Generally, when considering how to live an ethical life, we should first address the components of "action" itself, since the latter is a cornerstone of the former. Action is the physical outcome of desire pressuring the will to move toward a given goal. Action occurs in space and time and has an agent, a recipient, a motivation, and an interplay of matter and energy (i.e. the execution). An action takes place within the context of a set of circumstances, internal beliefs, and external societal standards and proclivities. These components represent forces of friction and inertia that help to mold the vector of outcome, contingent upon the initiator’s susceptibility to one or more of those parameters, as well as the efficacy of the materials at hand to achieve the goal.
Consequences, or end results, are then produced by the interaction of action, situation, and "the impacted." To the extent that the true motive of the agent is self-evident in the action or in the understanding of those persons or entities most immediately impacted, consequences may be further altered to effectively amplify or dampen the intended impact. Even without the understanding of an action‘s intent, chance interaction may also affect the outcome in substantial ways. Indeed future, non-present observers may be affected in other ways unforeseen by the participants in the present, and so the ultimate achievements of the action will be additionally modulated by future context.
Simply put, actions have many components that combine to create both short-term and long-term impacts. Yet stating it in such binary terms limits our awareness of the fact that there is actually a continuum of ripple through for the actions we perform, because there is a perpetual interconnectedness of cause and effect in this world. Our actions continue to have their effects propagate over time, although like waves the impacts of most actions eventually settle into equilibrium as other diverse actions interplay and generate interference patterns.
So then how do we make rational decisions to direct our actions among the diverse complex issues of life when we can barely recall ten chunks of information in short-term memory and have a tangling of neurons over the years? Further, what does one use as a basis for sound, principled action given one is not computationally adept at calculating all points along the multivariable, cause-and-effect curve of an action’s life cycle of consequences? Perhaps using the term "rational" in asking this question is setting us up for failure from the start by restricting the domain in which the solutions may be found? It could be that decisions and actions are not as unwieldy and complex to handle as I make out, and that I suffer from a state of blindness brought on by disharmony with spiritual truth. Still, observing just a little of the vast history of mankind’s activities and its intellectual discourses, with clock-like repetition in failures even to this present day, indicates to me that simple answers are not entirely forthcoming for us humans.
Is "balance" the key concept that must be explored more deeply so that we can better function in a world of "I" and "others," dueling opposites, incomplete knowledge, and shifting vantage points? Do ends justify the means, means justify the ends, situations dictate ethics, or is there some place in the middle or superior to all these temporal-bound methods? Or can Love -- which I like to regard as eternal Truth manifesting its pureness into action -- be the foundation of the most noble of decisions that we are capable of making in these fragile human vessels? If so, how do we find such treasure and make it a real and abiding presence in our lives on a daily basis?
(to be continued)
