A Philosopher's Ruminations

 I will answer from a metaphysical standpoint since I do not believe that a metaphysically neutral standpoint on the world is possible. Within God, there is no gap between his essence and his existence; his concept and his existence do not deviate; to be a finite human being is to be composite, and this implies that his essence and existence can come apart. The goodness of human beings is present within them, but as an ideal. The concrete existence of human beings within nature is the opposite of this ideal; it is selfish and self-seeking. This deviation from oneself is unfreedom and evil. The return back to one’s true nature requires moulding one’s own existence in the image of the ideal that truly represents our inherent nature. This leads to the paradox — how can one make oneself? How can one have oneself as a result since it presupposes some distance from one’s own self? How can one become oneself? One line of thought against this possibility is that a human being’s concrete ex...