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To have and to be: a search about the meaning of life
Ante Kusić
Abstract
Man, when viewed in the line of his achievements, acquistitions,
appears limited whereas, in the line of his human aspirations, tendencies, appears limitless, hence suffering from an Obvious and afflicting disparity.
While realizing that disparity we are led to discover that in man
exists an invincible internal split between his to be and his to have; a
split between his craving for the Fullness, for the Totality of Being, of
Truth, of Godness, of Beaty and his to have, which ,is supplied to him
by the things of the world during his earthly 'life. Simply, man craves
for the limitless while he actually achieves only the limited; he seeks
eternal hapmess Mid finds the suffering and death; while he hunts for
an unending meaning of life, he encounters only momentary and quite
partial goals of the particular periods of life. Yet, in the multiple
variety of these partial goals there ,is present in man a dominant
meaning of life. For some that dominant meaning is erroneously centered on »to have itself« and for others is centered in a correct and in an comprehensive direction on »to be itself«.
Life’s orientation on mere »to have« has led humanity toward a
possibility of a self-destruction, whereas life’s orientation on »to be«
leads man from immanence into Transcendence; from the mere »in wordliness« into a religious acceptance of God.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
86061
URI
Publication date:
15.12.1987.
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