Musings from the Ozone

Perceiving is the process of using our senses to acquire information about the surrounding environment or situation. If we have to use our senses to acquire information, then we must be sure that our senses are; l. seeing correctly, 2. hearing correctly, 3. smelling correctly, 4. tasting correctly, and 5. feeling correctly. Simply wearing the correct lens, if your sight is less than perfect, and wearing a hearing aid, if you begin to miss spoken words in a sentence, (both compensatory aids) becomes vitally important to help us get correct information, since most of us use our senses of seeing and hearing in order make judgments. Beyond the importance of seeing correctly or hearing correctly, we encounter the underlying premise that what we do see and what we do hear may not provide accurate nor sufficient grounds for making judgments!

Perhaps the term perceptional precepts could be considered an oxymoron, for it is a phrase in which the two words are of contradictory meaning. I am using them together for special effect only. Perception is subjective; one can think they see certain behaviors in people, but find it to be either an illusion, or a behavior that is not what it seemed. I am reminded of how I went to buy pizza one night, but I couldn't find a parking place in the front of the store. I looked down the line of the string of stores, but there were absolutely no parking spaces except for one that was right in front of the adjoining beer store. I felt sheepish about parking there, as I certainly wouldn't want anyone to imagine that I, their pastor's wife, was buying liquor!

Precept is an old word, one that has been used from biblical terminology. The word precept is used interchangeably with the word principle which means: a rule, instruction, or principle that guides somebody's actions, especially one that guides moral behavior. Now the word precept sounds (sounds?) like a very heavy and ponderous word doesn't it? It should! For it has a very serious meaning. Rules and regulations have meanings tied up with the civil law!

So, now the oxymoron is in place: anything that would start with our senses and end with the making of a precept is not only preposterous, but it is also probably impossible. It would appear (appear?) to me that precepts should be set in stone first and then we can notify our senses that they must bow down to the higher authority of principles. The senses have to be subject to reason, and there are so many occasions when emotions get in the way of good reasoning and good judgment.

We hear the phrases, jumping to conclusions, rushing to judgment, taking something for granted, along with many other clichés and metaphors that suggest someone has made decisions without thinking the matter through to the consequences. The danger of using our senses to make precepts could be compared to diving into the very middle of the ocean without as much as a life jacket or diving gear. In other words, there is no protection from consequences for those that make important decisions guided simply by their senses and emotions.

I am not writing this paper just to be frivolous with meanings of words. In the first place, we must address our youth today about the dangers facing them, should they want to live their lives by their sheer physical desires. Lustful desires are much stronger in youth, but they can be balanced by the idealism which youth also possess in abundance. Idealism is not altogether a far-out concept, as it can be a also be a belief in perfection. While perfection can never be actually attained, the desire to achieve excellence can be a driving goal. If we help others see the long term value of living by principles rather than by pursuing short-lived sensual desires, we can steer them down the road to true happiness.

Society's attitude about precepts, at least here in America, was greatly influenced by the philosophy of Existentialism. This belief, while it has several meanings, is also a belief that humans are free from determination by any already existing essence…which in this context would mean God. "Although they differ on many details, existentialists generally suppose that the fact of my existence as a human being entails both my unqualified freedom to make of myself whatever I will and the awesome responsibility of employing that freedom appropriately, without being driven by anxiety toward escaping into the in-authenticity or self deception of any conventional set of rules for behavior, even though the entire project may turn out to be absurd." *1

One plank of Existentialism's many characteristics is "a gesture of protest against academic philosophy, its anti-system sensibility, its flight from the “iron cage” of reason." *3 In an escape from having to answer to a creator, many philosophers sought to find a way to circumvent principles and value systems by calling life here just meaningless and without hope. The open-mindedness of this so-called philosophy often leads one to despair and dread, for many people cannot put into any sort of context the supposed irrationality of life under a non-reason meaning. To think that life can have no rules or guidelines is in itself unreasonable! Why is it we put standards on our automobiles, homes, clothing, electronics, or products that we produce, but we would not put any standards on our personal lives? We are not things, of course, but we should be the first to follow the precepts, principles and standards of excellence for our lives!

Albert Camus gave a very profound thought and as paraphrased; Introducing Existentialism; Appignanesi, p. 36: *2 "I call the existential attitude philosophical suicide. How else to start from the world’s lack of meaning and end up by finding a meaning and a depth to it?"

In this short dissertation of perceptions and precepts, I must confess that the idea of perceptions as they relate to appearances is not my invention. One would have to go back 1000's of years to Plato if they want a flawless definition of appearances. I wrote an article on this blog about images, and while there are many cross-definitions between appearances and images, it still has to do with how we perceive things. We do have to live with appearances all the time, and realize that an outward aspect of somebody or something creates a particular impression on us. At the end of the day, we must ask ourselves, and especially before we make any more snap judgments, 'why did this person inspire me?' Or, 'why did this person annoy me so much?" "Why did I dislike them?" "Was it without real cause?" Of course, we will all be drawn to certain people on nothing more than personal tastes, but, as a true Christian, can we look beyond the physical aspects of individuals, and think of the soul of the person? Can we ever see beyond their appearance, and observe their real personality?

Can we truly put away all of our judging, and treat all persons with impartiality and kindness?  Can we deny our most immediate and personal opinions, and reserve judgment until a person reveals his or her true character to us?  We do not have to necessarily trust a person on sight, for that may be very naïve behavior, but we can at least be cordial and professional in our approach.  Can we always trust the judgments that other people feed to us regarding an individual?  Of course not, as there are always people who may be mistaken about a person. Perhaps you love someone and they have gotten in trouble with the law; you may despair when they have to take punishment that precepts and judgments dish out to them, but always remember the old scripture, which thankfully, sets God up as the true and final judge;   Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life."

                          --  Galatians 6:7-8   New International Version

1. Pasted from <http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/e9.htm>
2. Pasted from <http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/exist.html>
3. Pasted from <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/existentialism/