The Lost Ground Beneath the Flood of Words - The One Question Soyo Existence Ethics Asks - Chapter 95

Soyo Existence Ethics (Existence itself is Ethics)

The Age of Linguistic Flood—Beautiful Words Everywhere, but No Transformation

The online world of the 21st century overflows with “good writing.” Comforting phrases, encouraging lines, and soothing words for psychological ease are endlessly created, copied, and shared. Recently, a reader shared a piece of writing with me:

• “Let anger burn quietly, and let praise ring like a gong.”

• “Let hatred flow away like water, and treasure grace like gold.”

• “Let compassion be as clear as a child’s eyes.”

Each sentence speaks of virtue and seeks to guide life gently and beautifully. Yet, Soyo cannot help but ask a deeper question.

The Unasked, Yet Most Important Question:

“Why should we live this way?” This is the ultimate limit of all good writing: it avoids asking the fundamental question.

• “Do not be angry.”

• “Be patient.”

• “Be humble.”

• “Be compassionate.”

But why? Why must human beings live in this way? Where do these virtues originate?

How are they connected to the root of human existence, and to what destination do these teachings lead us? Most “good writing” avoids these questions because asking about the foundation means confronting oneself—a task that is always uncomfortable. As a result, the world consumes emotional sentences: hearts may be warmed, but souls remain unchanged.

A Flood of Language, an Emptying of Existence

Soyo recognizes a single, profound truth: the most significant loss of our era is the disappearance of the existential “Why.” Words have multiplied, yet existence has faded. Sentences overflow with emotion, but truth no longer descends into the heart. No matter how many beautiful sentences circulate, if they fail to touch the root of the soul, humanity cannot take even a single step forward. Good writing may offer a fleeting sense of peace, but such tranquility fades quickly—like a passing wave. Only truth grants the unshakable peace that endures.

Words AI Can Write—And the Words AI Will Never Be Able to Write

Honestly, when I read some of these emotional writings, I find myself thinking: “In this era, AI can write these kinds of texts even better.” Emotional advice, kind encouragement, warm affirmation—AI already produces them in language more elegant than most humans. Yet there is one realm AI can never enter: the realm of inner truth, the soul, and the trembling of existence. AI has never felt the weight of death. It has never endured the depths of despair or cried out for the hand of God. It has never experienced the piercing pain of conscience, nor the moment that pain turns into peace. But Soyo Existence Ethics begins precisely from that bottom.

Existence Ethics Is Not Advice for Living, It Is an Inquiry into the Origin of Being

Good writing may offer guidance for one’s attitude toward life, but Soyo Existence Ethics dissects the very structure of human existence. It asks:

• From where does the human being come?

• Why does conscience dwell within us?• Why does truth discomfort us?

• What is suffering, and why does it mature the soul?

• Why is death not fear but an invitation to eternity?

• How did the value of the human being begin in the heart of God?

Without asking these questions, no matter how beautiful the sentence may be, it cannot transform a human being.

Good Writing Warms the Heart; Existence Ethics Awakens the Soul

• Good words may offer temporary rest, but Existence Ethics awakens the soul.

• Good writing can shake the mind, but Existence Ethics shakes the very core of one’s being.

• Good writing stirs emotion, but Existence Ethics transforms existence itself.

These two realms are fundamentally different.

Soyo Maxim — The Courage to Face Truth

“Human beings instinctively avoid truth because facing it is uncomfortable. But those who transcend this through experience are truly courageous. For even when truth pierces and wounds the conscience repeatedly, they know the peace and freedom that come afterward. Such a person is one who truly lives the ethics of existence.” This maxim contains the core of Existence Ethics.

Human beings fear truth because it strips away their masks, pierces their emotions, and unsettles the conscience they have long buried. Yet, those who endure this piercing—who refuse to escape the pain of conscience—ultimately discover the freedom of eternity. And that freedom is not false, not unstable, not of this world. It is the peace that Existence Ethics calls “the peace of truth.” Only those who know this peace can live the ethics of existence.

The One Who Does Not Flee from Truth Completes Their Existence

My intention is not to criticize eloquent sentences. Instead, I wish to sound a warning: humanity must move beyond reading only “good words” and cease ignoring the very foundation of existence. The more our era is flooded with language, the more we must descend to the root. We must enter deeper places and meet truth at the center of the soul. It is only in that place that true transformation occurs—within the individual, within the world, and within philosophy itself. The person who chooses to walk this path embodies Soyo Existence Ethics.

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

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