Introduction
Despite the prevalence of positive attitudes toward ethics and equity in human society in the 21st century, unequal and unfair treatment can still be seen even in the most civilized countries. Examples of such treatment include unending conflicts based on people’s racial, sexual, or cultural affiliation, unequal income distribution, and class struggle. Although some manifestations can be addressed with the help of legal or authoritative interventions, they do not reach the root of the problem: a subjectively perceived way to achieve fulfillment in life. In a capitalistic society, individuals tend to put themselves above others, pursuing personal gain, material goods, and profit. Consequently, if these ways of fulfillment were to be replaced, the world could move toward greater empathy, moral responsibility, and fairness.
Fulfillment Through Harmony
An exaggerated example is needed to better illustrate the replacement of an integral life value: James Cameron’s Avatar movie. Probably the most apparent worldview depicted in Avatar is transcendentalism. Its core belief implies that all people are inherently good and generous, whereas society and its structures promote corruption, egoism, and manipulation (Ansari & Jahantigh, 2019). This is reflected in the main film’s conflict: human society against the Na’vi, the indigenous population of the Pandora planet where the action occurs (Cameron, 2009). Although the former is illustrated as a highly advanced society, most humans are also mercantile, disrespectful, and egocentric.
Conversely, Na’vi live in a traditional society and in harmony with nature; despite their lack of technology, they display high spiritual and moral values (Cameron, 2009). Nature, as such, is particularly important in this context since transcendentalists greatly emphasize its aesthetic and spiritual value (Meehan, 2020). This alignment is demonstrated by the example of Eywa, which is believed to connect all living beings on Pandora.
The beliefs of the Na’vi in Eywa can be considered a certain form of theism. As the film’s protagonist describes it, Eywa is “a network of energy that flows through all living things” (Cameron, 2009, 01:11:10–01:11:14). This network establishes a deep connection between Na’vi and the forest they live in. Furthermore, it creates a purpose of life for every living being on Pandora: “All energy is only borrowed, and one day you have to give it back” (Cameron, 2009, 01:11:16–01:11:20).
In many ways, it is quite similar to how transcendentalists explain the concept of nature, as they, too, believe that God is present in every person and object (Gao, 2020). However, Avatar makes this connection more literal due to the Na’vi’s ability to interact with Eywa through receptors hidden in their hair (Cameron, 2009). This is partly why humans viewed Pandora as a mere resource hub—they could not connect and witness Eywa’s existence.
Na’vi’s desire to protect nature at any cost can be considered a reflection of the biblical worldview. According to the Bible, God did not surrender his ownership rights when he decided to share this world with his children: “Everything belongs to God; he is the owner” (NIV, 2011, Psalm 24:1). Consequently, personal ownership is nothing more than stewardship bestowed by his will. This implies responsibility for preserving anything in people’s possession (Carradus et al., 2020).
Moreover, it concerns not only material objects but also other living species. People were responsible for caring for other God’s creations (NIV, 2011, Gen 2:15). In Avatar, Cameron purposefully exaggerates the contemporary situation on Earth to illustrate humans’ neglect of this responsibility. This way, the director draws attention to current environmental concerns and how human society develops and promotes the value of living in harmony. Nevertheless, although transcendentalism does provide an example of a value that could increase societal morality, this model ceases to be feasible in the face of unavoidable technological progress.
Fulfillment Through Enlightenment
Throughout the development of the human race, human beings used their superior mental capabilities to develop technological solutions to compensate for their physical weakness. In other words, modern human philosophy is greatly influenced by technology and its advancement because of the convenient tools it provides. However, these tools were primarily used to enhance the physical environment, resulting in a growing subjectively perceived value of material goods. In contrast, they could instead be used to explore the mind. In this context, transhumanism, a philosophical movement that originated in the 20th century, takes the role of such “tools” to the next level (Manzocco, 2019).
In short, transhumanists encourage using technology to change, modify, and ultimately improve human intellectual capabilities (Manzocco, 2019). Similar to transcendentalism, transhumanism promotes the idea of transcending the boundaries of the human body to reach the state of mindfulness—a state of genuine cognition, perception, and total self-awareness. Meanwhile, transhumanism does not oppose technology but encourages its followers to use it to achieve enlightenment.
Each individual’s unique personality implies an equally unique way of exploring the mind. In the context of the search for mindfulness being everyone’s purpose, enlightened egoism would become the central ethical system in society. According to Kropotkin (2021), egoism implies that human self-interest is a natural and inherent phenomenon.
However, if one is interested in long-term personal well-being, one should consider helping others to be helped in return in the future. This leads to preferring Stoicism in terms of moral decision-making. The main idea behind Stoicism is the virtue of rationality (Pollock, 2019). To predict long-term positive outcomes successfully, it is vital not to be blinded by irrational factors, namely instincts and passions.
Following this model of thought, rationale, and long-term well-being will become everyone’s priorities without promoting envy or guilt. In this context, societal business and governance models will resemble technocracy. In particular, decision-makers will be selected based on their expertise and will utilize the scientific method in their operations. Such an approach might even possess a far greater potential for securing profit than the current capitalistic system. Thus, replacing fulfillment through profit with fulfillment through enlightenment can become the way for society to become more ethical and equitable.
Conclusion
For the world to grow beyond immorality and inequality, there is a need for a substantial value shift from personal gain toward another, more appropriate value. For instance, this value could be harmony with oneself and the surrounding world. This way, people can avoid the negative influence of power structures and treat each other fairly.
However, this would not align well with humans’ ingenuity and hedonism. Therefore, the value of choice in this matter should become a constant search for enlightenment. This will shift people’s focus from solely seeking material benefits for themselves and their loved ones and provide an incentive to move society forward in terms of technology.
Annotated Bibliography
Thesis statement: If ways of one’s fulfillment through seeking personal gain were to be replaced by a more appropriate value, the world would gain a chance to become more empathic, ethical, and equitable.
Ansari, A., & Jahantigh, H. (2019). Evokers of the Divine Message: Mysticism of American Transcendentalism in Emerson’s “Nature“ and the Mystic Thought in Rumi’s Masnavi. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 9(11), 1442–1448. Web.
By highlighting the common quest of every mystic to reach the Divine in one way or another—Emerson’s nature and isolation vs. Rumi’s dancing and singing—Ansari and Jahantigh (2019) explore the concept of mysticism. In particular, the authors claim that “these concepts, observed in both works, point us toward the realization of universal features of mysticism“ (Ansari & Jahantigh, 2019, p. 1447). Published within the last five years, the article discusses life values in depth, draws from a peer-reviewed journal, highlights key philosophers, and offers relevant background. The article benefits the chosen topic by elaborating on the value of harmony in human life.
Manzocco, Roberto. (2019). Transhumanism. Engineering the Human Condition. Springer.
By collecting available evidence from the scientific field, Manzocco (2019) summarizes transhumanism’s main concepts, ideas, and goals. The author states that: “In other words, Transhumanism represents a movement that unashamedly embodies one of the most human of passions: the burning desire for life and knowledge against all odds.“ (Manzocco, 2019, p. xv) The monography is no older than five years, elaborates on life values, thoroughly explores available scientific literature, and provides necessary contextual information. The information in this source will provide additional arguments to support the thesis statement and portray a more practical solution than the previous source.
Carradus, A., Zozimo, R., & Discua Cruz, A. (2020). Exploring a faith-led open-systems perspective of stewardship in family businesses. Journal of Business Ethics, 163(4), 701-714. Web.
This article exemplifies how people influenced by spiritual values conduct business fairly and ethically. Specifically, “drawing on six autobiographies of family business leaders who openly express their adherence to their faith and adopting an open-systems analysis of these autobiographies, we demonstrate that faith-led values influence organizational and leadership practices“ (Carradus et al., 2020). The source, a recent peer-reviewed publication, explores life values, references major thinkers in the discipline, and supplies essential context. Due to its ethically oriented scope, this article will benefit the chosen research topic.
References
Cameron, J. (2009). Avatar [Film]. 20th Century Fox.
Gao, S. (2020). Nature, wilderness, and supreme goodness: A comparative study of transcendentalism and Confucianism. Environmental Ethics, 42(3). Web.
Kropotkin, K. (2021). Ethics: Origins and development. Black Rose Books.
Meehan, S. R. (2020). The keys of power: The rhetoric and politics of transcendentalism by Nathan Crick. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 23(3), 632-634. Web.
NIV. (2011). The Holy Bible: New International Version. Hodder & Stoughton.
Pollock, J. M. (2019). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.