A Concept of Truth
When we are living in the world
truthfully, we are not being self-deceived.
There are 3 types of truth: (1) pure or absolute truth which consists of
spiritual knowledge; (2) diluted truth which is pure truth that has been poorly
interpreted or secular/limited knowledge; and (3) relative truth or our own
personal experiences and acquired information.
Pure or absolute truth comes from God and can also be understood as
light.
As Terry Warner explains, we must
first understand the difference between light and conscience. Light is our truth, our sense of right and
wrong, what keeps us from becoming morally blind or self-deceived. Our conscience is something that is created
within ourselves; something that can be changed and distorts the truth. Because
truth or light does not come from us, it streams from those around us; the
light cannot be snuffed out. Light
cannot be changed, although through our conscience it can become distorted (Warner,
2001).
Truth creates
freedom when you are experiencing something as it really is. However, if experiencing something that is
experientially not as it seems to be, you fall into victimhood of a false
world. Viewing truth as a concrete,
non-metaphysical idea is to understand truth relative to how things are being
in their temporal state. This allows the rest of the world to unfold
openly and honestly (Williams, 1992). By
yielding to the truth about others, "we abandon whatever lie we may have
been living. Wholeheartedly embracing the truth cannot coexist with living a
lie" (Warner, 2001 p. 147).
Therefore we cease to be self-deceiving and allow ourselves to be
touched by the truth. When we cease to
become self-deceiving, we allow others to become real to us. This change of heart comes only when we allow
ourselves to be affected by the light of others. As we see the light in others it is easy to
live in the world truthfully because we let their feelings guide how we see
them. We should allow the light to be
our guide, which will manifest to us the needs of others.
"The
kind of people we are cannot be separated from how we interpret the world around
us… Who we are is how we are in relation to others," which is why it is
essential to open yourself to other's inner reality and see them as important
as our own self (Warner, 2001 p. 42). The truth is us being receptive to others
and is manifested by the light. By
following our initial thoughts to do what is right and allowing ourselves to be
influenced by others, we will not be self-deceived and can live in the world
truthfully.
A Concept of Agency
Agency is not a category of a person
such as their eye color or dexterity; it is one's ability to recognize the
truth about the world in which they live in and choose to live in the world
truthfully. Agency is our freedom to
choose, wherein we can act for ourselves and choose liberty and life. This agency is "an activity, a way of
being in concrete situations" (Williams, 1992 p. 68). Although our genes, culture, and situations
play a factor in our lives, we have no constraints and have our own individual
accountability. Being free to choose
does not excuse us of or keep us immune from consequences or accountability.
Humans are the ultimate sovereign self (Maxwell, 2004).
Contemporary psychology asserts that reality
and knowledge can be understood as some "thing" and is therefore
necessary. This notion creates the idea
that things are the way they are and cannot be any other way. However, this metaphysical necessity cannot
adequately explain agency. To fully comprehend agency, it must be understood outside
a metaphysical context, rather through human context. In this context, human action can be properly
explained and love has meaning. An action
can only be regarded as loving or meaningful if it is the chosen one out of
other alternatives. Contrary, if an action is done simply out necessity, it is
not meaningful and cannot be declared either moral or immoral. Thus, morality requires meaning, which requires
agency (Williams, 1992).
Agency gives us the opportunity to have
meaningful lives of both joy and sorrow.
According to Richard Williams, our choice is circumscribed by determinism,
but we can choose for ourselves; right and wrong, truth and error, invited to
virtue and enticed to vice (1992). There
comes a point when every person must decide whether or not to yield to the
truth about themselves and others and allow their actions to be guided by it.
This point is what Warner refers to as the choice point (2001). This choice point is not based upon our
feelings or behaviors because both can be counterfeit. We may choose one alternative solely because
we know it is right, not because we want to out of love. However, if our heart
is not in the right place, our actions do not matter. We must choose to not only choose the right
alternative, but also choose it out of love.
However, this can be hard if we have become victims of self-betrayal as
we begin accusing and blaming others and victimizing ourselves. If we are living in the world untruthfully and
being self-deceived, the only way we can begin to choose the right alternative
out of love is to first choose the right, merely because we know it is the
right thing to do. As we continue
choosing righteously, we will allow our hearts to be changed and become open to
others' inner reality. So, as an
ultimately sovereign being, we can use our agency to choose the right because
we know it is good and this will
ultimately help us develop a love for those around us.
A Concept of Love
Love can
be defined as being for the other in the ethical moment, which could perhaps be
the world's greatest gift. This love
stems from our own truth and agency.
However, as Warner explains, when
"we
attempt to exercise power or control over someone else, we cannot avoid giving
that person the very same power or control over us… [Love] allows others their
freedom. Most ironically it "compels" them to use that freedom"
(2001, p. 191).
This concept of love, as
illustrated by Warner, reveals the connection between truth, agency, and
love. When we see the truth about others
we are free to choose the right alternative, which gives loving meaning to that
choice. While translating the King James
Version of the Bible, the word agapao
was used, which translated to love. However, this love was a different type of
love found in other parts of the Bible.
This use of love signified "a deliberate choice of affection and
kindness" (Christy, 2002, p. 5). We
must not only choose to love, but also choose to act on that love.
In order
to love others, we must open ourselves to them. We must allow our hearts to be
changed, which can only happen if we see others in truth and light. The ability
to love is an innate trait in every human, but it is up to each individual to
act upon. For some, it might seem that
certain people have "a special gift for loving people something that was
like an ear for music or an eye for colour, It [is] quiet, unobtrusive; it [is]
merely there" (Cather, 1930, p.22).
To some, love may seem like a special gift, however, it is a gift that
each individual has; they just must be willing to open that part of themselves.
To be
for the other in the ethical moment, we must rid our hearts of hardness. Only
then are we able to have our hearts changed; but rather, our hearts are not
being changed, they are being restored (Warner, 2001). Because love is a natural trait for each of
us, failing to love and hardening our hearts becomes the unnatural. Therefore, when we open ourselves to others
and see them as they really are, we are restoring our natural tendency to love.
Our undistorted-self naturally wants to do right toward others. Ultimately,
when we love, we see the truth of others. In order to see the truth about
others, we must see others as real people with actual realities. When we fail
to love, we are self deceived. Like
love, self deception can be brought on by truth and agency. When we are seeing
a distorted truth and then acting on that false world, we are self
deceptive.
When we
are able to live in a world of truth, our love will know our boundaries of
right and wrong, end self-centeredness, and give us the self-knowledge needed
to liberate us to love to the fullest capacity possible (Palmer, 1993). According to Warner, we are bonded to people
either one way or another, which can be bonds of love or bonds of anguish
(2001). Either way, we are choosing one
way to be bonded to them. By living in a world of truth, we can choose to love
the other in the ethical moment.
Failing to Love Results in Diseconomy
Failing to love results in dis-economy. Based upon the agentive theory, love can be
defined as being for another in the ethical moment. This is a moment of choice between right and
wrong. When you are living in the world
truthfully and using your agency to choose right over wrong, you will be led to
love those around you. However, if you are living in a distorted world and
choosing the wrong alternative, this can lead to self deception. As a victim of self deception, you fail to
love. Failing to love is resisting the
invitation to be for another which causes you to give into self betrayal. This
self betrayal manifests itself in three ways: (1) blaming others, (2)
accusation/justification, and (3) victimizing.
However, the decision theory supports the micro economic
theory, which centers on good economy as putting things together in a way so
you get as much as you can out of your resources. The economic theory focuses on four main
points that people use to base their decisions off of. The first point is the
knowledge of alternatives. You can properly use your agency because you are
aware of the right and wrong alternatives. You are also aware of consequences,
which is the second point. Third, the economic theory states that there must be
a consistent preference of ordering; you will choose something over another
option consistently because it is honest or based upon your values. Last, you make your decision rule, which
contains your decision criteria. This is
where you want to maximize your utilities from good economy. Good
economy comes when you follow these four steps of good decision implementation
(March, 1982). There are necessary conditions to achieve good economy. If these conditions are violated we will
choose bad alternatives, which will ultimately result in dis-economy. The conditions that accompany the agentive
theory of love violate the necessary conditions of good economy.
1.
Because
truth is reality, we want to make decisions of choice based on reality.
However, when we fall into self-betrayal, we are acting on a false world. What
we think is reality, isn't. We think others are the problem, when in fact we are the problem. Therefore,
we cannot make choices based on true reality.
2.
Getting
preoccupied or distracted from following through with the right choice which is
necessary to implement the decision.
However, this is violated by the fact that when you are a victim of
self-betrayal because it causes you to become hypersensitive and
self-justifying. This hypersensitivity is destructive because we become so
focused on what someone else is doing that we lose focus and become distracted.
3.
Finally,
do not distract others from making good choices. When we are in a collusive
relationship, we are quick to take offense and feel victimized. This causes the
other to focus on you, instead of their decision criteria.
As we violate these three conditions,
we are failing to love, which results in dis-economy.
