Frank Vukovic, Germany PtC-Europe – philosophical research team Spiritual and Ethical understanding of the World Community in the new millennium The Future Understanding of the Community Since mankind moves closer and closer together due to the existing and advancing globalization and its expansion and integration into all areas of life, the present and further upcoming crises and problems can only be solved together, on an equivalent level of collaboration and must be transformed into new and positive structures for all. It gets clearer and clearer for all human beings that nowadays every single state is either not able or does not possess the possibility or necessary strength to face the global problems and the tasks involved all alone – also the ignoring of these facts is no option.
In this situation the world is challenged as a WORLD COMMUNITY – to realize and overcome the diverse crises is a common task within this community. The questions remaining are: “What does community really mean? And in times of crises, how should community be structured?”
A community is characterized by the fact that there is something interconnecting the individuals, something all have in common, and moreover by the feeling of belonging together. Within a community there is the feeling of solidarity, closeness and familiarity and its cohabitation and communal life is very different from a society with purely purposeful targets.
The Mission of Fraternization of Mankind
The understanding of world citizenship and cosmopolitanism – a view reflecting the whole earth as homeland of all people and as fellow citizens and brothers – must be encouraged and strengthened. It must be emphasized that solidarity and fraternization of all people requires a general Platonic love; this alone will make the idea of an advancing unification of the world’s citizens in a cosmopolitan and collective sense possible.
The term “love” has to be explained somehow in this context, since love holds and brings all and everything together. It is a primary principle, which assembles, connects and joins the great diversity to a unity. The importance of unity must be emphasized! When unity is reflected within diversity and diversity within unity, we may achieve and preserve harmony and peace everywhere.
Love is also a feeling we observe when looking at the happiness of others and the ability to regard their happiness as our own. Therefore, love is, at the same time, the readiness and willingness to receive joy from others.
Joy resides in our heart and emerges due to external causes, by positive factors and is an important and conditional aspect of the higher love.
This results in the conviction that one must recognize and love to live for our fellows – the people next to us – and to feel joyful, delighted and uplifted by the happiness we are able to render to others, by beauty, by positive thinking and acting and by excellence. It should not be one’s own advantage and benefit determining any individual and collective action; the motivation should be for the support and help of others, for the common good and well-being.
The ALTRUISM outlined here is an essential premise for the COMMUNITY. It is an ethical principle inspiring culture and morality in a valuable and strengthening manner: through a selfless way of thinking and acting as well as being thoughtful towards others.
Why are virtues and values such as altruism so important? Values like these should be understood as a source of power and energy from which the human being can draw positive energy for his own and for the lives of all. These sources are strengthening the individual and the community at the same time.
In Latin language the term “virtus” means “power”, “value”, “courage”, “virtue” and “morality”. The English word “value” is derived from the Latin root word “valere”, which has the meaning “to be strong” and “to be healthy”. According to this definition, values are the condition for a healthy, heroic and valuable life. Values give security and dignity to the human being and the possibility to act and live from within. Common ethics and values unite the people in a unique, human and noble way.
Community from a Cosmic Perspective
Man is to be understood as a microcosm, as a miniature world, as highest potency of all forces of nature and as a spiritual mirror of the universe. He is an extract or the quintessence of all beings and forces of the universe. Paracelsus also pointed out that the human being is made of matter, of ethereal and of divine nature and participates in all these three worlds.
The human being possesses his own free will and self-awareness enabling him to realize things and ideas. Therefore he himself is called upon to take part in the shaping of the world, in harmony with nature and the cosmos. The cosmos, nature and the human being are – in a broader sense – considered a complex union.
Thus, humans must always strive for the balance of nature and society in a harmonic concord.
The entire universe is a hierarchical structure consisting of superior and subordinated systems of worlds and their respective bodies. Our planet earth is just one element and mankind represents only a small part, connected to all lower and higher parts.
The hierarchical structure is the primary foundation of our cosmos.
As long as an individual thinks and acts according to the laws of nature and behaves according to the universal cosmic order, he will cause an attraction of the good. In scientific terminology this is known as the law of cause and effect.
The universal human being attempts to intellectually and mentally penetrate the cosmos, the living totality – the whole universe. It is worth mentioning that Plato saw the term of “spiritual love” as the root of enthusiasm for realization, the quest for knowledge, the contemplation of the real being, the ideas, especially in term of the Good and Divine. From the understanding of God, which should be permanently refined in a reasonable way, arises the intellectual love for God: “amor intellectualis Dei”, a term which also is traced back to Plato.
The intimacy towards our nature and mankind's awareness of God actually make the real solidarity of a society and are the driving force of progression towards a united humanity.
Upbringing and Education for the Welfare of the Community
The purpose of education is to bring forth a person, who is voluntarily fulfilling his duty in accordance with the ethical law and driven by his own motivation. In order to lead a reasonable life, the unfolding of all human abilities is necessary and placing the focus on human happiness and human dignity. Evolution aims towards such processes and towards SYNTHESIS, enabling mankind to freely develop their respective characteristics.
The right to receive education is derived from the right of the freedom of thought, since every human being must get a sufficient education and an adequate upbringing, in order to get the possibility of thinking independently. Every individual should be capable of critical thinking about the current conditions of modern times and to reflect about existing misapprehensions and truths.
The intention of education should be the refinement of men towards an almost perfect society. This means leading society towards ethical improvement and to eliminate all barriers of separation between nations. Each and every one of us must impose himself voluntarily to ethical directives in order to contribute to the creation of a WORLD CONFEDERATION OF STATES and thereby our personal contribution for WORLD PEACE.
Conclusion
Mankind forms a spiritual structure, a consistent and structured whole, which has to unite into a global human union, in harmony and spiritual concord.
Almost everybody feels -– with only a few exceptions – that there is the urgent need for the constitution of a new world. The future and global structure, the renewal itself can only be implemented gradually through the individual actions of the human being. Therefore all men should have the target to promote and contribute to the establishment of a world-wide federation and world government. Mankind can only aspire the new world with new and suitable means and by their efforts to give up obsolete institutions, regulations and policies, which must be replaced by newer and better ones.
A material world without the necessary spiritual foundation will not be of duration and will, as a consequence, not survive. Men must be educated in an understanding of the spirit of unity, collaboration and fraternal love.
The world's population must aim for a higher consciousness and awareness so that the requirements of general welfare and what common interest means will be understood and realized.
The highest target is the encouragement of the idea of COMMUNITY as well as the idea of reconciliation and fraternization of nations to arrive at a true internationalization. It is only within a world community or a global federation that WORLD PEACE can be secured and all militarism and armament will become obsolete. All nations of the world should have the will to unite in a global federation, to form the “unification of all people of our planet in peace and freedom”.
The UNIFICATION OF MANKIND must be the primary directive and immediate target without any delay, since the critical global situation cannot be improved without proper action.