Emancipation started
with the liberation of black people from their
slavery and, passing through human colour
and gender, has now arrived at the animal
to be liberated. Emancipation is a process
by which we ought to transform our human,
illusive feeling of superiority into an attitude
of equivalence in respect of animals.
It takes a strong person to adopt a vulnerable
and modest position. This seems to be a contrast.
Dealing purposeful with (seeming) contrasts
is called "dialectics".
What is dialectics?
The idea behind dialectics
in the way we deal with it in this article,
is that history, mankind, nature, evolution
etc. are being pushed along by two (codependent,
but not necessarily opposite) "forces".
These forces can be seen as values. We label them yin and yang, but also as "thesis" and "antithesis".
Compare a thesis to a position and an antithesis
to an opposition, and look for a composition
that fulfils both positions and you described
the upward process. In this article we intend to place
together a number of philosophical and spiritual
concepts in one frame, and defend that whoever
is involved in "higher causes"
should also implicate animals.This article was written in a compendious style.
It may take reading once again and following
the links in order to fully comprehend what
we want to make clear. We very much value
the result as it puts together a number of
notions regarding spirituality and our relationship
with animals in a context that is normally
spread over many and long articles (or originating
from matchless sources).
Readers are gladly invited to react by e-mail.
The next step in emancipation
A thesis and an antithesis (not
joined together) form a conflict or a duality.
If opposite strenghts or powers are not exceeded,
the conflict remains and they represent a
stagnation. From a unity-standpoint (the soul) we can however solve this conflict.
This joining together of the thesis and the
antithesis for the sake of development, leads
to a linear progression, a transformation,
a push along, called synthesis. The originally
opposite powers have now been mobilized by
the synthesis. As
if it were a third power, the two fundamental
strenghts have become integrated (brought
together in harmony and balance) on a qualitatively
higher level. This level is the goal,
the synergy, the result, the destination.
Healthy growth
When basic
needs are satisfied, man can grow mentally.
For example: someone who lives in a healthy
body and in a steady society, can direct his
attention towards his development and towards
higher values.
Here below we shall place together in a scheme
a number of catchwords, to represent the building-stones
of the picture we want to evoke. By placing
the catchwords together as thesis, as antithesis
and as synthesis, a mosaic of aspects is created
that belong to purposeful thinking and analyzing.
Just as in real mosaic work, not all the stones
are the same: one stone being a bit bigger
than an other one, not everything fits in
precisely. The concepts, notions, powers,
statements, aspects, catchwords, (anti-)theses
all are little building-stones. Hopefully
the mosaic will create a worthwhile picture
of purposeful processes that we want to support
on this website, and the insight will tell
more than a thousand words.
Anyone who would
like to have more explanation about the meaning
of the concepts, is being advised to Erich
Fromm "The Sane Society" as
well as our article on living with a clear conscience.
The notions mentioned in the scheme are described
in literature in various ways. That may be
confusing, but we wish to show the mutual
connection. A.o. they are being referred to
as theses or as polarities. Two opposite poles
form a polarity. They are powers that are
linked up with one another, that amplify each
other or neutralize. Man distinguishes polarities
such as good and evil, man and woman, etc..
Healing
Love is the instrument to join together the
polarities and opposites. That will not come
all by itself. Love renders freedom, fear
takes freedom away. Love wants to melt together,
but one only temporarily wants to lose one-self.
Man lives out of his ego, that always hungers
for power. Man's ego lives within its bounds
and is afraid of the surrender, of the love
and unification.
The separation makes
anxious, makes one feel guilty. Doing
nothing does not help, only makes things worse,
makes life meaningless. Such impasses force
man to go all the way through the opposites,
until he has learned and integrated everything
it takes to become 'perfect' (intact) again.
On that golden, middle road towards higher
consciousness he has to make choices, stop
doubts, avoid discord, overcome dilemmas and
exceed blocking paradoxes. By living in this
way, love and freedom can become reality.
Transcending opposites
A synthesis differs from a paradox,
that exists out of a seeming opposition between
two matters that are mutually exclusive. A
paradox too can be exceeded by introducing
a third possibility.
The scheme
illustrates the applied expressions
and explains their mutual cohesion, so that
together they can create the image we want
to outline. Joined by the other concepts in
the columns they represent cyclical mutually
influencing aspects of spirituality and oneness, the higher
cause that is being strived for in many
development processes (flows). "Go with the flow".
In his book Storm before the silence Neale Donald Walsh speaks of Trinity. All things are one thing and everything in that one thing is divided into three parts. We seem to live a life of dualities in a dyad, but in fact it is a triad. The unity of everything is divided into three expressions.
The (anti-)theses summed up
in the first two columns are a-moral, meaning
neutral strenghts. Ethics apply to the synthesis:
you have (earned) responsibility,
but not until you have taken (accept)
your responsibility, you are (have
become) a responsibly living creature. Some
syntheses consequently generate a new thesis
of a higher order.
When someone does not let two polarities connect,
nor has them come into development, this leads
to "rigidity or stagnation", "retardation
or proliferation" or "selfishness".
Notable regarding the lower part of the schedule
is that matters that apply to both man as
well as animal, are very real as well as very
abstract, but fundamental. For the notions
"freedom",
"love" and "quality" it
goes that, by concrete definition (becoming
operational) they miss say, and take away
responsibility.
Those who make it operational ("mention"),
do not know.
Those who know, do not make it operational
(free after Zen, Laotse).
For these notions it is more fruitful to
define the opposite (by fastening down in
rules the negative), in that way indirectly
granting a view on the positive. For example:
it is prohibited to lock people up against
their will (kidnap). Also due to this prohibition,
human freedom of movement is guaranteed.
It should be left up to man
and animal in what way they arrange the positive
form for themselves. It is man's birth right
to experience the three concepts "freedom",
"love"
and "quality" in harmony within
himself, but the same should be part of animal
rights as well.
Especially respect is the fundamental attitude
by which man ought to meet the animal where
these subjects are concerned. On this website,
respect is defined as "proper distance".
These two words make clear that one can keep
the right distance as well as too much or
too little distance in respecting freedom,
love and quality. Too much distance leads
to indifference,
too little to "cuddling-to-death and
defence". When we keep the right distance
towards the other, mutually energy can be
liberated in order to raise the contact to
a higher level if such is desired.
It is up to mankind to care for leaving
intact the scarce
space that remains available for animals
on earth, in ways that animals can experience
these notions (pleasantly) in their own
ways.
Man nor animal can live when left alone
in too small an accomodation. People as
well as animals maintain relationships with
themselves and with others. What matters
is the correct attitude or direction in
that relationship, in order for them and
others to be able to benefit from it.
In the schedule here below,
we once again show that part of the concepts
from the former scheme that relate to the
self and the other. It goes for all concepts
that they relate to people and in ever increasing
proportion to animals as well. Finally we
relate everything to emancipation.
Many of the mentioned concepts
are types of sensations. Emotions are functional
to man and animal. Combined with knowledge
we call the human perception "awareness",
leading to an extended consciousness. The
principle and target remain the same: emotions
supply the information that an individual
needs "to live on". That is a basic
condition for living. Life is cyclical, but
when it "progresses" it does so
in a upward way or spiral.
The continuation of the existence of the species
is a secondary target. The sequence of higher
targets is arbitrary. They indeed aim for
unity, but are not assured. A good outcome
is man's responsibility. The highest feeling
of perfect love is the experience of unity
with all-that-is.
It is only a small number of factors that
determine the quality of existence for man
and animal. As stated here above: a healthy
body and a healthy, sane
society (statical qualities) render
an individual its freedom to flower without
being deranged by nasty feelings (dynamical
quality).
With a little temporary extra effort:
self-discipline (practise), detachment and love, happiness and quality of existence
are within anyone's range. But a person who
is not 'intact' can do little or nothing for
others.
Truth, wisdom and love yield good feelings
and a clear
conscience. Listen to your feelings
and respect your feelings. Your feelings
show the way, be it positive or negative.
With the assumption that suffering too is a fundamental part of life, but that
being focussed on equality (unity) in combination with
freedom and solidarity leads to right(eousness),
we returned at emancipation.
Why should we not (re-)apply these ideas
to animals? By our dominance we enchain
others because we think by doing so we will
profit and secure our safety, but the other
one becomes an obstacle. In the past we
did so by means of slavery,
nowadays we have strangling labour-contracts
and oppressing factory farming.
By sharing authority and space and by showing
a mild attitude (respect, self-discipline,
detachment) tenderly focussed on emancipation
(freedom), creative energy is liberated
and by accepting and fulfilling (realizing)
our alliance and unity
with all living creatures, our civilization
reaches higher ground. And that sure feels better.