Conditional Civilization, Human Consumption Society, and the Destruction of the Ethics of Silence

Soyo's Existence Ethics (Existence itself is ethics)

Violence permitted in the name of civilization: we live under the name of “civilization.”

It is a collective structure created by the convergence of technology, institutions, political and social norms, culture, and language. However, today's civilization no longer exists for the sake of humanity but has degenerated into a system designed to classify, calculate, and exploit people. It is no longer a system for humans by humans, but one where machines and power structure humanity. Though this structure grows increasingly sophisticated, human existence within it is quietly being destroyed.

This quiet violence carried out in the name of civilization is no longer external oppression like war or dictatorship. It is the silence hidden in words, the coercion hidden in choices, and the bias called political consensus. It is “legal human consumption” and “the deletion of ethics regarding humans.”

Conditional civilization denies existence. Politics divides people by conditions. Society filters people by qualifications. Culture remembers only those who fit the trend. Technology replicates only useful humans. Within these conditions, humans imprison themselves in the question of whether they “meet the conditions” rather than asking whether they “have value as beings.”

However, the moment conditions are attached, existence ceases to be existence. Existence must be dignified in and of itself, and humans must be loved and protected simply for existing, without conditions. Conditions are functions. Functions are converted into values. And value is compared. From that moment on, humans are no longer human. They become commodities with price tags, objects that can be replaced by humans with better conditions.

Conditions build civilization. However, the moment those conditions nullify human ethics, that civilization begins to dismantle itself. The more conditions are absolutized, the more humans are functionalized, and functionalized humans fall into a state where they cannot be loved, remembered, or ethically respected.

Technology and media remove human senses. Today, we share the belief that “AI will interpret,” “political analysis will inform,” and “data will judge.” However, this creates a society where humans do not have to think, a society that suspends ethics. When AI replaces humans, media organizes reality, and data makes choices, humans become not the subjects of thought but passive interpreters.

An AI column is one such example. It praises technology without asking who that technology is erasing. A political analysis lists numbers but does not speak of the people crying behind those numbers. They reduce humans to structures and summarize society in numbers. However, true ethics lies in the tears behind the numbers. A text that does not see those tears commits a violence of silence greater than words.

Consumed humans, forgotten beings. Modern society consumes humans. Human appearance, information, emotions, time, labor, and even love have become commodities. When love becomes a condition, it is not an emotion but an exchange. When labor becomes a qualification, it is not dignity but rent. This entire structure only allows “selectable humans” to survive.

However, I will continue to declare, “Love that is conditional on humans will not last long, and only the philosophy of loving existence unconditionally can save humanity.” A society where humans are loved only on condition is a society where the number of beings who cannot be loved increases. And that means that society is a civilization that abandons people. A society that prioritizes productivity over existence inevitably increases suicide rates, destroys relationships, and creates people who are not remembered. This is how civilization abandons humanity.

The transition to an ethics of existence is the first step in changing the direction of civilization. The ethics of existence states, " Existence is not a condition. Existence is precious simply because it exists, even if it is not chosen." This is the politics that philosophy must speak, and this is the sense of society that the media must restore. We must return to unconditional respect, unconditional listening, and unconditional protection. That is the minimum condition for humans to exist as humans. And a society without that is already a society that has lost its ethics.

Writing without ethics is the corruption of civilization. Writing is power. When writing erases people, reinforces conditions, and mocks ethics, it is violence. We must now stop writing that makes us unconscious, writing that halts thought, and writing that suppresses emotion. Philosophy must be able to critique structures, and language must not stand on the side of silence.

The unrest asks today, “For whom was that writing written?” “Whose tears did that analysis ignore?” “Whose humanity did that technology replace?” Only writing that does not stop before these questions stands on the side of existence. Humans are not objects to be understood, but beings to be revered.

“Politics and AI speak of numbers, but philosophy speaks of tears. That is why philosophy comes last and stays longest.”

Soyo (逍遙) – Founder of Soyo's Existence Ethics, Author of 'The Silence of Existence' and 'The Flame of Truth'

2025 Soyo's Philosophy. All rights reserved.

This work is the original creation of Philosopher Soyo (逍遙), based on the philosophical system of 'Soyo's Existence Ethics.' All unauthorized reproduction, quotation, summary, translation, derivative works, AI training, or data usage are strictly prohibited. This work is protected under Korean copyright law, U.S. copyright law, and international copyright treaties (including the Berne Convention). It is also officially certified as a pure human creation, not generated by AI.

Contact: soyophilosophy@gmail.com ｜ soyophilosophy.com ｜ soyophilosophy.kr