Manifesto

Its hard to describe each and every individual, that is why David Banach labels us as "absolute individuals". To prove his point based on every single person being different he writes his lecture based on existentialism and the freedom of human beings. His lecture "the ethics of absolute freedom" shows his meaning of freedom and how one can be free. Freedom can only come a long way, and as for society us as a whole have also come a long way, molding and changing our views of what actually make us free as human beings.

As Individuals, we perceive things differently, such things as images or experiences. Banach uses the "face/candlestick illusion" to demonstrate a major point of his. His point discussing the way people choose to see this photo, whether it be two people kissing or a candlestick, says a lot about that direct person and they're state of mind. "Each of us is trapped within our own mind, unable to feel anything but our own feelings and experiences." Our mind relates only to things that happened to us specifically. To think beyond what you know, or outside the box based on other's experiences, only helps to expand knowledge but can never help to escape your own feelings and thoughts. Banach refers to all individuals as "absolute". The word absolute is used by him and meant that each individual is completely and absolutely different. In the math-world, a single number, like "3", is viewed as a whole value. Every number is a whole value, but every number also has an opposite, or what is referred to as their "absolute" value. Just as the number "-3" has its own absolute value, it being 3. Each number has its own absolute value and no other number carrying the same. Banach refers to Human Beings in a similar way. No other human shares that same value, as they are all absolute in they're own way.

We are all different from each other and see things differently. Banach gives off three words that help to better understand the mind of individuals, "Essence precedes existence", and in other words, for something to exist, essence must first pursued the creator. He uses the example of paper-cutters being seen as a good product, but with the potential to be a great product, so the inventor tweaks them to become today’s pair of scissors. Whether it is a pair of flawed paper cutters or a picture depicting two different things, people choose to see what they want to see. Everyone is captivated by they’re own strength and mind. We are brought up being told how to live our lives and told right from wrong, when we reach that certain age where help is no longer attained to us, it is up to us to choose whether we will live by those rules growing up or try to excel to newer heights, living life in a careless point of view. As Americans we are told that we are free and have that privilege when compared to other places. Except, to live in a world full of rules and laws which we must abide by, does that make us entirely free? It makes humans want to disobey and nudge away from goodwill living, such as drinking laws and driving laws, etc. We are prisoners to our own minds because growing up taking in years of the same lecture by parents, teachers, and media brainwashes us to live life a certain way. Even laws and rules that we live by each and everyday are tweaked and improved by our nation so that obedience may become an indefinite.

Humans handle series of events from they’re lives in a way that they can achieve as much fun and excitement, or any other emotion prospered, from it as they can. Life is definitely too short, a common saying for years, which I completely agree upon. I too think about how short life is, and how it seems practically impossible to come out on top successfully in such a short period of time. Which is probably the huge reason we as humans love to read up on celebrities or the extremely wealthy, living they're luxurious lives on top, through magazines or television screens to get a glimpse of the life that we all would like. We chase these dream-lives because to have money means that you have no worries and lead nontrivial lives that need no meaning. As humans, we try to pursue money in so many alternatives, including shackling other human beings for our own gain. "It is self-defeating to attempt to use other humans as objects to satisfy our desires." Banach believed that in order for us to be free, we must desire the freedom of all men. Thinking backwards in history to slavery days, where owning slaves was desired and normal between Humans, trading them around and selling/buying actual human beings taking them for granted. Obviously we live in a new era, a completely different lifestyle now, where all men are treated equally and fair, in some state of manner. Suppose Banach included the freedom of Prisoners, and as they are condemn as men without freedom, then is letting all those prisoners free to live amongst us going to make us better people?

I believe that in order to obtain freedom, it must be done through a mental and physical state. Only in our minds can we accept us for who we are and stop judging ourselves. There are many ways to be free, for some being free means only escaping their reality. The negatives to this is the drug-abuse or other addicting formulas, but once that 'escape' leads them back to they're actuality, they are back within a world of hatred and violence. Some people may live in a hostel environment, mainly third world countries, but when they step foot into they're church and begin to practice they're beliefs, they may feel safe and free once again. Everyone can be free in they're own way. Its whether or not we choose to pursue that freedom.