Real nobility feeds on its own intrinsic value, as a rightful cause that ought to be served with diligence. Whether it will be rewarded, here below or in the beyond, is a question really noble individuals consider irrelevant, though they are not insensitive to the idea of reward. Their purpose is to live bravely, wisely, fairly, and kindly for the sake of worthiness. Tribute, wealth, and heaven are dispensable pleasures that may or may not crown the delight they take in this purpose. Likewise, whether a lack of nobility on their part would be punished, here below or in the beyond, is a question they consider irrelevant, though they are not insensitive to the idea of punishment. They are noble unconditionally, even in situations of unrestricted liberty, when they could behave ignobly with impunity and do not believe in hell. Unbraveness, unwiseness, unfairness, and unkindness are negative options that offend their sense of right. Accordingly, they shun them.

By right I mean what is true to life and the pursuit of health and happiness, true to solidarity and the ability to sympathize with others and assist them, and ultimately true to God*. Here God is regarded as the universal principle, and particularly as the principle of life. Its essence can be described as love for the good reason that it gives every life form including the human species the opportunity to live and the capacity to develop and flourish. This gift is assuredly a sublime proof of love.

What about suffering and death? In my opinion, they do not indicate a lack of divine love but a limit to the divine power behind this love or a failure of the beings vested in this power to use it successfully. Therefore, God should be thanked for its love and forgiven for the limit to its power, just as loving parents are forgiven for their shortcomings. In addition, humans should always aim to make the most of the divine power vested in them. True braveness, wiseness, fairness, and kindness, which constitute real nobility, are the measure of excellence.

* God, in the Genesis, is first and foremost the creative and ruling force of the universe. As such, it is unspecific and uncontroversial. People of different philosophical or religious persuasions recognize with one accord that the universe is as it is because it has the power to be so. This power can be called God, in the unspecific sense of the word. It provides a legitimate answer to the ultimate question, which is twofold: Why is there a universe instead of nothing, on the one hand, and why is there order in it instead of chaos, on the other hand? Essentially, it is a cause that accounts for the existence and the nature of everything, while its presence remains totally unaccountable. There is no point in trying to elucidate this mystery since, to this end, one would need to postulate another cause that would itself be unaccountable, and so on ad infinitum. Consequently, the cause that gives the universe the power to exist and evolve, according to laws, is best described as a prime and timeless cause that can be ascertained through its manifestation in the form of changing things and beings, but never explained.

Laurent Grenier

Laurent Grenier?s career as a full-time writer and philosopher spans over twenty years. He has released various articles in art and philosophical magazines. He has also written some philosophical essays, a collection of memories and thoughts, and a compendium of physiology and nutrition, still unpublished. ?A Reason for Living? constitutes his best work to date.