The Dark Manual for Practical Humanism
Reviewing The Art of War as a practical and adaptive humanist guide
One day we will be forced to resort to war to keep the peace.
We will wake up and be confronted with the ugly reality of having to kill or be killed. In either case, if we fight, we must justify our actions in theory and practice.
Apart from fighting, we will need help figuring out what we are fighting for.
Our problem is that we tend to be attracted to ideologies that romanticise life and limit our attention to critical conversations. This tendency weakens us and makes us fallible.
As humanist ideologies (human rights, peace etc.)continue to shape the world, we must ask, “Is humanism incorruptible or infallible?”
After some searching, I was inspired by the iconic book, The Art of War, which is the most practical Humanist manual of all time.
The Art of War did not aim to make war but to create a peaceful and robust world. It did this by deconstructing how conflict begins in the first place. In other words, how do we overcome our greed, savagery and naivety in the face of conflict?
The critical gap in mainstream humanism
The departure point for my thinking is that all ideologies are flawed to some extent, and humanism is no exception.
Jordan Peterson argued this point of view in Maps of Meaning that ideologies are incomplete myths. He continues that what makes ideologies incomplete is that they only tell parts of the “story” but act as if it is complete. They ignore parts of the story to twist the world to suit their agenda.
Peterson says such arrogant attempts aren’t always evil; they can come from a well-wishing heart. But when expectations are not met, the ideological mind will create suffering and destruction in society.
Ideally, there is nothing wrong with dwelling on what we like. But it gets dangerous when we focus on rights with no responsibility. Lastly, it makes us weak and naive to talk about ethics while pretending there is no benefit to doing the wrong thing.
Mainstream humanism doesn’t have enough conversations about humanity’s dark side.
We know mainstream humanism is incomplete and arrogant about the human capacity for morality.
When I debate with friends about the possibility of a humanist utopia, one argument always stands out like a sore thumb: “You know the world is not so rosy.”
“The winner takes all. We can talk about ethics later, after we have our own capacity for dominance. Otherwise, we will just be sitting ducks. You either kill or get killed. Even if we choose peace, we must always beware that our allies might change their minds and turn on us one day.”
Although we may have sincere intentions, we can’t afford to be too careful. This ever-present threat of loss makes us who we are, a species that irrationally believes in peace but is afraid of trusting each other with it.
In other words, where there is profit, there is a threat. The result is that it becomes impossible for us to truly implement the concept of a trust-based democracy or any anarchist utopia.
It doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with trust. But trust is an intangible concept. Its obscurity in separating the trustworthy from the rest makes it unreliable in protecting us against enemies within and outside.
I am implying two unfortunate beliefs here:
1. A safe central government must be built on distrust. Intelligence, counterintelligence and manipulation of the masses are all necessities. Ethics get thrown out of the window. Because we can’t afford to be sure who to trust, people can only be seen as threats.
2. State stability is a function of classifying individuals according to their threat levels. (This is why governments carefully reserve a monopoly on the right to kill)
Everyone else is paranoid about humanity too.
Black Thought — “We are not human; we are at war nigga.”
Isn’t it ironic that the nation advancing democracy in our time has one of the most sophisticated surveillance systems in this part of the galaxy. In addition, it has the largest military and weapons arsenal in the world?
No one can afford to sleep with both eyes closed in this world. As long as we believe something is of value to us, we must be willing to fight for it at all costs.
The critical question is about how we fight and maintain our humanity.
Ultimately, the Art of War shows us how to build a firm, peaceful, humane world, not by turning to war. Instead, it gave us the means to preemptively deal with threats by deconstructing how and why people choose to fight. Win without fighting, even when battle seems inevitable.
THREE LIFE LESSONS FROM THE ART OF WAR
- You have to protect yourself. You have the responsibility to encourage life to thrive.
2. The strong survive, but the wicked destroy themselves. However, remember that weakness and ignorance are not virtues. Know yourself and know your enemy.
3. Act decisively after making rational assessments of the elements in conflict. (The Way, discipline, weather, terrain, and the ground of life and death)
TOP 4 PARADOXICAL LESSONS FOR BALANCING SELF-PRESERVATION AND DOMINANCE
- Nourish Human Life Always
“It is lucky when rulers nourish the ruled, watching them and bringing out their talents” — I Ching.
“Love and encourage humans to be peaceful” is the mantra echoed throughout Ubuntu and Western Humanism. But the Art of War accepts, rejects and extends on this notion.
For Master Sun, the goal was always victory and the protection of life.
“Direct them through cultural arts, unify them through martial arts; this means certain victory” — Master Sun.
To win, you must educate yourself on what is culturally relevant and train yourself to be formidable against any obstacle, human or otherwise.
2. The best way to win is to avoid fighting.
Winning without fighting could easily mean avoiding violence and seeking peaceful solutions. However, it can also mean we should preemptively attack with decisive violence to ensure the enemy never rises again.
On one side, there is peace; on the other, there is total war.
What will you choose? Most people prefer total war once they realise the opponent can’t be reasoned with.
As most martial artists say: End it quickly. There is no need for a fight. But you better be right.
3. Deceive and hide to survive
Deception is the most recurring theme in the Art of War. Why? Because the evil in us can’t destroy what it doesn’t know. We must conceal ourselves to survive.
As a method of attack, we can also deliberately look weak to make the enemy overconfident, sloppy and easy to defeat.
“When strong, look weak. Brave appear fearful. Orderly, yet chaotic. Full, appear empty. Wise, look foolish. Many appear to be few…Taking, appear to leave” — Wang Xi
Look weak even though you are strong. People shouldn’t put their finger on where you are. Create your propaganda and make it believable. Appear uncertain even when you are sure. Be adaptive. Use formlessness. Be like water.
“You should not let the enemy see what state you are in, for if the enemy sees your condition, he will surely have a response.” — Du Mu
Deceive. Deceive. Deceive.
“The reason you use many signals is to manipulate and confuse the perception of enemies” Mei Yaochen
4. To win any war, you must win the hearts and minds of the people.
Master Sun says winning is about giving people what they want so they can be loyal to you. He says that winning the people’s hearts leads to a state of fullness (or synergy) between the people and the authorities. This teaching reveals Sun Tzu’s faith in humanity’s all-conquering power when people voluntarily worked together.
According to the Art of War, in an attack, you must do whatever you can to turn the people against their leaders if you want to win. Li Quan says this is to “turn a country into a state of emptiness.” Once you do this successfully, you can defeat any government or army. That is why some form of propaganda should be considered a matter of state of security.
In other words, peace is never the absence of conflict but the quietest phase of a war.
No one can afford to sleep with their eyes closed, especially in developing countries.
As the world slowly goes up in flames, and a full-scale global conflict seems inevitable, we, wherever we are, must decide what we are willing to fight for. This time, the rising tide is real. It won’t happen over a keyboard. Are your belief systems rational enough to justify and protect you from what you might become? The savage, the winner or the loser.
When used alone, the Art of War can be a disastrous book, so that I will leave you with a counterbalance from the Tao-te Ching. The older, more optimistic humanist classic from which the Art of War was born.
The exercise of kindness in battle leads to victory, and the practice of compassion in defence leads to security.
One will die if one gives up kindness and courage, gives up frugality and breadth, ansd gives up humility for aggressiveness.
- Lao Tzu
