Need Beyond Need

by Jaime Dayrit

15 January 2013


Yesterday's class was pretty interesting, despite the fact that we were 'just' revisiting Descartes. This man is known as the 'whipping boy' of Western philosophy; and in spite of this, it was nice to see/hear some appreciation of his ideas, for a change. Levinas said that there was structure in Descartes' 3rd meditation; that is, his idea about the infinite. He said our minds are chock full of ideas; of people, of things, of places, and even of God. However, he further states that because we are finite beings, it is unfathomable for us to be capable to conjure up something that is infinite; for the logic stands that the cause cannot be any less than the effect it creates. Therefore, there must be another reality (not necessarily God) that is, in fact, infinite, and that reality or entity has created us and placed its imprint on us, thus our seeming ability to comprehend that which is beyond us. This idea was particularly refreshing for me; because seeing some sort of roots of not just Christianity, but of religion as a whole; the belief that there is a 'higher power',  stem from another view - that of logic, amused me greatly.

Levinas goes on to evoke that 'there are experiences not found in our heads', that 'not everything comes from ourselves.' This again brings to mind the morals of our past lessons; that indeed, the world or the universe does not revolve around us. Meaning to say, since there is indeed another reality separate from us, we should come to understand that we, as individuals, are not the sole actors/actresses in the vast play called life. Thus, it is further implied that what should really come to light is the importance of relationships. Moreover, relationships that are not based solely on need. Whether we know it or not, relationships already exist between people; we just have to look for it and build upon it. And if need isn't the driving force of these relationships, then what should? The answer lies in desire, or in other words, need that is beyond need. Desire is what drives us, like passion, to be with the people we want, not simply because we rely on them for our existence, but rather because we are for them, instead of just ourselves. Relationships should be us coming out of ourselves, and going for the other. Doc G gave me an analogy that I think is quite apt. Take your relationship with God, for instance. Some people only go to Him because they need or want Him to help them in some way; perhaps to pass a test, to get this, to have that, etc. But that is wrong. People should be going to Him because of their own desire, because they WANT to be with Him. It is this way that they have transcended themselves beyond their needs, and they have become for the other. Similarly, this is what every one of us should strive for in our own lives.