September 4, 2023
Principle 9. Liberty. Week 2
“When You Harm Others You Remain Enchained, But If You Do Not Harm Anyone You May Freely Do Whatever You Want”.
Last time: A Radical Proposal
This time: First Do No Harm!
This Week:
Last week we looked at the principle trying to understand its general structure and scope. This week we’ll look at how we applied, or could have applied, this principle in the past.
Can I recall a time when I harmed someone? Did it leave me enchained? In what way? What was that like? Can you recall a situation where you did what you wanted, and enjoyed yourself freely?
Personal Reflections:
What follows are my reflections. I make no greater claim for them but offer them in the spirit of exchange and dialogue.
Another aspect of this principle that seems to me important to explore was raised by Victor in our last meeting. That is the idea of “harm”. What exactly does that mean? When am I harming someone, and when am I simply doing something that they don’t like, or of which they don’t approve? I don’t want to harm anyone, but I also don’t want to be manipulated by some kind of emotional black mail.
Meditating on that question takes me to the more general idea of violence.
But first consider the limits suggest by that adage of uncertain origin which appears in various versions, but runs more or less:
“Your right to swing your arms ends just where the other’s nose begins.”
Silo points out in the chapter on law in The Human Landscape that there is something suspicious in these kinds of formulations. He notes:
“Your rights end where the rights of others begin.” Therefore: “The rights of others end where your rights begin.” However, since it is generally the first and not the second phrase that is emphasized, we are led to suspect that those who maintain this position see themselves as “the others”—that is, as the representatives of all other people, as the representatives of an established system that needs no justification.
Be that as it may, to harm someone implies some kind of violence, but what are the limits of violence? We know that violence isn’t simply something physical. There can be emotional violence, psychological violence, racial, religious, and sexual violence, etc. These can be as real, and as harmful as physical violence. It seems to me that all forms of violence (or harm) come from treating people as things or objects. In that sense the principle could read “…do not do violence and you can freely do whatever you want”, or “treat others as you wish to be treated, and you can freely do whatever you want”.
Does that resolve everything? Far from it. but what is important is that I increasingly reflect on my actions and as a result give them a clearer more coherent direction. A direction where the (perhaps elusive) marker of nonviolence is of central importance.
I see this principle as pointing to one of the limits on our freedom (i.e. if we harm others we enchain ourselves). Let’s call that the minimum. Do not harm anyone! It’s reminiscent of that famous line from the Hippocratic oath — “first, do no harm”.
For Hippocrates “primum non nocere” indicates the minimum limit of how to treat a patient. Hopefully, it’s not the maximum, and as a good doctor you try to do much more for your patient. It’s the minimum requirement, the starting place, but not the upper limit of what you hope to achieve. It seems to me that, in much the same way, principle 9 (Liberty) points to the minimum limit of valid action and of course not the maximum.
The ancient doctors agreed that if they broke this oath, they “should forever lose their personal and medical reputation”. In our case we are asked to recognize that if we infringe this principle rather than liberating ourselves, we are doing precisely the opposite and enchaining ourselves.
Worth Repeating:
We want to move from a situation of internal conflict to one of internal unity. We want to liberate ourselves and work for the liberation of each other.
Remember:
First, do not harm anyone. That includes not harming yourself!
Coming up:
Next week we will continue with principle 9 “The Principle of Liberty”. Our focus will be on considering how we might apply it in the present moment.
Note:
Hippocrates and Houdini say: Don’t Enchain Yourself.
These notes have been posted on Facebook and sent to our email list, and, on my website www.dzuckerbrot.com
More…
