We’ve already understood that we don’t have a clear, deep and thoroughly lucid connection
With the phenomena that are external to us and our comprehension of those phenomena.
When we look out the window and see buildings, roads, cars driving and even a few trees,
We don’t really know anything about these things.
What we can understand is how we feel about each thing that we see.
Are we doomed to eternally remain uncertain?
To lack deep, significant contact with the world around us?
Not exactly.
Let me explain.
Let’s take as an example the wondrous device that is usually found in every person’s pocket.
Scientists were able to control the forces of nature
And create a new reality that we didn’t even notice was changing the world before our very eyes.
Every person has access to all of the information that exists in the world.
This access crosses countries and continents.
The masses have almost as much power as the central government, and perhaps even more,
As we witnessed when the reigns of the tyrants in Arab countries were overthrown.
For this control of natural forces, humankind owes its thanks to the ancient culture of Greece.
The culture that developed the language of the sciences, especially the mathematical language,
Which is the basis of all physical sciences.
While mathematics began to develop long before the philosophers in Greece,
They were the ones who gave this language its effectiveness – to the extent that man can use it to control nature, reach the moon, gather all of the information and send it in messages to every corner of the earth…
Let’s not get confused here; this is also the Creator’s will.
“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and conquer it,” as Adam was commanded at the very beginning of the Bible.
The Creator expects us, the “human species,” to conquer and control our world.
It’s possible to say that through practical, physical, fixed sciences that equip man with tools to fully control the physical side of nature, those phenomena that are not personal,
The dream of controlling this world is gradually becoming reality.
Mark Zuckerberg can proudly announce that he invests billions of dollars
In researching, manufacturing and distributing life-saving medications,
And it doesn’t even sound farfetched.
Of course, we must utilize this control for good.
Wait…
What does that have to do with it? Does this attitude necessarily lead to good?
In contrast with the first task – the attempt to achieve complete control of the world of exact phenomena, which utilizes exact sciences to “play” with the forces of nature according to man’s will,
We [the “human species”] have another task,
To deal with values, ethics, and the human spirit.
It’s possible to be precise and claim that the language of mathematics is the language of quantity,
Exact measurements and calculations.
The scientific world and the universities specialize in these areas.
However, parallel to this, there is a different language,
A language connected to quality and not quantity,
A language that deals with values in general, and with people in particular.
An internal contradiction exists within man due to the fact that he is human.
He is in two worlds simultaneously.
In terms of his body, man is in the fixed, deterministic world of external phenomena.
In a world of total determinism.
A quick visit to a hospital shows us the human body and how it functions.
True, we’ve already explained this part and seen how we are slowly learning how to deal with its various ailments. This task of understanding nature has almost been accomplished…
In contrast, in terms of our souls, man belongs to an entirely different dimension!
Man’s internal world is not a world of quantity, but rather of quality,
The world of the persona, of freedom, of values.
Now, we must sincerely ask ourselves,
What tools do we have to advance man toward a solution to understanding the world of values?
The Greeks, and after them, the array of philosophers throughout history,
Also developed an area of philosophy called “ethics,” morals:
Which behavior is proper and which is not.
The problem is that they tried to force research methods from an impersonal world,
On an area where it doesn’t fit at all:
On man.
Philosophy is a doctrine of the humanities that is derived from the theories of scientific thought.
It is based on impersonal logic, the logic of phenomena that are not entirely accessible to man.
If man was a robot, this approach might have worked, but is man simply a sophisticated machine?!
They say that Emmanuel Kant, the philosophical genius to whom the world owes our modern mindset,
Maintained an exemplary daily schedule.
Every day, at 4:30 PM, he would go for a walk, at the same time every day.
He would walk down the street where he lived exactly eight times.
Legend has it that his neighbors in Konigsberg (the city he never left)
Would set their clocks based on his walks.
But is that what a human being is?
Is that how the average person lives?
Can any person live such a precise and carefully measured life?!
Of course not. And to tell the truth, that’s a good thing…
A normal person wants to get married, raise a family (Kant didn’t do these things either…)
And live to the fullest – leading a life of meaning.
A meaningful life isn’t organized solely by the clock and by requirements.
Often in life, people need to make ethical decisions to resolve the conflicts they face.
I will sum up by saying that the
Tools of the intellect [what we referred to at the beginning as “mathematical language”]
Master the impersonal elements of life,
But they are not effective at all in solving matters related to morality.
When scientific research purports to provide an interpretation of personal phenomena
And it thereby becomes philosophy or metaphysics [“ethics”],
It starkly contrasts the deep foundations of the wisdom of the Hebrew nation, who have been claiming for almost 4000 years:
“The world is run by the Creator and not by a system of laws that is void of character!”
The first person who dared to clearly state that only the wisdom of the Hebrew nation
Is able to teach morals and the secrets of man’s soul
Was the psychiatrist Henry Baruk.
When the great philosophers on morality, such as Descartes, Kant, Pascal and Spinoza,
Discuss moral values, they are essentially saying things they learned from the Bible!
Now, wouldn’t it be better to learn from the source?!
If we’ve mentioned the Bible and the Hebrew tradition, an important note is in order.
The ancient Hebrew nation, the one known as the Jewish nation today,
Must do more than simply clarify the subject of moral and ethical values in the world.
Throughout its journey through history, it claims that we must clarify
The universal language of spiritual values, in order to reconnect all of humanity into one unit living peacefully with one another.
When we see wars being raged today,
The difficult treatment toward women and weak people in various places on the globe,
The wrongful usage of scientific tools to further violence and control others,
We can say that scientific control of the world is gradually being accomplished
But our moral and ethical control as human beings over our freedom, our joy,
Over building our personal characters –
This is something that the world is sorely lacking.
The house is built, but the person living in it is ill!
You’re invited to be part – a partner, in changing this situation.
Here, you will learn universal principles that are relevant to all people in the world,
So that you may grow and influence those around you, near and far.
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Thank you for this excellent material Rabbi Chaim. Makes me want to go back and review one of your Udemy courses. I look forward to learning more as you’re willing to share.