Before the Fact That No One Can Live Existence in Our Place

Soyo Existence Ethics – Chapter 118

Existence Itself Is Ethics

Ethics Revealed Before Language, Ignorance, and Death

No one can live another person's life in place of them. Yet, people often complain about their own lives, harbor resentment, blame others, shift responsibility, and endlessly engage in self-justification. This is not a sign of weakness, but rather a reflection of the unique texture of human existence. The real problem arises when these tendencies occur without self-examination or reflection—resulting in people living without truly understanding the nature of their own lives. This is why the statement “existence itself is ethics” carries such weight and complexity. It is not a comfort, but an exposure. Universal propositions are always straightforward, yet they do not save human beings. On the contrary, what is broadly accepted and easily spoken has paradoxically produced more wounds, divisions, and destruction, because such statements do not address the inner depths of the human being.

To declare that existence itself is ethics strips the human interior bare. That is why it is often avoided. Yet every beginning of human life arises from language. Words are not light; words are responsibility. Only those who understand the weight of language can truly grasp that existence itself is ethics.

Here, Soyo confesses that knowing nothing may, in fact, mean knowing everything. There are regions of human experience that remain unknown, even as we suffer. No one can come to know these regions on another’s behalf; they are the unique tasks that each life must bear alone.

The proposition “existence itself is ethics” emerged from life’s very edge. It is a truth that cannot be reached without first living it through. That this statement is slowly being recognized shows that humanity remains an ongoing project, one in which we must continually prove ourselves. This is both a lifelong task and a source of hope. For this reason, Soyo can now hold a quiet smile of joy. The growing understanding of this proposition is evidence that humanity has not yet come to an end.

Each human being lives their own life. Yet the purpose is the same, and the final destination is shared. Confronted by the inescapable reality of death, human beings cannot avoid the question: How humanly have I lived?

At this point, philosophy must become something that offers an answer. Not an answer found in technology, calculation, or mere consolation. Philosophy began with the most fundamental question of human existence. Here, wisdom and scholarship stand clearly divided: scholarship can explain, but wisdom must be lived.

To say that existence itself is ethics is the final criterion that allows the human being to remain human even in the face of death.

Soyo (逍遙), Founder of Soyo Existence Ethics. Author of The Silence of Existence and The Flame of Truth.

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This work is the original intellectual property of the philosopher Soyo (逍遙) and was created based on the philosophical system known as Soyo Existence Ethics. Unauthorized reproduction, citation, duplication, summarization, translation, derivative works, AI training, or data utilization of this text is strictly prohibited. This work is protected under the copyright laws of the Republic of Korea, the United States, and international copyright conventions (including the Berne Convention). This work is officially certified as a purely human creation and not generated by artificial intelligence. This philosophy is not the product of machines, but a testimony of thought born from human conscience and the breath of the divine.

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Soyo Existence Ethics is not a philosophy derived from culture, community, or traditional ethics, but an ontological ethics grounded in human existence itself.