Post 9 – Ethics, Morality, Love and Freedom

Ethics and Morality Beyond Nihilism

Here’s a provocative question to start with: If everything is eternal and unchanging, does that mean reality is predetermined? At first glance, this might seem disheartening—almost as if our choices don’t matter. But in Post 4, we explored the concept of free will and arrived at an intriguing conclusion: our choices are real and an integral part of the eternal structure of Being.

This realization opens a fascinating question: how do morals and ethics fit into this grand framework of eternity? What does it mean to live ethically in a reality where nothing is ever truly lost?

The Eternal and Ethical Responsibility

Consider this—our perception of reality isn’t just an abstract idea. It is inseparable from how we act and interact with the world. Whether you believe choices are contingent or predetermined, the way you see the world directly informs your behavior.

Here’s where things deepen: recognizing the eternity of all things implies a corresponding understanding of ethics. No longer is it about specific behavioral codes or sets of rules. Instead, it is the recognition of the eternal significance of every being and action. In this light, ethics becomes an innate and universal response that honors the intrinsic value of all existence.

Traditional Morality and Its Limits

Let’s pause for a moment to consider traditional moral systems. Many of them are built on the assumption that beings are impermanent. They often focus on utilitarian goals (“the greatest good for the greatest number”), existential fears (“what happens when I die?”), or leaving a legacy (“how will I be remembered?”).

But if we accept that all things are eternal, these frameworks begin to seem shortsighted. They overlook the profound truth that every being is already an indelible part of reality. From this eternal perspective, ethics isn’t about fear or legacy—it is the harmony that exists at the level of truth, of what is.

Ethics as Harmony with Eternal Truth

So, what does it mean to live ethically if all things are eternal? At its core, it means living in harmony with truth. It is the realization and respect for the eternal essence of every being, rather than reducing them to mere utility or viewing them as transient blips in time.

This does not require rigid moral codes. Ethical behavior is the unavoidable expression of a life attuned to the eternal interconnectedness of all things. It is not about enforcing rules—it is a resonance with truth.

And what about society? If and when a society embraces this perspective, the foundations of systems of oppression, exploitation, and exclusion will dissolve. These systems rely on the nihilistic view that beings are disposable and the world must be altered for optimal results. Recognizing the eternal value of every entity fosters respect, inclusion, and profound acceptance of our shared reality.

Conclusion

Nihilism views things as temporary, emerging from nothing and returning to nothing. Consequently, it exerts a will to power—a desire to mold reality according to necessity and desire. This perspective bears within it the seed of violence and requires external moral impositions to prevent harm to others.

In contrast, awareness of the eternal and immutable nature of all things inherently carries what we would otherwise call morals and ethics. More accurately, it is the absence of nihilism that makes this awareness ethical, and our actions reflect this alignment.

Ethics, from this eternal perspective, transcends definitions and rules. It is not imposed or conditional—it simply is the way the eternal structure of Being manifests itself. Wherever truth is recognized, behavior naturally aligns with it.

Perhaps this is the great intuition of the Book of Revelation, where it describes heaven and says, “I did not see a temple in the city.” This suggests that in the eternal, there is no need for religion or codes of any sort because truth itself is all-encompassing, and everyone inherently embodies it.

Love and Freedom

Love

Now let’s talk about love. It’s a word we use so often, but how deeply do we really understand it?

Most of us think of love as an emotion or a set of actions—something tied to relationships, desire, and the will to care for others. But let’s be honest: love, as we commonly experience it, is often fraught with contradictions. There’s the joy of connection, yes, but also the pain of loss, the fear of separation, and sometimes, the urge to possess or control.

But here’s the thing: what if love isn’t primarily about those emotions or actions at all? What if love, in its truest form, is simply the recognition of the eternal nature of one’s self and, consequently, of the other?

Love as Harmony with Eternal Truth

Just as ethics is the natural resonance with eternal truth, so is love. Love, in its most profound sense, is an acknowledgment of the eternal reality of the other, unclouded by temporal concerns or personal needs. It is not driven by a desire to possess, control, or complete oneself through another. Instead, it reflects the eternal interconnectedness of all beings. When one sees another not as transient or perishable but as eternally present in the totality of Being, love arises effortlessly.

Love Beyond Possession

This love does not diminish individuality. Rather, it affirms it. It honors the other in their true and eternal essence, without reducing them to a means of personal fulfillment or comfort. Only our transcendental and eternal being can recognize the other’s eternal essence. In that view, which is complete and lacking nothing, there is no selfish claim to the other—only absolute freedom, self-giving, and no possessive clinging.

Love as the Authentic Sense of Being

Love is not something separate from what we are. It is not something we do, feel, or will into being. It is being itself. In our genuine sense of being, free from nihilistic perceptions, we rest in absolute wholeness and sufficiency. This “uncontradictory” form of love is grounded in the awareness of the eternal and inescapable nature of being.

It moves away from the dualities of presence and absence, fulfillment and lack, and embraces existence as complete and self-sufficient. It shifts from narratives of becoming toward a recognition of the eternal and immutable nature of being.

Conclusion

Love, like the authentic sense of Being, is not imposed or conditional—it simply is. It arises naturally from the recognition of the eternal and unchanging essence of all existence. In this sense, love transcends loss, fear, and impermanence, affirming the sacredness and unity of all that is.

To love is to dwell in this true sense of Being. It is to perceive the eternal reality of self and other, to recognize that every being is part of an indivisible whole, and to exist harmoniously within that truth. Augustine’s insight, “Love and do what thou wilt,” resonates here: love, like the eternal itself, is self-sustaining, unchanging, and requires no external guidance. It is the natural expression of Being’s immutable freedom.

As Spinoza observes, true freedom does not lie in the nihilistic desire to impose one’s will upon the world or resist its natural order. Instead, it is found in understanding and accepting reality as it is—an eternal unfolding. This harmony with nature’s immutable structure allows one to act freely, not in opposition to the eternal, but as an inseparable part of it.

The authentic sense of our eternal Being—though deterministic in its essence—is the foundation of both freedom and love. It transcends the moral and ethical constructs necessitated by nihilism, offering a vision of existence unburdened by fear or uncertainty. In this realization lies the greatest freedom: not to see oneself as suspended between Being and Nothing, but as eternally rooted in the truth of all that is.

As Baruch Spinoza beautifully encapsulates, “We feel and know that we are eternal.”