Yin Haiguang: What is the meaning of life?

The question I'm going to talk to you about today is "the meaning of life." Why should I choose this question?

There are two reasons for this: the first is that I personally like to think very much. From adolescence to youth, from youth to middle age, I am constantly thinking about problems, and I have experienced some bitter twists and turns in life. Therefore, I will show you what I think of the meaning of life and what the path of life is, and show you my reference; I only say reference, but I do not say that you must adopt my outlook on life and the meaning of life. The meaning of life is each person's own. I'm just giving you my reference.

The second reason is that, as far as I can see, we are in a society in transition, our culture is in the process of metamorphosis, and the world is so disturbed and disturbing that almost all people are really lost in their hearts: lost in the street, lost in the marble room, lost in the cinema, lost in the reception room, all kinds of loss. Their hearts are not condensed, they are not strong. For example, some sportsmen, sportsmen, their height is quite big, they beat people up, but their hearts are very fragile.

For example, if they say a little wrong thing, they are afraid that the person will not like it, that the person will be offended. This fully demonstrates the fragility of the heart. If we have a strong body and our mind is so fragile, it is very sad that we have only to be the tools of others. This is the doom of the times. In order to avoid this fate, I am willing to offer my own ideas.

That is the basis for discussing this issue today, and to that extent.

There are many levels of life, and I can only briefly say here, the first thing to say is the physical layer. No one can be unencumbered by the laws of physics. If anyone is impatient, he jumps from the upper floor and dies of injury, without problem. That is governed by the laws of physics. Man is a finite animal, and although he sometimes thinks he is infinite, it is probably too arrogant. There is no need to say more about this layer.

The second layer is the biological logic layer. Man is not only a thing but also a creature, and he is alive. There is life that cannot be governed by biological laws, such as breathing, the beating of the heart, and the contraction of muscles are all governed by the laws of physiology, and no one can be an exception. That's how we're constructed. But there is a peculiar phenomenon in this layer, which is underdeveloped in other creatures—if not without. This is a biocultural realm. We are a kind of creature, there are many needs that must be met, such as eating and drinking, to get married at a certain age, the so-called "lady, gentleman is good, can not be sought, tossing and turning", so sad, this belongs to the biological logic layer.

Of course, other creatures also have to eat and find a mate. But they are very different from people: they are naked, uncultured, people are different, eat politely, have different distinctions, different forms. As far as dress is concerned, I do not believe that any lady who is as beautiful as a peacock, but who makes up for her beauty with various material tools. People have cotton, leather, nylon, oron, and dakron in order to keep out the cold. It's all biocultural stuff. We meet the bioculture of humanity. But human existence did not end there.

Man is "conscious." That's the most important thing. There probably aren't any other creatures, at least until now. This is a very important key in the process of biological development. Other creatures probably don't know their own life and death problems, but people know that if they are born, they will die. Peng Zu lived a long life, but he still had to die at the age of eight hundred. And people are afraid of death, but God will never leave you for one more day, and injections and medicines will not help. Because we have the consciousness of death, many myths, many rituals.

In this way, we slowly develop and expand our realm, from the simple physical layer to the biological logic layer, and then develop into the biocultural world and continue to develop. Then human beings have a sense of truth, goodness and beauty, ideals, and morality, which is also the value layer. This layer is the level of human beings, and the biological logic layer is that all higher creatures have. Although higher animals in the biocultural world can share a part, they have the most people. Only the highest level is unique to man.

We talk about morality, we pursue ideals, we want to create ideals, from Plato's ideal state, Thomas Moore's utopia, to our pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty, etc., these are all super-biological logic things, to borrow Hegel's words, "spiritual creation". I think it is roughly true that only human beings have spiritual creation. This layer is unique to people. Of course, man is only a kind of creature in space, and in the future, interstellar transportation will be developed, and there may be superhuman beings on other planets. Superhuman intelligence is likely to be much more developed than human.

I have now stated the basic structure that I am going to discuss. In this way, we discuss what is the meaning of life and what is the path of life.

But we're now taking that seriously. After the Second World War, the people in Asia and Africa rose to prominence. For about eight decades from the end of the nineteenth century until the Second World War, Africa was a colony of whites, and people of color were despised by whites, especially those who were considered to be inferior to whites in physical, moral, or natural brain power. But once upon a time, Africans are now being carried up by whites. This change is really unexpected! Asia and Africa are particularly well populated and economically backward, but I do not think that economic backwardness is a sin. On the contrary, wouldn't it be better not to develop, not to open the road, to walk in the forest, to enjoy the pleasures of nature? Asia and Africa are now valued, but economically backward, poor in knowledge, poor, and famine, which can be used by ambitious people to disrupt world peace. As a result, the free countries are going to develop backward areas. Now the world, no matter where it is, is desperately trying to develop the economy and deliberately operate. These efforts are nothing more than at the biocultural level. I'm not saying this layer is negligible.

In practice, it is impossible for us to jump to the top without going through this layer. For, if it rises in the air, the development and moral practice of higher spiritual culture will lose its support. Song Mingli's serious illness is here. Their problems were not serious at the time. Because the problem of eating is not big, such as Zhu Xi, Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao and others are not a problem in this regard, at most there is a problem of whether there is meat to eat. Because they have people to provide for, they are the class of scholars. According to your school' Mr. Kim Yiu-ki, we are no longer scholars. I felt a faint sadness after listening to it! However, the falling flowers flow in the spring also go! And what can be done? Before, I would have autumn dreams, thinking that as a scholar and doctor, the head of the four peoples, I was very good! But now it's not, a month's income is less than one percent of Eopa, so you can say: Yin Haiguang, your dream can wake up! Then we have to face reality. At that time, Zhu Xi was not like this, so comfortable! Go to the mountain to open a family academy and make yourself the head of the mountain. But now all gone！ Now times are different, and there are more needs in life.

Our traditional cultural value orientation focuses on the level of famous religion, ritual system, order, and moral purpose maintenance, and does not pay much attention to the biocultural level. As a result, spiritual culture and real life are disconnected. In the end, our cultural development is like a high-rise building, the people on the upper floor are blowing pipes, and the labor on the bottom floor is rare all day long, so it is empty. The whole cultural construction is problematic. This lesson of history deserves our attention today. Let me give you a realistic example. Economically backward areas need people to assist. What freedom is there when you get caught in the stomach! Our stomachs are controlled, many ambitions cannot be stretched, and human dignity is difficult to maintain. Only when you have money can you raise your eyebrows, and you can exhale. Otherwise, noble ambitions and outstanding ideals must be put away. One cannot go under the eaves without bowing one's head. So we have to flesh out the biocultural layer in order to talk about the value of the next layer. It is right now to develop export sales and strive for economic take-off.

However, the question we have now is: the meaning of life, the purpose of life, the value of life, does the path of life stop at this level? How do you separate yourself from other higher animals? Is it safe to stop here after enough food and clothing? Is it enough to be human? This is a big question for us college students, intellectuals, to think about. Today we are all under the pressure of the dull air of the times, worried about the way out, and many people do not like to think about such problems, and regard them as high-profile.

My personal situation is difficult, but I never stop thinking about these kinds of questions, especially in difficult times! When the conditions of the biological logic mentioned above are not satisfied, of course, they will not reach the top. But after satisfaction, can noble ideals and values be desired? Greece has produced so many great philosophers, scientists, and thinkers, as the foundation of future generations, how we yearn for! Because their spiritual lives are so rich. Obviously, in order to have a perfect life, you must go up through the biocultural layer. The biocultural layer is satisfied, and we must also be truthful, good, and beautiful, ideal, and moral, so that the path of life can be completed.

Here comes another question: suppose we already have a very good cultural heritage, such as China's. As far as China is concerned, I think Meng Ke has a sense of meteorism, he can be said to be a standard moral hero; like Han Feizi, his thinking is so strict and his observations are so sharp. If he had been born in modern times, he might have been a logician. We now raise a further question: if we are faced with a dilemma, namely: if we want to satisfy biological logic such as food and clothing, then we are bound to sacrifice morality or ideals; if we want to maintain morality or ideals, it is bound to be difficult to meet the requirements of biological logic such as food and clothing and it is difficult to survive.

In this dilemma, how do we make decisions? According to the current trend, ordinary people, consciously or unconsciously, encounter a situation where survival and morality cannot be combined, and sacrifice moral principles in order to survive. Some people sacrifice morality and frame others for satisfying their own interests. Therefore, morality is "going down day by day". People can still survive if they eat coarsely. The crowd has no morality to maintain, and it is inevitable that it will be a world of "beast cannibalism". How to get it! How do we deal with such a situation? I thought that the "righteousness" advocated by Mengfuzi was a salvation medicine. He wants people to sacrifice their lives for righteousness. This is, of course, a principle of limits. We are not saying that man must sacrifice his life at every turn to preserve moral principles and lofty ideals.

I mean:

First, we must not sacrifice moral principles in exchange for practical benefits when our own survival is threatened.

Second, we must not sacrifice others for the sake of better pay in our lives.

Third, when we are forced by the difficulties of life to abandon a number of principles of human beings, we must, as far as possible, engage in a "moral war", giving up as little moral territory as possible; and we must wait for the opportunity to "recover the lost ground of morality". Again and again, we have our likes and dislikes. If the economy is impoverished, will our likes and dislikes have to be abandoned? Is it impossible to talk about it? There is also the question of dignity, such as the economic inability of the human person to be satisfied, can dignity be disregarded? Questions like these, as a person, are really worth thinking about.

At your age, everyone has dreams. Hu Shi said that life should have dreams, otherwise life is not too rich? Now you all have ideals, but out of society it may be different. At that time, the journey of each other, all kinds of blows, all kinds of practical considerations, may make you converge on lofty ideals. This is the reality that tests our moral strength, our idealism, whether our pursuit of truth and goodness and beauty is urgent. This is true in every corner of the world. Whether we can hold out or not is at this juncture. Now is the time to test us.