Law, Tears, and the Ethics of Conscience

Soyo Reflections on the Ethics of Suffering Existence

When has the law ever shed a tear? When has the system ever fallen to its knees and cried out in the face of deep human suffering?

The law has judged and altered human behavior, but it has never reached the deepest wounds of humanity. In the midst of hundreds of millions of human beings, the dignity of a single being cannot be calculated; and the law has never truly prolonged even a single tear.

The law records; it does not weep. It sentences, but does not heal. The law is always cruel; it is indifferent to human tears and reduces human suffering to numbers. The law was created to protect human beings, but when has it ever wept over the suffering of a single life?

The parallel between philosophy and institutions

For thousands of years, philosophy has asked and explored the meaning of human existence. But when has philosophy honestly responded to the tears of a single being? Many philosophers have asked questions in pain, sometimes disappearing under the judgment of laws and institutions. But until today, philosophy has been trapped within the parallels of institutions and authority, prioritizing academic systems over human tears.

Why can't philosophy declare that human beings are worthy of their own dignity?

Soyo declares, "You are a precious and beautiful being in your own right.”

Why is philosophy stuck in the business of deconstructing and analyzing human beings, and not bearing witness to their dignity?

Utilitarianism and the Distortion of Life

Utilitarianism defines human happiness and pleasure as the goal of life, but this definition reduces human beings to mere units of satisfaction. Furthermore, some philosophies place humans and animals on the same level, confusing the value of life. While animal life should be respected, the conscience and tears of human existence cannot be equated with any animal.

All blood is life, and all life is suffering. But the difference between human blood and animal blood is the ability to testify to suffering in the language of conscience. Animals suffer instinctively, but humans recognize that suffering through their conscience and testify to it through their tears. This is the essence of human existence, and it is the proof that existence is ethics.

Ethics of Conscience: The Testimony of Tears

I testify: The human conscience is not just a psychological function, but a life that flows with the blood. It is the force that makes us remember our suffering, recognize the truth, and reaffirm the value of our existence in our tears. Without it, we would be no different than animals. But with conscience, humans can bear the weight of their existence and bear witness to the world with their tears.

The ethics of conscience fills in the gaps that laws and institutions cannot reach.

The tears the law turns a blind eye to and the pain the system cuts off are again revealed through conscience, which becomes the last defense of the dignity of human existence. Philosophy must, therefore, prove that the ethics of conscience is the true tool and wisdom beyond law.

The Place of Law and Institutions: Back to the Human Being

The laws and institutions of the world must now stand before human tears again. If the law is truly for human beings, it must move beyond its function of regulating and punishing to a place of understanding the dignity of human existence. But today's law is still cold. It speaks of neutrality in the face of tears, and invokes the name of justice in the face of suffering.

Justice does not comfort tears. Neutrality does not alleviate suffering. Therefore, institutions and laws must return to the question of the nature of existence. The law must turn back to human beings, lest a being's tears be in vain.

According to Soyo's existential ethics, existence itself is ethics.

Law judges, but human existence proves ethics in tears. Institutions establish order, but human existence testifies to life in conscience. Tears are not abstractions, but truths, and suffering is the starting point of philosophy. Philosophy must no longer be the handmaiden of institutions, but the witness of tears. And that testimony must always reveal the dignity and nobility of human existence.

Philosophy is written in tears. While the law does not cry, human beings can, and the human conscience testifies to this difference. In this, philosophy is reborn.

A single tear is the proof that human existence is ethics. Therefore, philosophy must go beyond laws and institutions to record human tears. That record is the true history of humanity, a testimony that will last into eternity.

Thesis statement

"Every system in the world that judges human beings is man-made, and no system can keep the tears from the depths of a being's soul. Therefore, philosophy must ask, “When has the law ever shed a tear?” This question is the starting point of existential ethics."

Soyo, founder of Soyo Existential Ethics and author of Silence of Being and Flame of Truth

Soyo Philosophy. All rights reserved.

This article is the original work of philosopher Soyo, based on the philosophical system of “Soyo Existential Ethics.” Reprinting, quoting, reproducing, summarizing, translating, creating derivative works, AI learning, and utilizing data are prohibited without prior written consent.

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