© 2006 Olga López
© 2006 Urantia Association of Spain
Author’s Note: This work, like my essay “The Slaveries of Man,” is not “technically speaking” about the Book of Morality, but rather is based on my own ideas and how I have assimilated the Book’s teachings. Both works are attempts to introduce the teachings of the Book of Morality to people who are unfamiliar with it. Therefore, I invite you to share it with those who are searching for answers.
Does the superman exist somewhere? I sincerely believe so. But what is he like? I conceive of him quite differently than Nietzsche conceives him. I prefer to call it “being free,” because just as there are supermen, there are also superwomen. Before explaining how I conceive of free beings, I would like to say that it is time for all human beings to become aware of our own power. We simply need to be clear about the tools at our disposal, what our capabilities are.
First, we are endowed with a mind to reason, to understand the world around us, to try to conceive even what we do not perceive with our senses. We have not only conscious reasoning mechanisms, but also what has been called “intuition,” unfairly maligned but which could be conceived as yet another mental mechanism; as such, it should be used without distrust.
Second, human beings have the ability to create an environment tailored to them, and to progress in this ability as human history progresses. Unlike animals, which must adapt to their environment and are therefore conditioned by it, human beings can not only adapt to their environment but also influence it.modify it to suit their needs. Since the beginning of time, humans have created tools, built homes, and exploited natural resources.
Another defining trait of human beings that differentiates us from animals is the capacity to make moral decisions, what we call “free will.” We are free to decide, but those who are truly free do not use their freedom to commit arbitrary atrocities against their fellow human beings. Freedom must be accompanied by responsibility for one’s own actions and, above all, for their implications for others, who are also free beings with the right to exercise their freedom without hindrance. Unfortunately, many believe that freedom implies the absence of limits, when in reality our freedom is limited (or should be) by respect, on the one hand, for our fellow human beings, and on the other, for our environment.
Freedom has three aspects: freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of action. Regarding the first, we do not need to submit to the opinions of experts on matters on which we ourselves have an opinion. We have sufficient information at our disposal to form an opinion on a wide variety of topics, whether political, scientific, ethical, social, or religious. Submission to any intellectual, religious, or political authority implies surrendering our freedom in exchange for false security. In contrast, a person who exercises freedom of thought does not allow themselves to be dominated, but rather agrees or disagrees with all human authorities according to previously reasoned criteria. Therefore, they are not, and will not be, easily manipulated.
Regarding freedom of expression, it should not be understood solely as a political right granted “from outside,” but also as a right we have by virtue of being human. In this case, the only limits we should impose on ourselves have to do with the way in which that expression is channeled. We must also keep in mind that silences are another way of communicating. It is better to be master of our silences than a slave to our words. In any case, both content and form must depend on the interlocutors or readers to whom we are addressing the word.
Finally, the same restrictions are imposed on freedom of action as on freedom of expression: we must be respectful of the freedom of others. If we are free within, nothing and no one can curtail this freedom, even if our bodies are locked within the walls of a prison.
Unfortunately, many people fill themselves with chains, fears, and slavery. Sometimes for pure convenience, and other times out of fear of flight. Many prefer the comfort of going with the flow, of not thinking but letting others think for us, letting others decide for us. Or they are dominated by a fear of the unknown, which causes many to cling to tradition, dogma, and the established order, rather than dive into uncharted waters, no matter how promising they may be.
The human being who dares to exercise the gifts at his disposal, the free being, is like the creature who has always lived clinging to the stones of a riverbed and, one day, tired of his monotonous existence, decides to break free from the rocks to which he has clung all his life, to let go, to try another way of living. At first, the current batters him against the stones, but soon after, he rises to the surface and nothing and no one can hurt him. He is like the man who, in Plato’s myth of the cave, manages to escape the chains that keep him imprisoned in the cave, goes out into the outside world, and contemplates the world as it is. For him, reality ceases to be the shadow puppetry others had led him to believe in.
We have at our disposal everything that allows us to break the chains that enslave us. Human beings, men and women, are endowed with everything necessary to exercise our “responsible freedom.” Of course, those who dare to live freely should not expect social recognition or understanding. It’s very likely that you will often feel the claws of loneliness. Your life will not be easy, although it will certainly be much fuller, more true than that of those who let life steamroll over them rather than be the protagonists and masters of their own lives.
Being free and God are not incompatible but complementary. The superhuman does not need to kill God (in Nietzschean fashion) as a precondition for being superhuman. He is not God, but neither does he underestimate human potential, his own potential. Being free and God are not antagonists but partners. Being free, being finite and imperfect, allows God to free himself from the chains of his own infinity and perfection and to know finitude and imperfection. On the other hand, God grants humankind, the rational being, free will, so that they, and only they, may be the masters of their own lives. God even grants humankind the freedom not to believe in Him, their Creator.
A free person is the master and lord of the world, but that doesn’t mean he tyrannizes it or destroys it for his own material benefit. As a free and responsible person, he knows he cannot deplete the planet’s resources, because that would violate the rights of present and future human beings, who also have the right to exploit natural resources without their future being jeopardized by the irresponsible actions of past generations.
The free being, the superman, knows that he is an active subject of his life; he does not allow himself to be carried away by the inertia of the herd, by the prevailing currents of thought, unless he actively and consciously decides to adhere to them. It is not life that lives him, but he who lives life. He knows that life must be lived fully because, at the very least, in the absence of greater certainties, it is the only life we know. Although he likes to think that there is a purpose behind the reason for the existence of human beings, because he finds it hard to believe that human intelligence is the product of chance and necessity. What is the point of accumulating knowledge and experiences if all of that is going to perish with the body? Not all human beings leave something material in their wake: books, works of art, children… All of these people cannot have lived for nothing. And the free being believes that, without purpose, there is no meaning. And, without meaning, we may well give in to despair and the most absolute inactivity.
For the free being, the search for Truth (with a capital T) is a moral imperative, even though they know that Truth is like the horizon: we head toward it but never reach it. However, what matters is the path we take to find it. Someone once said: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Therefore, every free being is, by definition, a seeker of Truth.
The free being not only wants good for themselves, but also wants their fellow human beings to achieve it. They are aware of all the evils, all the injustices of the world, and consider it a moral imperative to do their part to alleviate them. There are many fronts from which unjust situations can be eliminated; the free being will always choose the front for which they are best equipped according to their abilities, because they know that is where they can offer the greatest amount of help. But he also knows that remedies should never be imposed, because above all else is respect for the freedom of his fellow human beings, who are free to accept or reject the help offered to them.
The free person is aware that education is a fundamental part of human development, and also that it is an aspect that is not sufficiently emphasized in any human society. He sadly contemplates that what seems truly important to most of his fellow human beings is to compete, crush one’s neighbor, and gain power, rather than receiving adequate training. Whenever he has reflected on how to achieve a better society, he has ultimately come to the conclusion that education is the primary condition for developing new people, who in turn would transform society to make it more just. Plato, first in “The Republic” and later in “The Laws,” emphasized education as the basic pillar for creating a just and balanced society. It is an idea that has had a profound impact throughout the history of thought, but one that has been losing ground for years now.
Since the free person owes it to the truth (with a lowercase t) to approach the Truth (with a capital T), he does not hesitate to question even what is considered “politically correct.” For example, in politics, he does not hesitate to seriously question the dogma that affirms that democracy is the best political system. This is even more so when it comes to heterogeneous societies, composed of human beings very different in gifts and abilities. Democracy has a series of inherent dangers, such as the glorification of mediocrity, the importance of influence peddling, universal suffrage in the hands of uneducated and indolent majorities, and the enslavement of leaders to public opinion.
Instead of the democratic axiom “one man, one vote,” the free being proposes that those who have provided great service to society could have additional votes, as well as those who have contributed more to the public treasury. Just as additional votes are granted, the right to vote is suppressed in various cases, for example, among the abnormal and criminals. In any case, free beings are aware that, for this system to work and address the shortcomings of democracy, there must be mechanisms that honestly decide the weight each citizen should have in a vote. And there is no honest system without honest people.
The free being is also aware (although, as with democracy, it is politically incorrect to even raise the issue) that a physical improvement of humanity must be achieved. One need only take a quick look to realize that ugliness, deformity, and both physical and mental illness abound in the poorest countries as well as in the so-called “first world.” They know that science is a valuable means for the improvement of the human species, but only if it goes hand in hand with ethics. The free being has no qualms about speaking about eugenics because they know that, properly understood, it is completely opposed to the aberrant praxis carried out in its name in certain sad episodes of the last century, of which the Nazi Holocaust is a sad example (although not the only one). It is not at all about helping the weak perish, as Nietzsche claimed in “The Antichrist,” but about preventing physical and mental defects from perpetuating themselves in genetic inheritance. In this, scientific advances (especially in biology) can offer us invaluable help.
On the other hand, and even admitting that nature does not distribute its gifts equally among human beings, it is also true that it is possible to overcome adverse gifts, and that is one of the great qualities of human beings. A sick and weak animal soon succumbs in nature. A human being can transcend his illnesses and disadvantages and live a full life in society. A
free person does not look down on the most physically or mentally disadvantaged human beings, nor does he waste his time exercising false compassion. He does not help people of weak character, incapable of getting out of their problems on their own due to their own laziness. A free person does not help those unwilling to do their part to get out of a difficult situation. But neither does he lock himself away on an elitist island, nor does he remain in a watchtower from which he looks down condescendingly on his less fortunate fellow human beings. He enjoys the company of other human beings and accepts that he is part of the greater human family. He knows that, as an enlightened person, his obligation is to ensure that there are more like him, and he does everything in his power to achieve this.
The free person knows that equality does not necessarily imply uniformity, but that it can and should also accommodate diversity. It is not necessary (it is even harmful) for there to be unity of thought (that is, a single way of thinking) to avoid conflict. What is necessary is spiritual unity, for human beings to consider themselves equal in rights and obligations and in their condition of “humanity.” The free person considers that it would be even more desirable if, in addition to seeing themselves as human beings with equal rights, they also saw themselves as brothers and sisters.
The superman doesn’t see women as a “warrior’s rest” but rather as a complement. The superman doesn’t live alone but as a couple, and considers the family the indispensable institution from which to generate responsible, free beings. He knows that men and women, although they deserve equal respect as human beings, are not equal: they have different gifts and abilities, which does not make one inferior or superior in an absolute sense. The key is to achieve this equality, but without neglecting our particularities and differences. Let us remember that equality does not necessarily mean uniformity.
Furthermore, the free being is aware that it is very difficult for men and women to ever fully understand each other, but is convinced that the day men and women work side by side instead of tyrannizing each other and obstructing each other’s path, by combining their abilities, the world will make giant strides.
Being free is free simply by desiring it, by living according to one’s responsible freedom. We have many tools for being free. Let us use them, and being free will cease to be a rarity and become the majority of humanity. The day we realize the tremendous power we wield will mark the beginning of a promising stage in the evolution of humanity. A stage that may now seem utopian to us, but in which capitalism could well become ethical and supportive, fostering the initiatives of the individual citizen while taking measures for the community. Where education in the family and in school will have paramount value. Where work will no longer be considered alienating and will be seen as an opportunity to serve society. Where idleness, laziness, and undeserved wealth will be frowned upon. Where people will dedicate their free time to personal fulfillment. Where the unity necessary for all peoples to advance in the same direction will be achieved.