Principles

Principles are essential for a well organised life. I have around ten which I enumerate first. Firstly the spiritual principle (my name for it). I believe in the Creation and the Creator, to be expanded later in this and other posts. Second, death is the right end to life, and itself a principle of all living creatures. This is not to be confounded with entropy, a purely physical phenomenon, the decay of energy.

Third, life is sacred, down to the smallest insect. Fourth, the material of the creation, including intelligent beings, us, and higher level beings that may live throughout the universe, is to be found in the stars. Fifth our conduct through our lives, is eventually what determines our future after death: void or spiritual rebirth. 

Sixth, Christianity, as in true catholic, protestant or orthodox faith, is fundamental to western societies: its decay or perversion is at the root of societal decomposition. Seventh, the duty of men (real men) is to do the hard work, protect the mothers and their children, and if necessary, confront evil with force. Eighth, violence is abhorrent. Eighth, reading is the most important mental activity. Ninth, regular and healthy physical activity, according to one’s age, is a necessity. Tenth, music and art are enchanting to the soul.

Creation

This world is not the outcome of random physical events. It is designed, and has a purpose. The purpose of the creation is the glory of the creator, represented for us, of Christian faith, by Jesus Christ and the mystery of the Trinity, and the development of intelligent life. There are variations of language, and traditions, in all the great religions of the world. Our role within is to worship, pray, contemplate, explain, and multiply, according to the other principles. This principle separate me and people of the same mind, from atheists and materialists. This separation does not preclude a level of understanding, but this is necessarily limited.

On death

Ilyin: “Death is not merely gracious; not only does it deliver us from this earthly vale and relieve us of the world’s excessive burden, not only does it shape our lives and requires of us an artistic conclusion, but it is also a certain mysterious, God-given “measurer of all things” and of all human deeds. We need it not only as a breaker of chains and a great door to our final departure; we need it first of all in life itself and for life itself…

Death nurtures in us the very taste for life, fine-tuning and refining it; it teaches us not to waste time, to want the best, to choose the single wonderful things out of many, and to live by the divine on earth for the duration of our brief life. The shadow of death teaches us to live in light.”

Sanctity of life

It is not for us to judge of the value of life in other life forms, great or small.  Life is emanation of the divine creation, hence its sanctity. Destroying life is a sin, unless in self-defence or for our own survival.

Material of life

Modern technology has permitted us to admire the sheer beauty of space and celestial bodies, planets, stars and galaxies. It is a daunting thought that it is where the material we are made of came from, the building blocks of creation itself. I find  astronomical photography inspiring. It is also a reminder that we are still on the threshold of space travel and more discoveries.

Our conduct

The way we are determines what we are. Our conduct is our footprint during our brief life. The all-seeing eyes of the creator is on us. For there is nowhere to hide.  If we embrace evil, we become evil, and can never hide it, or pretend it is untrue.

Christianity

This is simple enough. We inherit at birth a tradition, a worldview, coming from our family, our parents, transmitted to us through generations. We are born in a culture, and our religion, even when we claim to have none, is part of this inheritance. Denying it, for some, is a way to signal their inclination to evil. 

Duty of men

Well, this is perhaps the principle that defines my existence. Men are here to do the harder work (which does not mean that women cannot do so as well), protect the weak, principally the children and the elder, and, naturally (for me) mothers and wives. I totally despise ideologies to the contrary.

On violence

Force, applied in a spiritual way, as described by Ilyin in “On resistance to evil by Force”, is totally different from violence, which I define as the exercise of (mainly) male power (again, this does not exclude women, sadly, to be able to exercise violence) without principle nor respect for life. Resisting evil by force is men’s duty, the exercise of violence is intrinsically evil.

On Resistance to Evil by Force: Ivan Ilyin and the Necessity of War

“In 1925, Russian philosopher Ivan Il’in published a book entitled On Resistance to Evil by Force . The book generated a bitter polemic among @migré Russian thinkers, which constitutes probably the most thorough debate on the justification of the use of force ever conducted among Russian scholars. This paper analyses Il’in’s work and places it into the context of Russian history and philosophy. Il’in argued that war was sometimes necessary, but never ‘just’. On occasions, the only way of fulfilling one’s obligation to resist evil is to fight. At such times one must do so.

But one must understand that what one is doing, though necessary, is unjust, because one is always at least partially responsible for the situation which made violence necessary. While not shirking one’s responsibilities, it is only by facing up to the guilt of one’s deeds that one can prevent war from undermining one’s moral equilibrium. This paper shows that most of those who took part in the debate provoked by Il’in’s book agreed with the fundamentals of his argument. This fact illustrates that there is a distinctive Russian philosophy regarding the use of force which in important aspects differs from Western just war theory.”

(Source)

Reading

They say all has already been written. Luckily this is not the case. But reading from writers who have long thought about human destiny, the creation, human history, and real science, is the basis of a good and interesting life. Novels are a way, modestly, to attempt at our own version of the creation. It is also the only way to learn about writing, which is the road to exchanging, promoting, one’s beliefs.

Health

It is another evidence: a sane mind in a healthy body. Preserving, as far as possible, one’s health in old(er) age is a duty.

Music and the arts

They are the way to find inspiration, relax the mind, discover genius, reflect on our own lives. Arts are a reflection of human contemplation of the universe.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the life principles we uphold serve as the foundation for our attitudes toward the world and our interactions with others. They instil a deep-seated faith and a profound respect for life, guiding us to oppose evil and protect the most vulnerable among us, particularly children and women. By refusing to embrace violence, we foster an environment of peace and compassion. Our love for literature, music, and the arts enriches our lives, igniting passions that connect us to one another and to the beauty surrounding us. Above all, these principles inspire an admiration for the creation and the creator, urging us to cherish and nurture the world we inhabit. Let us commit to living by these ideals, shaping a better future for ourselves and generations to come.