In this blog post, we will explore why we live and what allows us to feel the meaning and aliveness of life, through the lens of fear of death and humanistic questions.
Since childhood, I’ve had a strong fear of death. That said, it didn’t profoundly impact my life enough to lead me down a path of spiritual practice like the Buddha; it was more of the vague dread about death that everyone carries. It started with curiosity like, ‘How much will it hurt when I die?’ and sometimes led to a sense of regret over the thought that life, from birth to death, is meaningless. Thinking about death from such a young age could easily have led me into nihilism, but perhaps thanks to my innate optimism, after deep contemplation, I’d rationalize it away with thoughts like, “What’s good now is good enough,” and move on.
Perhaps because I feared death so much, I couldn’t understand people who chose to end their lives by suicide. This naturally led me to the question: Why do humans live? Listening to the stories of those who made such extreme choices, I wondered if I might find an answer to why humans can’t live. Ultimately, the question of why humans live was one I’d carried throughout my growth, yet the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a difficult subject.
Humanities refers to the academic study of human thought and culture. What is crucial in the humanities is a ‘sense of inquiry.’ The humanities are a discipline that does not take human thought, culture, or the inherent nature of humanity for granted, but rather constantly poses questions and seeks answers. In that sense, my childhood questioning of death or ‘why humans live’ could be seen as the beginning of my journey into the humanities. Of course, since each person’s values and depth of thought differ, the answers they arrive at will vary, and not everyone will find answers at the level they desire. Some, like the great philosophers Immanuel Kant or Ludwig Wittgenstein, may find answers that inspire admiration in many. And perhaps some will question whether the very process of seeking answers to such topics, which “don’t help one make a living at all,” is even necessary.
In the same vein as the last sentence of the previous paragraph, the phrase ‘crisis of the humanities’ is constantly being bandied about. In our manufacturing-centric society, this ‘crisis of the humanities’ might be an inevitable social phenomenon. Even before the blade of restructuring was wielded at universities, humanities-related departments had already shrunk. That phenomenon is still ongoing. Yet, on the other hand, the importance of the humanities is being emphasized. It is said that South Korea overlooked something during its rapid economic growth. Because of this, South Korea is now facing growth limitations in the global economic era. CEOs of various companies and national figures point to a lack of creativity and imagination as one cause, arguing that the solution must be found in the humanities.
Perhaps thanks to the unique social awareness of these distinguished figures, a humanities boom began sweeping Korea several years ago. The bestseller sections of bookstores are always filled with humanities books promoted as being well-written. Of course, since I haven’t read all of them, I can’t say whether they are well-written. Among them, Michael Sandel’s *Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?* gained significant popularity in Korea. I was so curious that I read it myself, and its content was truly shocking. I started reading it lightly, just to pass the time, but the topics and issues it addressed were so sharp that I couldn’t help but rethink my own views with every page I turned. It took me a long time to read through each page. The questions the book posed to me and the thoughts I organized based on them made me feel truly alive.
So then, why do humans truly live? For this humanistic question I’ve pondered since childhood, the answer I eventually arrived at is: ‘Humans live because they believe their lives are worth living.’ Here, ‘worth living’ doesn’t refer to concepts like human dignity, but rather relates to personal self-esteem – that feeling of being alive I mentioned earlier. Some might feel alive through grades, others through work and promotions, and still others through the responsibility of raising children. Perhaps someone might feel alive walking outside on a fine day, gazing at nature. But from my limited experience, feeling alive through measures comparable to others—like money or social status—is a path to an unhappy life. While feelings of inferiority towards those more accomplished may play a part, more fundamentally, the money, material possessions, and relationships we accumulate in life are not truly ours; they are hollow. This emptiness often hits particularly hard for those who have easily acquired much. Cases like drug addiction or suicide among second- or third-generation chaebols can be understood within this context. Because life is so fundamentally futile, to feel truly happy and alive, one must spend more time focusing and immersing oneself in something. When an individual invests effort and achieves something, they initially feel a sense of accomplishment and aliveness. However, over time, what truly makes that person feel alive is the experience and effort of creating something from nothing. And that is precisely what can become their own possession.
Perhaps the humanities craze began with a single remark from those in high places, but its momentum shows no sign of stopping. The humanities constantly pose questions to the individual, compelling them to reflect on human nature and strive relentlessly to find answers. In this process, they force the individual to think, to arrive at their own answers, creating the experience of bringing something into being from nothing. And from that experience, the individual is liberated from the emptiness of daily life. Jesus once said, ‘You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ Perhaps what Jesus meant by freedom was liberation from emptiness—that is, enabling individuals to feel truly alive? The mindset, perhaps arrogant, that we are approaching truth step by step through the humanities satisfies our desire for knowledge. The humanities guarantee true freedom by making individuals feel alive.
Within Korea’s stagnant social structure, one must accumulate credentials and learn skills until the very end just to make a living, settling for the status quo. But perhaps the humanities serve not as a means to make a living, but as an end in itself—to liberate us from emptiness and feel truly alive? And I wonder if this humanities craze reflects our society, filled with a thirst for knowledge we neglected while striving to survive.
