Establishing Life Relationships#
However, the essence of man is not an abstract entity inherent in a single individual; in fact, it is the sum of all social relations. — Marx, "Theses on Feuerbach"
Novels are written for people to read. The content of a novel is people. A novel writes about the character and emotions of one person, several people, a group of people, or thousands and thousands of people. Their character and emotions are reflected from the horizontal environment, from vertical experiences, and from the interactions and relationships between people... Some novels write about animals, deities, ghosts, and monsters, but they also treat them as people. — Jin Yong, "New Preface to Jin Yong's Works"
The Issue of Social Relations#
In "Theses on Feuerbach," Marx points out that Feuerbach "isolates religious feelings from the historical process and observes them in isolation, assuming an abstract — isolated — human individual." In fact, we can also say that Marx isolates social relations from the process of life and assumes an abstract — isolated — human society.
Intelligence is essentially a depiction of the objective world; wisdom is like the "clanging sound of a half-full bottle." When we attempt to abstract, this clanging sound begins. We all stand at a certain level trying to reflect human essence, making it difficult to escape the level we are at. If we stand at the level of life, there is no isolated human society, nor even an isolated earthly life. If we trace back to the era when human intelligence was only half-awakened, how could one write all life into the score of human social relations? However, if we start from "individualism," everything is within the individual; for individualism, everything is within the group, which is also reasonable. But remember, if the essence of man is the sum of social relations, then it requires us to view this world as much as possible from outside social relations, after all, the world is objective. A person's world can exist, and a group's world can also exist, but this is not the objective world.
Novels also come from human society and are a depiction and reconstruction of social relations. Jin Yong said, "Novels are about people," and the characters in novels "are reflected from the interactions and relationships between people." He believes that animals like monsters and deities in novels are written "as if they were people." In other words, novels still write about human social relations rather than the social relations between animals and humans.
Through Marx and Jin Yong, we find that they seem to place greater importance on the social relations between people in their respective fields. In fact, life relations do not oppose this understanding because, in the vast majority of cases, people interact with people. And social relations also belong to life relations. But I can't help but ask, can other lives not play the role of people? Must other lives as characters in novels be "written as people"?
Completing Life Relationships#
I really like the confrontation between the old man and the big fish in "The Old Man and the Sea." However, in this process, we do not regard the fish as a highly intelligent being, nor do we "write it as a person." As mentioned above, anything that a person can see is within the individual. That is to say, any novel will have a narrator, which is a person. This is inevitable. Similarly, humans can face any life using relationships within the group, which is also inevitable. From a different perspective, a group of wild monkeys can certainly think that the essence of a monkey is the sum of all monkey group relations. Even if humans give themselves a banana, they will think that if they do not hold it and have not experienced their own labor, then this banana is meaningless. And being able to eat the banana is the reward for their labor (taking and eating). The monkey king can also snatch the banana from the monkeys; in his eyes, as long as he manages the social relations of the monkey group well, he has the world.
I once raised a dog that was very spiritual. Although I could decide its life and death, the master could also decide my life and death. We cannot deny the relationship established between it and me simply because of the unequal power between the two parties. Some may say this is human empathy; in fact, the ability of people to understand each other is also empathy. The world is external; we cannot and do not need to explore the essence of others, just as when I buy an egg from a merchant, I cannot and do not need to understand his eight generations of relationships. The relationships we establish with animals are simple and real, more solid than those established with people; how can this be "written as people," and which person can replace the value of animals in our hearts?
Furthermore, we would consider a three-year-old child to be a person, even if her intelligence is not particularly high; we can already establish some relationships with her. Moreover, those intelligent animals have even higher IQs. Therefore, it is precisely because of our group's overwhelming strength over animals and the IQ advantage over animals that we do not regard them as subjects. Just like those in impoverished villages with poor morals and decaying ethics, there are often people who bully the foolish at will. This is the result of the weak power of individuals.
Similarly, this is also why many science fiction novels depict that after aliens arrive, humans are kept in captivity. Those lives that are not equal in power to us, what qualifications do they have to become the subjects of social relations? They are merely objects. How can objects become social relations? On the contrary, if there exists a life group that can be equal to me, then they might also be called humanity.
Therefore, if we abandon our prejudices against life and simultaneously expand the theoretical applicability, we can certainly say that everything is the sum of life relations. Watching novels is not only about the social relations between people but also about all life relations; writing novels can also encompass all life relations. In this world, what truly excites is life. Even if all things are not sentient, sentience can give meaning to all things.
Initial Exploration of Life Relationships#
The content of life relationships certainly includes the content of social relationships, but this is not the perspective of life relationships. If we follow the old path, imitating Dong Shi's frown is meaningless.
In "Definition of Life," I briefly introduced my understanding of life: "Survival is the highest principle of life." "The core of the survival principle is to gather energy and reduce entropy." This pursuit of survival without cause is the survival instinct. "Survival instinct" is like the sun, radiating infinite light and heat, supporting the survival of life; I once referred to it as "the core of desire."
The Scope of Life Relationships#
Between life and life, there seems to be no relationship. What relationship do I have with a certain ant on Earth, a certain indigenous person in a city, or a certain extraterrestrial life in another galaxy? Indeed, there is no relationship. Perhaps there is, but like starlight, even if that distant star is large, apart from a supernova explosion, it is far inferior to the brilliance of the sun.
Therefore, life relationships must belong to relationships between lives of the same level. The standard for judging the same level is whether the life can exert individual power to influence the other. Just like the mosquito in my room, although small, it can cause me great pain. For example, an emperor, strategizing in the tent, can "decide the fate" of humanity from thousands of miles away. However, this does not completely represent the life itself but rather the will of a certain part of the group. Groups can also be construed as life. Of course, more often, it is our surroundingpeople.
From this perspective, the essence of man is indeed very much social relations because it must sufficiently influence our lives and must be at the same level as us. And at the same level, the most important is people. Therefore, we generally do not talk about life relationships.
What I have always thought about is pure life. This life is about balancing various social relationships as much as possible to achieve a state of not being manipulated by external factors. Those at a high level can navigate various relationships; those at a lower level can also achieve this effect by reducing stronger relationships.
The Hierarchy of Life Relationships#
Survival is the greatest religion, and life relationships unfold because of it.
Predator-Prey Relationships#
Life never appears alone; it appears in clusters. Some lives choose to absorb the sun's energy, some choose to eat grass, some choose to eat those that eat grass, and some prefer to eat meat... All lives emit a gravitational field of desire, absorbing energy by any means necessary; this is the most fundamental relationship between lives — the predator-prey relationship. Except for photosynthetic plants, everything animals eat was once alive. Who preys on whom is not important; as long as you sign the survival contract, you fall into the black forest. Truly, "death is like the wind, always accompanying me."
Coexistence Relationships#
However, life does not always need to eat. Eating is necessary, but it is not the only condition for survival. Because besides the starving ghosts, there are also those who die from overeating. It is not that being full means one will not die; one can also die after being full. Therefore, in the case of being full, lives primarily focus on how to obtain a longer and better existence. Since the rule of predation, where you die or I live, is not violated, it can be said that there is also a coexistence relationship among lives. At least, it is a case of "the well water does not offend the river water."
Cooperative Relationships#
At a deeper level, there are cooperative relationships, where two lives together are more beneficial for our survival. The deepest is the symbiotic relationship, living together but not dying together. The reason it evolves into living and dying together is that the relationship between the two is so close that it cannot be separated, thus they must die together.
The Difficulty of Maintaining Cooperative Relationships#
However, between different life species, the general relationship is predation, followed by coexistence. As for higher-level cooperation, it is too difficult. Except for a few lives that have evolved over a long time, the vast majority of lives can only cooperate and coexist if they possess sufficient intelligence. That being said, if cooperation and mutual benefit cannot be achieved, the coexistence relationship is unstable and can easily evolve into a predation relationship due to environmental changes or resource scarcity.
The Superiority of Groups Lies in Cooperative Relationships#
Even if we can eat meat every day, we do not boast all day about our great achievements in slaughtering other lives. Because as a group, cooperative coexistence outweighs the disadvantages. Overly promoting the true life relationships can lead to the disintegration of the group, regressing into a zero-sum game of cannibalism. Therefore, within a group, unity is always greater than confrontation. Only groups can develop a large-scale cooperative relationship. This is also the superiority of groups, especially intelligent groups, in cooperative coexistence. Because of intelligence, they can detach from the predator-prey relationship; even if aliens come, they will cooperate in an unequal manner, of course, in a way that does not largely violate the predator-prey relationship.
The Decline of Groups is the Degradation of Cooperative Relationships#
Thus, the lowest level of life relationships is the predator-prey relationship, and the highest level is the cooperative coexistence relationship. The former can occur between any lives, while the latter mostly occurs within groups. Therefore, I once wrote in "In the End Times|The Ease of the End Times":
The death of an individual is a predetermined event, while the decline of a group may be a kind of ease for the individual. The end times are relative; what humanity considers the end times may be the rise of a new race. Therefore, the end times are not about how broken things are; as long as it is not suitable for human survival, it can be considered the end times. Compared to individuals, the end times are more about the end of the group. An individual may live very well.
The Magic of Life Relationships#
Looking back at all the content written here, it is all related to life. Whether it is a group or an individual, survival or death, justice or evil, butcher or slaughter, village or civilization... even my ultimate ideal is to construct a world, a world of life, rather than a world without life.
I can't help but wonder, why do life relationships have such magic that they can always captivate me? Is it because I enjoy hunting other lives or being hunted by other lives? Or do I enjoy the pure state of being close yet distant with other lives, where the well water does not offend the river water? Or do I like to cooperate with other lives to create value together?
Undoubtedly, I hate dark villages; that is a cruel predator-prey relationship. I cherish cooperative relationships; although we are already strangers, we have once coexisted. I am content with coexistence relationships, not seeking to gain power through slaughter, but just wanting to secure a corner and survive.
Although I like coexistence relationships, I cannot say that this is the magic of life relationships.
But I believe that life is a variable, just as I discussed in "The Right Way — the path of the divine brings life, while the path of the demonic leads to destruction."
Life relationships are not dead relationships; they are living relationships. Cooperative coexistence is certainly excellent, but "I often think that it is all beings that have transformed the Buddha." Between predation and coexistence, we have always been observing everything, choosing what we want to appear. Whether it is tragedy or comedy, we express a belief and pursuit of the truth of life. This strong desire to survive, the infinite exploration of possible survival, is the very meaning of life.
This pursuit of survival without cause is the survival instinct. "Survival instinct" is like the sun, radiating infinite light and heat, supporting the survival of life; I once referred to it as "the core of desire."
So, interestingly, we explore the magic of life relationships and then return to the meaning of life. To clarify, humans aspire to beauty, and tragedy is beautiful.
Summary of Life Relationships#
The core of this article lies in the hierarchy of life relationships, especially cooperative relationships and groups.
I would like to share a few simple inferences.
Without Cooperation, We Move Towards Predation#
At this point, predation is not narrowly defined as a food relationship but as a zero-sum game of interests, specifically referring to a social atmosphere. Just as I mentioned in the Dark Village, "Your bad deeds are someone else's good deeds; in this mutually harmful society, since everyone cannot see the distant hope, it is better to fall into the abyss and curse each other."
Groups are like rowing against the current; if they cannot coexist and cooperate, they will become a survival of the fittest. Because the scaffolding of group cooperation can also become the battering ram for the group's destruction.
Just like the Peng Yu case in Nanjing, if you didn't hit someone, why did you help? If so, what reason does such a group have to continue to exist? There are no absolute strong or weak individuals in a group because people are replaceable. When more and more people realize that contributing to the group is merely dressing someone else's wedding gown, what will they do?
"To die is to die, to make a big plan is also to die, to wait for death is to die; can a nation die?"
It does not mean that the lower class will make a big plan; they will just choose to flip the table, a method of mutual harm, commonly known as "the barefoot are not afraid of the shod."
But after experiencing death, the relationships between people tend to cooperate, and a new group relationship is reborn.
How to Establish Cooperative Coexistence Relationships?#
The foundation for maintaining good group relationships lies in cooperation. The foundation for maintaining good interpersonal relationships also lies in cooperation. And all of this is based on flow, releasing goodwill.
This platform advocates individualism and pursues purelife, which is a state of isolation. Why? Because what I want to do is a personal matter that does not require cooperation. I do not compete with the world, so no one blames me.
If one wants to gain the benefits of the group, one needs to cooperate with others as much as possible, like a peacock spreading its tail, tirelessly showcasing itself. And this display must allow others to gain benefits. Just like flattery, it is a good lubricant for interpersonal relationships, but many people do not do it well; gaining benefits is not a one-sided flattery but genuinely allowing the other party to benefit, which is a technical skill. Flattery is not bad; what is bad is that some people use flattery to undermine the rule of law and harm the interests of the group.
However, cooperative coexistence makes it simple to satisfy others' interests but difficult to satisfy one's own interests. If I sell cold noodles, if I give them away for free, I will go bankrupt; but if the cold noodles are about to spoil, it is better to give them to customers than to eat them myself, allowing others to benefit. As long as I do not lose money, we will always cooperate and coexist, maintaining a close relationship.
"Flattery" is not only a technical skill but also a philosophical question — do I want to flatter him, and is what I gain from flattering him what I want?
Therefore, the first principle of this platform's posts is to satisfy the freedom of self-expression of thoughts, and the second principle is how to satisfy subscribers. The former always takes precedence over the latter.
However, the concept determines interests; the independent value of flattery may be the philosophical basis of a sycophant.
The Most Effective Method is to Stay Away#
The scope of life relationships describes strong life relationships and weak life relationships; the former often makes people dance like puppets, while the latter is a more peaceful relationship.
Leaving is the most effective way to survive. If you are unhappy in your country, you can go to uninhabited places, to places that do not trouble you, to places where people can cooperate with each other.
Any life that wants to interact requires a certain amount of space and time; if we are in the right time and place, we can obtain the life we desire.
If you are on Mars, Earth being attacked by light particles has nothing to do with you.
Cooperative Coexistence Requires Awe for Life#
Humans indeed have the ability to dominate all life on Earth. Humans can indeed discard all pretenses of goodwill and enjoy the feast of life's remains more blatantly. Since life is survival of the fittest, why can't I be more unrestrained? Why can't I casually torture and kill lives? Why would anyone care about the life and death of others?
It is all because of the cooperative coexistence relationship. Life is not just a battleground of power; there is also a more powerful cooperative coexistence. The slaughter of life occurs out of the survival needs of another life. It is only natural to live and let die for survival. Cooperative coexistence is also to create greater benefits and to survive better. However, meaningless slaughter is an abnormal state. This kind of meaningless slaughter not only affects the trust foundation of cooperation but also impacts coexistence and predation relationships. It is the enemy of life.
This explanation is also a utilitarian explanation, superficial, and can be said to capture the essence of objectivism.
This is the life relationship, completed on the night of August 31, 2024, dedicated to all lives that have once cooperated and coexisted with me. In this life, I cannot accompany you through, but if life were only as it was at first sight.