Blood and Rain: The Fragmentation of Human Existence and the Meaning Beyond

Soyo Philosophical Essays on the Ethics of Existence

Human History Written in Blood

As John Dewey said, “History is the chronicle of the struggle for freedom.” Yet that struggle always presupposes blood. There was no freedom or justice without blood. From the nameless soldiers fallen on battlefields, to the protesters struck down in the streets, to the blood mingled with tears shed in life's smallest corners, human history has been recorded in the language of blood.

Is this blood then merely a biological flow, or a symbol revealing the truth of human existence? Soyo's Existential Ethics in Distress declares: “Blood is not a mere physical phenomenon, but an ethical language through which existence bears witness to itself.”

We enter the world bleeding at birth, encounter blood through wounds large and small throughout life, and conclude our existence with blood in our final moments. Blood is the most primal and inescapable testimony of human existence, an ethical symbol in itself.

The Irony of Blood: Awareness of Existence and Pain

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Only through pain do we become conscious of our existence.” Human blood is the language of pain and the notification of existence. Yet, there is irony here. Blood keeps humans alive, yet simultaneously leads them to death. Blood symbolizes life, yet can also degenerate into a tool of destruction and violence.

If, as Charles Sanders Peirce stated, “the meaning of all thought and action lies in its actual consequences,” what then are the consequences of the countless bloodshed humanity has endured? Has it created a better world? Or has it only left behind an endless cycle of tragedy?

History tells us, there is no essential difference between those who shed blood first and those who shed it later. Whether blood spilled in the name of justice or in the name of oppression, ultimately all blood seeps into the earth the same crimson red, leaving the same testimony before death.

Why Can't Humans Stop Fighting?

Richard Rorty said, “Society changes people, and people change society.” Within this dynamic cycle, humans fight incessantly. They fight against nature, confront social structures, and even battle themselves; yet there is no perfect society, no perfect justice. Our struggles always yield imperfect results.

So what is the meaning of struggle? Soyo's Ethics of Existence declares: “Struggle is not the attainment of perfection, but the ethical testimony that humans live as humans.” In other words, the value of struggle lies not in its outcome, but in the very process of existence fulfilling its responsibility.

William James said, “True courage is not shedding blood, but transforming that blood into meaningful change.” But how much of this transformation has our history achieved? In many cases, blood led to more blood, and suffering led to more suffering.

Rain Must Fall, Not Blood

As John Rawls stated, “A just society must be able to offer hope to its most vulnerable members.” If blood cannot be the language of hope, we now need a new language. That language is “rain.”

Rain washes away all traces of blood, wraps the wounds of broken humanity, and permits a new beginning. If blood is the testimony of human existence, rain is its consolation. If blood is the language of struggle, rain is the language of empathy.

As Martha Nussbaum said, “True humanity begins with empathy.” Blood without empathy is violence; tears shed with empathy become rain. Therefore, we must now testify to the meaning of human existence not with blood, but with rain.

The Fragility of Human Existence and Beyond

Human beings are beings that break far too easily. Yet within that fragility, we glimpse the essence of existence. Whether one bleeds first or later, we all ultimately go to the same place. The dignity of existence lies not in strength, but in the ethical traces left behind as we break.

Soyo's Ethics of Fragile Existence declares: "Now, rain must fall, not blood. Human existence must be that which washes away each other's wounds, leaving a trace that is brief yet profound."

From Blood to Rain: From Testimony to Love

Blood testifies that humans have lived. Yet that testimony alone is insufficient. We must now move beyond testimony toward an ethics of love. Rain must fall. We must exist as rain that washes away each other's blood, binds up wounds, and gives us the strength to live again.

That is the ultimate meaning of human existence beyond blood and rain, and the message Soyo Existential Ethics conveys to this era today.

Soyo (逍遙) – Founder of 『Soyo Existential Ethics』, Author of The Silence of Existence and The Flame of Truth

Soyo Philosophy. All rights reserved.

This text is the original work of philosopher Soyo (逍遙), created based on the philosophical system of ‘Soyo Existential Ethics’. Reproduction, quotation, duplication, summarization, translation, creation of derivative works, AI training, and data utilization of the text are prohibited without prior written consent.

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