King James Version
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
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What does it mean to be human? Philosophers and Spiritual authorities have asked that question as long as we have had language, but one above all stands out to me. Descarte and "I Think Therefore I am" shows that we are, and we think and we know therefore that we are. It is among the most elegant and self evident products of philosophy. But as near as I can tell; every other Philosophy or "ism" sets that aside and then explores the ideas that they espouse about human activity and compare and contrast that philosophy.
But I think this is a mistake.
Before we step from the basic of individual ethics and see how these principals are applied to a larger scale, I think its important to take a step back and explore what this concept means.
Per Meriam Webster
Sacred:
Edmond Dantès begins as a victim of men who treat his life as a disposable tool for their own advancement. In his pursuit of revenge, he nearly destroys himself by adopting that same cold logic, viewing his enemies as targets rather than living beings. Only when his schemes claim an innocent child does he realize that no cause justifies violating the inherent value of another person.
Seven questions to determine if something is moral and good are all well and nice; but if you are doing the classic trolley situation in your own personal frame, its too much to ask or apply. The most important thing about philosophical morality you need to remember besides Apotelic Kindness itself is that a Value has many definitions but here is the one that matters for Christoicism.
A Value is Something that forces a Moral and Ethical decision that matters and costs you to maintain it.
It is well and good to be for public school lunches until you get your tax bill and have to actually pay for it out of your paycheck. It is well and good to honor military service until you have to pay $2450 for a President to Fuck that Particular Fish and Bomb that Particular Thing when they file their taxes. It is well and good to consider yourself an honest person until your wife asks "Do I look fat in this dress?"
If something is a value it is worth having. All of these are values; Integrity, Courage, Compassion, Honesty, Loyalty, Respect, Kindness, Justice, Freedom, Wisdom, Humility, Gratitude, Perseverance, Fairness, Accountability, Generosity, Patience, Excellence, Authenticity, Empathy. But you can't do them all at the same time. And more importantly in the crisis of the moment what you choose shows what you value. That is what REALLY makes it a value. But if you are aiming to be a good or decent person, or apply the seven questions to all of those it can be exhausting and frankly impossible.
Mercy vs. Justice: Dantès discovers that Maximilien and Valentine are innocent victims caught in the wreckage of others' sins. He could destroy everyone connected to his suffering—but he chooses to save them instead. Yet he doesn't forgive Villefort or Danglars. The question becomes: which ones deserve his vengeance, and which deserve his mercy? He learns that absolute justice would make him a tyrant.
Thus the need for a Hierarchy of Values. You can HAVE all of those values but not have them at equal measure. You can decide ahead of time if you choose patience over wisdom, or gratitude over compassion. You'd think that some of these aren't antithical but I also guarantee if you think about it at a deeper measure, you will find that all of them have been in conflict in your life at some point or another.
Unless of course you didnt care about it at all; but that doesnt make it a value for you.
The Hierarchy is a mental exercize that lets you choose ahead of time. That helps you avoid regrets later on. This can be as simple as "What are my top 3 values and what order are they in?" to a formally written list where you frequently update and change what all of them are. Good luck remembering the order of all 20 in your life though.
Loyalty vs. Honesty: When Caderousse appears, broken and dying, Dantès remembers the sailor he once knew. He gives him money and comfort—loyalty to an old friend. But he won't lie about Caderousse's complicity in his betrayal. The kindness and the truth have to coexist, even when they pull against each other.
Here is the key pivot; if you are doing this right a value must always have circumstances where it DOES trump the other values even if it isnt your top virtue. Mercy without Justice is terrible and Justice without Mercy is also terrible. There are moments where one is clearly called for above the other; the Hierarchy is simply your default and can never be a substitute for wisdom, inner reflection or just plain old common sense.
One measure that I might recommend is in the conversations you have with yourself; pick a person who represents that value. It can be a famous person like Benjamin Franklin or a fictional person like Clark Ken. It can be your maternal grandfather or it can be some mythological figure. Think of a hypothetical scenario; something you think might realistically occur some day and ask yourself with these two people what they would each do in the situation and determine how they would react and see whic one resonates properly with you.
Authenticity vs. Compassion: Dantès could reveal himself to everyone he loves and be known for who he truly is. But keeping his secret—staying the mysterious Count—is what allows him to save the innocent without destroying them with knowledge. Sometimes you have to remain hidden to show compassion.
It is not enough to simply abstractly apply apotelic kindness; we need some method of measuring it. That is not to say that we cannot propose a baseline, but it is important to understand it must be iteratively believed and appplied to those to whom our actions are meant to benefit. If we do dark things for the greater good; a lack of appreciation by those we claim to help is the single greatest measure of the hubris of our actions.
Here are seven questions one can ask to measure the approach. These seven will not solve every problem, but they cover enough actions such that we can hope to achieve some measure of decency by the impact of our actions. And if it violates all seven, it is likely something we can willfully and truthfull call evil. Conversely, if all seven are clear or approaching it, then we are probably in the right or approaching it.
Is it kind? Does this action genuinely create kindness, not merely the appearance of it? Kindness is the arbiter of necessity.
Is it necessary? Can the good I seek be achieved through less harmful means, or am I rationalizing expediency?
Is it true? Does this action align with reality as best I understand it, or am I deceiving myself or others?
Would I accept this if our positions were reversed? The most reliable test of justice is whether I would willingly trade places with those affected by my actions.
How will this cascade through consciousness? How would this decision be judged by minds wiser than my own, both now and in generations to come?
What story am I using to justify this? Am I casting myself as the necessary hero, others as deserving villains, or creating false narratives to enable what I already want to do?
Would I do this in front of the children who trust me? Not as performance, but as a model of the world I wish them to inherit and the values I truly believe in.
In the book, at the zenith of his power; Edmond Dantes spots the suffering of innocents at the near-death of Valentine de Villefort and the utter ruination of their family to those who hda done him no wrong. He had miscast himself as Providence knowing that none could deliver justice but himself. But he saw in his wrath the violation of these questions; kindness, necesssity and saw in the mirror that he had become the oppressor not the hand of a just but absent God. He had the wisdom to withdraw total justice and show mercy, restraint and take the long view.
