Ethics of Ambiguity

Author

Institution

Introduction

The importance of philosophy in the contemporary human society cannot be gainsaid as far as critical thinking is concerned. Indeed, this is the fundamental use of philosophy as a discipline. Needless to say, the human society has seen numerous philosophers with varying degrees of popularity, as well as different philosophies. Philosophers have, in varied instances, been striving to explain the essence of human existence. This was the case for Simone de Beauvoir, a French existentialist philosopher who sought to create an enhanced understanding or comprehension of what individuals are as human beings. She stated that the existence of individuals was ambiguous as it is never clear exactly what individuals are as human beings, in which case they must face their problems via life itself as they go through it (Velasquez, 2011). De Beauvoir outlined varied attempts at resolving the ambiguity that clouds an individual’s life or existence, one of which is seriousness or “the serious man”.

The comprehension of seriousness necessitates that individuals examine the manner in which they were brought up or conditioned. Kids start their lives with a considerable level of seriousness, which underlines the fact that they are born into worlds that they stand no chance of changing (Velasquez, 2011). This means that they have no option but to submit to the world, irrespective of how much they hate it. For instance, when children are told that cheating or lying is wrong, they have to accept that notion as an absolute or supreme moral law. He would not have to question the basis upon which such a notion is made or even why cheating or lying is wrong.

However, this worldview develops some contentions or cracks once an individual gets into adolescence. Children, as teenagers, usually notice the contradictions that are rife in their parents and other adults’ lives, as well as the world in its entirety. For instance, they may realize that their parents lie to each other or even to other kids, even after telling them that cheating or lying is wrong. This underlines the fact that a close examination of the life that the child lives would reveal that their own customs and values emanate from adults. It is, in essence, at this point that the individual would realize or achieve his freedom. Indeed, they realize that they too, will have to become adults and make their own choices. However, this comes as a mixed blessing as the world is not outside the control of the child, rather, he has to make a contribution to it and become successful.

The child may reach a point in which he would be wary of his or her freedom and afraid of the fact that he would have to interact with the world and adhere to the laid down rules and regulations. He will, undoubtedly, remain nostalgic of the time when he did not have to make a choice, a time when everything would be laid out before him (Velasquez, 2011). Beauvoir states that the man, instead, would take refuge in the serious world that he, at one time, knew as a child. This time, however, the individual would pretend that the values that he holds or espouses are real, objective, as well as independent of other human beings, while, in fact, they have been created by other men. In this case, the man, unlike the child would be making a choice even in instances where he does not think that he is (Velasquez, 2011). This means that the serious person would be claiming to take refuge in habits and values that do not originate from human beings, while, in fact, there exists no such values and rules. He would be lying to himself if he thought that the values are not conditioned.

In some cases, the serious man would join a group of people such as Communists or Christians, identifications that would, eventually give him some rights. This may inspire a belief in the man as to the objectiveness of the rights, which is worn as he would have chosen them. Beauvoir notes that the serious attitude would have the capacity to easily result in fanaticism, where other people’s freedoms would be entirely ignored for some ideal that is supposedly objective (Velasquez, 2011). The serious human being would have to sacrifice himself or herself to a particular ideal that he would have chosen.

Beauvoir states that the world creates by oppression is plagued by seriousness (Velasquez, 2011). This affirms the oppressive order and christens is a “natural situation”, a world that an individual would be incapable of changing, and against which it would be impossible and hopeless for an individual to successfully revolt. In addition, it would be impossible for an individual to know the joy that comes with the destiny pertaining to human existence that is entangled in the serious world, or even the world pertaining to the child (Velasquez, 2011). Just as the mythical first individuals had to exchange their paradise for the pains and pleasures that come with knowledge, existentialists viewed the human condition as incorporating a brokerage of the pleasures that come with child’s play for the fretfulness pertaining to subjectivity, as well as its joyful possibilities. Beauvoir states that human beings can only escape from the serious world through a revolution or a thoroughgoing rebellion. Human beings cannot just come up with modest alterations to such a world, rather the oppressed would fulfill and achieve their freedom as human beings only through revolting, especially considering that the essential features pertaining to the situation against which they are rebelling precisely revolves around prohibiting them from achieving any desirable development.

As much as revolutions would be essentially difficult and troublesome to individuals, Beauvoir justifies them on the basis that this is the only way that an individual would be free and have the capacity to chart his own destiny. Indeed, it goes without saying that individuals live by rules that are created by other human beings living in the same world before them. However, as much as the rules that they make are time-tested and could, in fact, be extremely efficient in ensuring stability and peace, different circumstances will, undoubtedly, necessitate the crafting of different rules and regulations. Indeed, rules and regulations often change, become irrelevant and inapplicable as individuals get into different situations (Velasquez, 2011). It is, undoubtedly, extremely enslaving for individuals to be forced to live under rules whose applicability has been compromised by the sands of time, or whose relevance is compromised by the prevailing circumstances. However, piecemeal changes would be insufficient in eliminating such oppression, in which case it would be imperative that a widespread revolution is undertaken to liberate the individuals.

References

Velasquez, M. G. (2011). Philosophy: A text with readings. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.