Defining Action
Excerpt from “Why Knot?” Buy the book at Amazon
After World War II, authors like Sartre and Camus reacted against abstract philosophy that neglected the immediacy, emotion, and empathy of everyday life. They blamed abstract, dehumanized thinking for the horrors of the Third Reich. Instead, they harkened back to Dostoyevsky and other writers who believed that we are defined by our actions, regardless of the rationalizations that might justify them. Action in that sense means far more than muscle movement. These authors focused on decisive moments when you put your whole self behind what you do, willing to risk everything. Such acts are fraught with meaning due to the context in which they are performed. Such acts, particularly ones involving self-sacrifice, can trigger a tidal wave of consequences. Consider, for example, Moses standing up against Pharaoh, the martyrs of the early Christian church, Sir Thomas More standing up to Henry VIII, Martin Luther rebelling against the Catholic Church, and the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Few of us will ever perform history-changing heroic feats. But we all do affect one another through principled, heartfelt acts that serve as memorable and inspiring examples to those around us. And what, at the time, may seem an insignificant act could, through its influence on others, have major consequences.
Through our genes, we are connected to those who came before us and those who will come after us. Through ideas and chains of teaching and learning, we are connected to those who inspired us and those we inspire. And we are also connected to one another by the consequences of our meaningful acts.
