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[Sushan]

This topic is about the March 2024 Philosophy Book of the Month, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius



Marcus Aurelius offers a compelling image of human cooperation that seems almost utopian against the backdrop of today's global conflicts and political polarization:

We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are unnatural.

This perspective encourages us to view human cooperation as intrinsic, as natural to us as the cooperation between different parts of a single body. Yet, in a world where competition and conflict often dominate headlines and discourse, the question arises: Is such universal cooperation and non-obstruction a realistic expectation, or is it an ideal that fails to account for the complexities of human society?

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The current climate of global politics, with its divisions and often zero-sum game mentalities, challenges the feasibility of Aurelius's vision. Yet, this ancient wisdom prompts us to consider whether there are paths to rediscover and reignite this intrinsic cooperation amid our differences.

In the face of modern-day conflicts and political divisions, how can we move closer to the ideal of working together naturally, like the harmonious function of body parts?