An Eulogy to Our Being - on Freedom and on Happiness
*I am I am I* **An Eulogy to Our Being**
On Freedom
Human's existence can only be discussed within the temporal segment from the present to the future, disregarding the question of freedom (what is freedom, to what extent are humans free), because human's existence starts as he chooses, which is the beginning of the concurrence of his consciousness and freedom. This act of choosing is limited to the present, the now. Therefore, human is placed as a point in the center of a line (whether the line is linear or circular needs more thoughts) and he chooses who he wills himself to be. However, freedom is shown in a broader extent - it is not human's ability to choose, but rather his possibility in the process of creating choices.
Humans are influenced by the external environment, this is undeniable. But humans possess the ability to transcend reality to his own world, a world that he builds as he transcends reality. For most existentialists, the reality that humans live in are negative, painful, filled with sufferings. Perhaps this is a truth, but it is true only in the external reality. The internal reality, which is each individual's own world as he makes, is different. This world is not defined by values, not influenced by emotions, and has the most earnest (this is not a value, but a force) awareness and courage of the individual. Authenticity as most existentialists call it, includes both human's consciousness of who he is, that I am I, and the courage to acknowledge that I am I. Authenticity is making the statement I am I am I.
The challenge of life, thus, is to obtain courage to make such statement. It includes facing the situation in which I am who I desire to be, but I am not I. The conflict that originates from this situation poses challenges to humans' desires and humans' original identity. As Lacan believes, humans desire what others desire. To distinguish humans' true desires and socially conditioned desires is the first step towards authenticity and to reach his own world. The second step, which requires a larger force of thrusting, is to abandon humans' fake desires and to will himself to be the I in the future, the I that calls him to step firmly on the ground of reality and to slowly approach his true self, which however he could never reach. In a certain sense, this future I is something that humans never achieve because humans are local beings confined to the temporal and spatial frameworks. This I is exactly the world that humans build as he transcends himself from reality. But who says future is only this I? Future is everything that lies beyond the present; it is a movement, a process; it includes humans' journey towards the I, and I as the future which calls humans to approach. The line segment beyond the point of the present, is humans' existence and his possibility to be.
Freedom can only exist in the future, in humans' existence, and in humans' transcendental own world. It is in this world freedom is absolute and infinite. Humans possess all the possibilities without the notion of impossibility to create the choices that he would choose from to be. The creation of yourself from yourself is the powerful thrusting force of I am I am I.
On Happiness
Explanations and definitions of happiness such as "happiness originates from self-benefit" and "happiness is the purpose of life" underestimate the difficulty of achieving happiness and the complexity of life. People who claim happiness comes from positive emotions, engagement with the world, love, meaning of life, and accomplishments in life merely sees humans' existence as the shallowest meaning and being. Happiness is indeed the most difficult challenges that the future I posts to the present I. It requires an enormous force, a determined will to be.
First to define happiness: happiness is the certainty of knowing that you are taking firm steps on the path towards who you will yourself to be. Since humans' existence is an invention and a creation out of nothing but humans' existence, humans are both creating a projection into the future and on the way of achieving himself. These two tasks are the hardest challenges of life and the only two challenges in life. Therefore, life can be regarded as the line segment from the present extending to the future, and humans' existence is the present point moving along this segment. This movement is the achieving of I, and happiness is the walking of this path (not other astray paths given by social conditions). Happiness requires the courage to face one's earnest self, to delve into one's consciousness and unconsciousness, and making the choices to move oneself towards authenticity, which is the future I inseparable from one's existence. In terms of the process, happiness is the deconstruction and the reconstruction of our existence.
To put it poetically, happiness is seeing "rose is a rose is a rose" and I am I am I.