This is an open letter to you, the honest politicians of the world, who have entered politics to serve humanity rather than for personal gain.
Writing this letter is, for me, the fulfilment of a moral duty that I bear as a philosopher. Alongside my research into wisdom and its teaching, my other duty is to engage critically with the two institutions of the judiciary and politics. The ultimate goal of this engagement is to establish good governance.
By good governance, I mean ensuring all the rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the right to peace, for every member of society.
In performing this duty, all three institutions share a collective responsibility; should any one of them be unwilling or unable to fulfil its duty, it will effectively paralyse the other two, depriving them of the capacity to perform their own tasks. Accordingly, the relationship between these three institutions is inherently one of mutual accountability. Each must insistently demand that the other two perform their roles correctly.
As a philosopher, my duty is to provide answers to abstract questions such as: What is a right? What is morality? What is justice? What is the source of law? and the like. I believe I have fulfilled my duties and am eager to hear the contrary—for someone to come forward and say, for instance, that my definition of peace is incorrect and ought to be otherwise. Then, that person and I could enter into dialogue and call on public opinion to serve as the judge. Unfortunately, however, to date, no one has either critiqued my definition of peace or offered an alternative in its place. I am faced with a deafening silence.
Questions such as what is a right, what is morality, what is justice, and what is the source of law may arise in everyone’s minds; however, their answers are vital for judges and politicians if they are to fulfil their duties. For instance, if philosophy cannot define justice and the rule of law, and articulate the precise relationship between the two, a judge cannot administer justice, and a politician cannot legislate a true law. The result of such incapacities will be the emergence of various crises and the violation of human rights. I do not believe there is a need to lengthen this letter by providing evidence to demonstrate the widespread violation of human rights worldwide. It is sufficient to take an impartial look at today’s world to see injustice and human rights violations for oneself.
If you are fair-minded, you must acknowledge the role of politics in the creation and perpetuation of injustice and human rights violations.
The existing political apparatus, which I call Realpolitik, is responsible for the current state of the world, and you, as politicians, are part of this system. Realpolitik is irresponsible because it remains silent in the face of the most fundamental questions.
Do not forget that such silence is merely the tip of the iceberg of an irresponsible culture prevailing within Realpolitik.
When you, as politicians, remain silent in the face of my question, “What is peace?”, and persist in that silence until I grow weary and cease to ask, your silence brings about war.
When I ask you, “What is justice?”, and you remain silent once again, the result is injustice; for how can you establish justice when you do not know what it is?
When I ask you, “What is the function of law?”, and you remain silent once again, the result is the enactment of legislation through which you impose an order upon society in which human dignity has no place. Thus, it is your silence that imposes war, injustice, and Non-law upon human society. Your silence is immoral and irresponsible.
Only individuals lacking moral courage can call themselves politicians while remaining silent in the face of a simple question such as: “Do you accept the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?”
An irresponsible politician knows that explicitly rejecting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights would be costly for them. This is precisely why, when faced with the question of whether or not they accept the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they remain silent. Through this silence, they signal their rejection of the Declaration; yet, lacking the moral courage to state their belief openly, they resort to silence to avoid paying the price.
Otherwise, what reason would there be for someone who accepts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights not to say firmly and in a clear, resounding voice: “Yes, I accept the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”?
Your silence, as politicians, regarding the meaning of rights, morality, justice, and law is itself an immoral and irresponsible silence, for you are in politics precisely to secure and uphold these very things.
I sometimes hear friends who have joined political parties say, “I am just an ordinary member of this party and have nothing to do with these questions; surely our party leadership knows these matters.”
This is mere excuse-making. Every member of a political party is a cog or a bolt within their party’s apparatus. They, too, must know the concepts contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and demand that other members of their party know them as well. Of course, the effort to understand the concepts contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights requires wise knowledge, which is a prerequisite for entering politics.
Entering politics without wise knowledge is as perilous as entering a cardiac operating theatre without medical knowledge.
It seems that no one has yet told you—honest yet incompetent individuals who have entered politics—that when you enter this field, you gamble with your own lives and destinies, as well as those of others, putting them at grave risk.
Apparently, since no one has given you such a warning before, I must. I am compelled both to issue this warning and, should you fail to heed it, to stand against you.
Your presence in politics without wise knowledge jeopardises the security of myself and others.
Your entry into politics without wise knowledge means you have entered an arena where those present ought to possess a fully developed personality, yet you have entered it with an incomplete personality.
At this point, I must apologise for using the term “incomplete personality”, as it may be perceived as offensive; nevertheless, there is no choice but to face reality.
An incomplete personality is the logical consequence of the current unwise educational system. An incomplete personality stands in direct antithesis to a fully developed personality.
One can only possess a fully developed personality by having received the wise education recommended in the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Wise education leads to the full functioning of homeostasis in human beings. [For those who wish to gain a clearer understanding of this concept and other essential issues, I invite you to watch the educational video series available here.] Such education enables an individual with a fully developed personality to understand and implement all the concepts contained within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Do you know what peace is?
Do not say that every child knows peace means the absence of war. Such a response is a circular fallacy(The Fallacy of Circular Reasoning). Had you received a wise education in primary school, you would have studied the circular fallacy alongside other fallacies, and you would now avoid using this Mind Trap.
Well, if you do not know what peace is, how can you possibly establish it?
Had you known the meaning of peace, you would have understood that your presence in politics has become the primary obstacle to establishing peace within the individual, among human beings, and between humanity and nature. In other words, you, who ought to be agents of establishing order and balance, have yourselves become the main obstacle to the establishment of that very order and balance.
Given the importance of the subject, it is necessary to take a brief look at the meaning of peace and its comparison with health:
Peace means maintaining ”Order” and ”Balance” within the human family(humanity) through prevention —avoiding ”Disorder” and ”Imbalance” between family members’ rights by wielding moral principles.
If prevention doesn’t work, law and ”law force” shall intervene and restore ”Order” and ”Justice”.
Compare with the definition of ”Health”:
Health means maintaining “Order” and “Balance” within the human body and mind through prevention—avoiding “Disorder” and “Imbalance”. If prevention doesn’t work, medical or surgical measures shall intervene and restore ”Order” and ”Balance”.
Explaining the concepts contained within the definitions of peace and health is difficult for someone lacking a sufficient educational background, but I shall do my best. Of course, should you review the educational videos, my task would be eased.
Since the concepts of “Order” and “Balance” are easier to grasp within the context of the human body, it is best to begin there. Order within the body means that every organ is positioned, according to its inherent talent and capacity, in the place where it appropriately belongs, so that it may perform its function. Balance means that every organ can access the amount of energy it requires, and that other organs do not interfere with its activity.
When order and balance are established within the body, we say that the body is healthy.
Now, within the larger body—that is, human society—”Order” means that every human being, as a member of humanity, must be able to find their place in society according to their talents and capacities, and carry out their function.
“Balance” within humanity implies that every member of an ordered society must have access to sufficient means to perform their function, and that others must not hinder them. In other words, a balance must be maintained among the rights of society’s members. Another name for such a balance is Justice.
Philosophy, the Judiciary, and Politics are responsible for ensuring order and Justice within human society. If these three institutions can establish order and balance (Justice) within this larger body, we can say that Peace prevails.
The crucial point is that those within these three institutions must find their place in philosophy, the judiciary, and politics according to their inherent talents and capacities, cultivated through wise education. Only then can they provide the necessary means for other members of society to enjoy order and balance themselves.
The problem is that you, honest yet incompetent politicians, have entered politics without undergoing this process of discovering and cultivating your talents, thus disrupting true order and producing disorder.
This is one of the peculiar occurrences within a living body: in the human body, the immune system, which should safeguard order and balance against disruptive factors, sometimes itself becomes the cause of the disruption of order, balance, or health. You, who through your presence in politics ought to be the source of order and justice in human society, cause disorder and injustice through your irresponsible entry into politics. If you claim that it is the same everywhere in the world and that entering politics requires no wisdom, you are resorting to another Mind Trap known as the Appeal to Nature Fallacy.
You have entered politics without wise education, and the responsibility for this deficiency lies with academic philosophy, which ought to have taught you wise knowledge during your schooling. Thus, I would not now be forced to urge you, in your adulthood, to acquire the knowledge that was withheld from you during childhood and adolescence.
Do not be angry with me for revealing the reality to you and exposing your ignorance. Someone must tell you the truth and familiarise you with the reality of human existence. The fact is that until a human being receives wise education, two-thirds of their homeostasis cannot function correctly.
I accepted this bitter reality about myself decades ago and have sought to activate my own homeostasis fully; now, I want you to do the same. Do not forget that doing so is not only a moral duty but also a legal obligation and necessity, as you have enacted into law two conventions concerning wise education through your National Assembly.
If you wish to become wise, you must see existing reality as it is and transform it into truth. Understanding the complex relationship between reality and truth is difficult; nevertheless, our brains are designed to comprehend difficult matters.
My intention in writing this letter is not to drive you out of politics, but to urge you towards wisdom, so that you may occupy your position with competence and avoid causing harm to yourself and to others.
To make a serious start, it is best to begin with a careful study of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I have defined and explained the terms and concepts contained within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Simply click here to access the text and its philosophical glossary. Share your questions with me, and I shall provide you with answers.
Educating others about the concepts within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is among my moral duties as a philosopher.
The logical question, then, is: if you choose not to become wise and not to maintain a presence in politics wisely, what then is my duty?
A logical question that must be raised in this regard is this: when some can enter politics and occupy political posts without the effort of grasping philosophical concepts, what reason do they have to devote their time to self-education?
The people are forced to manage the affairs of society, to choose from among those who maintain a presence in politics without wise knowledge.
Firstly, this letter is addressed to the honest individuals who have entered politics and did not know until now that something called “wise knowledge” exists, or that, without the wise education demanded by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, their personality remains incomplete because two-thirds of their homeostasis does not function well.
Now, they know this reality. If honest politicians have been asleep, they must wake up and allow their conscience to judge their own level of wise knowledge.
I hope this letter awakens those politicians who are asleep, but certainly, those who are feigning sleep will not open their eyes. This latter group must be driven out of politics by the people.
Ordinary people see that there are serious flaws in how the world is governed, yet they do not know the source of all these crises.
By using the Appeal to Nature Fallacy, you politicians convince people that “it’s like this everywhere”, and they do not realise that this is a Mind Trap because they were not introduced to critical thinking in primary school. They have not studied the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to know their rights and to demand them.
Ordinary people do not know that democracy is not merely voting and choosing a few unwise individuals from among many unwise ones. True democracy is the selection of the wisest from among the wise.
People have the right to know what their rights are, and by whom and by what means they have been deprived of them. It is my moral duty to educate people about their rights; by exposing your ignorance as politicians, I am compelled to explain to the people the danger you pose to humanity.
Those individuals who hold responsibilities outside the three domains of philosophy, the judiciary, and politics have the right to good governance, and one-third of the moral responsibility for this task lies with me. Since I am fulfilling my duty, you too must fulfil yours so that we may reach peace.
If you are unwilling or unable to perform your duty, you must be compelled either to leave politics or to carry out your responsibilities properly and in full.
Awakening the people is the most effective way to determine the fate of those who have entered politics without competence.
If you feel you are an honest politician, then be honest with yourself and with the people who vote for you. Acknowledge your deficiencies and seek to remedy them.
Ask yourself: with what understanding of fundamental concepts such as rights, morality, justice, and law did I enter politics?
Self-criticism (Sui-criticus) does not lead to destruction; rather, it leads to growth and progress. Had I not criticised myself, I would not have become wise.
Show moral courage, critique your past through Sui-criticus, and begin a new chapter of your life.
Abandon Realpolitik and become a founder of true politics. You entered politics without wise knowledge and, until now, you have been part of the problem itself. Now is the time to change course and, by becoming wise, become part of the solution.
Today, because of Realpolitik, a human is a wolf to another human. Wisdom’s mission is to transform these relations so that in the future, every human shall be a refuge for another human.