Mastering Life: Lessons from Literature and Ethics

Literary Perspectives on Life and Freedom

Horace's Ode to Leuconoe: Fear of the harvest exceeds the present; it makes each moment happiness takes from the simple things in life.

Walt Whitman's Poems: In "O Captain! My Captain!", he speaks of the pain and sacrifice required to surrender your life to causes that are worthwhile. He encourages us to learn and practice generosity. Referencing the "Boat Captain" Abraham Lincoln and the American nation during the Civil War, he sings a song of joy: freedom means not being anyone's slave and living with the greatness to be truly like a god.

The Text of Henry David Thoreau: Thoreau urges us to live intensely and "suck the marrow out of life" to remove all that is spurious (inauthentic or mediocre).

Poema de Carlos Bousoño: Bousoño encourages us to be aware of our surroundings and treat ourselves to what life has to offer. We should experience all the good, growing and becoming successful throughout life.

Foundations of Ethics and Morality

Moral (from the Latin mos/moris, meaning "usual way of acting") is a regulatory code or a set of rules to follow. A moral person is taught how to use freedom well; it is the art of good manners.

Ethics (from the Greek ethos, meaning "usual modus operandi") is the branch of philosophy that investigates the means to be put into practice to achieve a harmonious and happy life.

The Nature of Freedom and Autonomy

Freedom is the ability to decide and act with autonomy. This includes:

• "Freedom from": The right not to be coerced.
• "Freedom to": The ability to determine one's path, choosing from infinite possibilities.

"Healthy" or "true" freedom involves the use of reason to discern properly and developing the will to do what has been decided. In a mature person, freedom manifests as self-possession and a personal life enriched by values. Freedom makes us masters of our own lives.

Key Philosophical Concepts

• Aesthetic: Related to sensibility (what things feel like), art, and good taste.
• Experience: What is lived and what is learned through one's experiences and senses.
• Dimension: A quality, aspect, or facet of the mode of being of something or someone (e.g., the social or moral dimensions of people).
• The Good: "What we crave and desire" (Aristotle). It refers to qualities, values, or perfections that make a thing desirable and convenient for us.
• Value: The quality that makes an action or person "good." It is a property present in the object or person.
• Egocentricity: An excessive tendency to focus on oneself at the expense of others; an immature relationship with "the other."
• Nature: The mode of being of things or people.
• Awareness and Consciousness: Thought and knowledge. Moral consciousness is the knowledge of good and evil that exists in our mode of action.
• Duty: A requirement to which we must respond appropriately. This appropriate response is what we call accountability.

Ethical Issues in Film and Life

The discovery that human life is extremely complicated involves understanding the chances of success and critical failure. It requires the experimentation of one's own freedom and the need to be an active participant in life itself. Life is a project that requires learning the different dimensions present in the human experience.