An Ethical Stance

If we are looking for a purpose broader than our interests, soemthing that will allow us to see our lives as possessing significance beyond the narrow confines of our own conscious states, one obvious solution is to take up the ethical point of view. The ethical point of view does require us to go beyond a personal point of view to the standpoint of an impartial spectator. Thus looking at things ethically is a way of transcending our inward looking concerns and identifying ourselves with the most objective point of view possible - with, as Sidgwick puts it, "The Point of view of the universe"
- Peter Singer

I could synthesize these words of Singer with your observation of a transcendent being from Prof. Mihaly -

Strange as it may seem, life becomes serene and enjoyable precisely when selfish pleasure and personal success are no longer the guiding goals. When self loses itself in a transcendent purpose, it becomes largely invulnerable to the fears and setbacks of ordinary existence. Psychic energy becomes focused on goals that are meaningful, that advance order and complexity, that will continue to have an effect in the consciousness of new generations long after our departure from this world, even after we are long forgotten.
- Csikszentmihalyi Mihaly

As Howard Gardner observes an ethical mind is a mind which has evolved to a state, which he puts in the equation -

Person -> Other Persons -> Role (The Point of view of the universe)


And again when Victor Frankl puts forward -

Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue..as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a course greater than oneself
- Viktor Frankl

Putting these into perspective what occurs to me is that the secret of a perpetual happiness and an inspired life is nothing but getting to the stage of an "Ethical Mind" (Gardner) or "Transcendental Self" (Mihaly) or a person with a deep logos (Frankl)

It appears to be straight forward to me, that a person's gradual progression from being a disciplined mind (entering into flow), to a synthesizing mind, and then to a creative mind, further evolving finally to an Ethical mind is the path to ultimate fulfillment of life.

If it is so easy and straightforward, why then people get lost? Is it only an ignorance of this realization, or there are other blockages that hinder a person comprehension to this outlook? Or may be there are other models to look into life...Or the the model in which the minds of the current civilization is based on is flawed?



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