Ethics Quest

Been drawn a lot towards “Ethics” lately. In the past it’s always been a subject I avoided. And pretty much my mind is settled on a lot of ethical issues, at least the big questions: abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, economic systems. But I’ve just realized that a major part of Ethics – the central aspect of it, really; those “big issues” are just practical examples of this central aspect in action – is

How should one live?

I’ve struggled with this question, I suppose, all throughout my life. By fits and starts I’ve come to accept the Catholic worldview. It has supra-naturally made itself known to me. It makes sense to me intellectually and feels right emotionally after all these long and sometimes painful years. But, truth be told, there is something vaguely unsatisfying about it to me still.

Specifically, and forgive me, I am most likely speaking from ignorance here, it seems Catholicism orients a very passive stance to the world. You are called to be in the world, not of the world, and to me that smacks of a passive attitude. Let what happens happen, just rely on Christ and stay in communion with Him. Yes, do what you can, as long as you’ve spent time in quiet prayer, but ultimately keep your eyes on the next world. Part of me can affirm and understand this, but part of me finds this unacceptable. I think I’m looking for something more active. Maybe not aggressive, but certainly more assertive.

I have read that Catholicism is somewhat feminine in nature, whereas the majority of Protestant denominations are more masculine. To oversimplify, and because this is not the real subject of this post, the reasoning is that part and parcel of the Catholic rite is to be a receptacle for the grace of Christ. Protestants, much more often than Catholics, go out an evangelize – an active outgrowth of their faith. When is the last time a Catholic “witnessed” to you? Yet it is often a central ingredient to the spiritual lives of our Protestant brothers and sisters.

Lately I’ve been reading Greek philosophy. I kinda skimmed through a book that summarizes Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (I do have a copy of this work from the Great Books series, and its close to 300 densely packed pages … I just don’t have the time or patience to go through this source material). All well and good. I first studied it in Philosophy 101 (taught by a moonlighting mailman!) at St. Pete’s around 1989. I can appreciate Aristotle’s avowed goal of human activity being happiness. Not so sure of the whole “virtue is the mean between two vices.” But I do like the ideals of ancient Greece. Courage. Valor. Strength. Discipline. Attainment. You know: Shpartah!

But reading the Nicomachean Ethics as a self-help book is like reading a manual on swimming strokes and then jumping into a pool. Somewhat lacking.

About two or three weeks ago, I jumped to Epictetus. Stoicism. A little better. If I did have leisure time I’d read it more thoroughly, as well as Marcus Aurelius. However, a dozen or so pages in the idea that it, too, was passive crept into my mind. True, there seemed to be more individual effort to be made than in Christianity. I’m thinking of the call to keep your passions in check and the almost superhuman effort involved in this. Seems to me a more difficult, more “manly” thing than praying when the going gets rough. But then again, I have a hard time doing both. It took three weeks in a hospital to get me to pray regularly.

Every two or three years a desire to read Nietzsche bubbles to the surface. I actually have a big ol’ book of four of his works, as well as two fairly unbiased interpretations of his thought. But the whole “anti-Christ” “anti-values” aspect turns me off. I understand where he’s going, but I think he goes too far. Perhaps in the near future I’ll do a post about him. I am by no means an expert, but I read him a lot, particularly about ten years ago down in Maryland, so I think I understand the attraction to him. But I think ultimately he does not satisfy. (Though the phrase “herd mentality” pops into my mind several times a week, usually when out on the road mingling with my fellow man.)

What am I looking for? Not sure. Something unusual. Something different. Something that will wake me from my dogmatic slumbers. Something that’s going to smack me behind the head and growl at me, like Lemmy from Motorhead or some demented sergeant from the French Foreign Legion, “get up and stand, you bastard! Shake the cobwebs outta your head! You’re wastin’ your time, so get off your duff and make your way in this sh*thole of a world!”

Does any of this make sense?