Desirable, Undesirable

From The Practical Ontology & Compendium of Social Cohesion

Definition: As used herein, Desirable refers to an Aspect of Reality that a Person (1) Embraces, (2) Surrenders to, or (3) Obeys. As used herein, Undesirable refers to an Aspect of Reality that a Person (4) Avoids, (5) Controls, (6) Masters, (7) Governs, or Surrenders to or Obeys. Commentary Here is an example of something that is Desirable and another thing that is Undesirable. It is always Desirable to have your Fundamental Human Needs met Adequately. It is always Undesirable to have your Needs not met Adequately. In the following examples and discussion, I will divide the seven ways of relating and behaving into two Categories: Embracing, Avoiding, Mastering, Surrendering to and Obeying, and then Governing and Controlling. Embracing, Avoiding Subsistence, i.e., what is required to keep living, is one of our Fundamental Human Needs. We Need good health, for example. Good health is always Desirable. You, therefore, Embrace Circumstances and Actions that encourage good health. It is always Undesirable to be ill, so you Avoid Circumstances and Actions that may give rise to illness. A boy who is sick may appreciate staying home from school, thus Avoiding a math test unprepared. Being ill is still Undesirable even for him, however. He is merely appreciating something else that coincidentally is Desirable: Avoiding the math test unprepared. Master There are other Undesirable Aspects of Reality, however, where achieving mere Avoidance is not Desirable. The wish is not to Avoid but to Master an otherwise Undesirable Aspect of Reality. For example, the boy Desires to play a game. Losing the game to an Opponent is Undesirable. Yet the possibility of losing makes the game Desirable to play in the first place. The wish is to Master the game and not lose while voluntarily running the risk of losing. The simultaneous double-meaning of Mastery must be a meaningful construction. It is the only way to explain certain phenomena. For example, childbirth is painful. The pain is Undesirable. Yet many women Desire to become pregnant and give birth, accepting the pain and risks involved. How can one explain that? One could say that women Master pregnancy and childbirth. Or you could say that women Surrender to pregnancy and childbirth. Here is another example of Mastering (but not Surrendering). A Group of men goes into combat. The fear of injury and death, not to mention injury and death, is Undesirable. Yet Mastering that fear and executing the Mission is Desirable. Governing and Controlling The two remaining ways of dealing with the Undesirable is through Control or Governance. One Desires to Control or Govern a given Situation or Crisis because not Controlling or Governing them is Undesirable. It is the Undesirable Aspects of the Situation or Crises that gives rise to Control or Governance, not that which is Desirable. Finally, Control means exercising power or authority. Risk-taking is not a part of the concept as is the case with Mastering. Note that that which is Undesirable does not necessarily involve Suffering. An adult losing a game of checkers may be deemed Undesirable, yet losing barely registers on the scale of Suffering. In general, as used herein, Undesirable implies a degree of Suffering that makes the matter at hand important.

Related terms: Aspect | Avoid | Control | Embrace | Govern | Master | Person | Reality | Surrender



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