in the power of the imaginary, in the power of the dream with regard to the realization of the human person. But he didn't want to dream alone, and you have to agree that a collective dream is very likely to come true, especially when it comes to our true good, our happiness. We can never be happy alone, can we? In fact, human relationships are at the center of the current discussion about the meaning of life. Do you know why? Because it is only in living with our fellow human beings that we will be able to find the answer to the question: if we exist, what is it destined for? The redemption of the human race is not in the “ego”, it comes from the other, in the exercise of love, compassion and forgiveness, through which we are incorporated into the truly human community.
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My dear reader, do you see another way to discover the meaning of your life? How can we change the ugly face of the world in which we live if we do not seek refuge in our “garden of delights”, where, through the cultivation of the good, the beautiful and the sacred, we will conquer our serenity, our peace, our happiness?
