Allan Kardec recognized
that the principle of
merit governs the
dynamics of the Spirit:
It depends only on the
Spirit to hasten its
progress towards
perfection, as it
achieves it according to
its desire and its
submission to the will
of God. When examining
instinctive
predispositions as
possible obstacles to
the exercise of free
will, Kardec stated that
there is no irresistible
drag when one has the
will to resist,
remembering that wanting
is power. According to
him, man could always
overcome his bad
tendencies through his
own efforts, and what he
lacks is the will.
It is well established,
therefore, that the
condition of spiritual
superiority depends on
the Spirit's effort in
acquiring intellectual
and moral values, in
addition, obviously, to
its “age”, which results
in a greater number of
learning experiences.
When examining the
incarnated Spirit, under
the profound influence
of matter, do questions
of merit remain,
particularly in relation
to access to jobs,
educational training,
and a public career?
According to philosopher
Michael Sandel, in some
aspects, yes; There's
nothing wrong with
hiring people based on
merit. In fact, it's the
right thing to do. If I
need a plumber to fix my
toilet or a dentist to
restore my tooth, I try
to find the best person
for the job. Maybe not
the best person but
certainly someone
qualified.
Furthermore, selecting
based on merit is
progress if we consider
other forms of
selection, such as
hereditary aristocracy,
selection based on
religious and financial
criteria, physical
beauty, or money given
by parents.
The topic, however,
deserves deeper
analysis. Issues related
to merit have been
responsible for some
concepts that permeate
contemporary life, and
which have often been
used even by illustrious
figures.
Barack Obama used the
expression “you can do
it if you try” 140 times
during his two terms in
office.
As a reflective
exercise, I propose some
thoughts.
First
It is not true that
everyone who tries hard
succeeds. Many people
did everything right in
life, followed the
rules, did their best,
gave up many things in
favor of a goal, but
never managed to achieve
it. On the other hand,
people who didn't even
try that hard reached
the peak they expected.
Effort is very
important, but it is not
everything. Even talent
is no guarantee of
success. According to a
contemporary
philosopher, it is
doubtful that natural
endowments have much to
do with income
inequalities in
capitalist economies.
Most income differences
are due to the fact that
society has invested in
developing the talents
of some people much more
than others, and that it
places very unequal
amounts of capital at
the disposal of each
worker. Productivity is
primarily linked to work
roles, not individuals.
Second
The principle of
personal effort does not
apply to everyone, in
all contexts. There are
people who do not have
the energy necessary for
self-improvement. They
do not have it as a
result of mental
disorders, such as
depression, which
generates deep apathy;
or they are unable to do
so due to their own
spiritual condition.
Kardec recognized this,
as noted in this passage
from The Spirits’
Book:
Question: Don't these
Spirits want to shorten
their suffering?
Answer: They want it,
without a doubt, but
they lack enough energy
to want what can relieve
them. How many people
are there among you who
would rather die of
poverty than work?
(S.B., question 995-a.)
Third
Meritocracy, by fueling
behaviors aimed at
success and failure,
contributes to a feeling
of pride in some, and
humiliation and revolt
in others. Winners often
find themselves invaded
by the spirit of
meritocratic arrogance:
they strongly believe
that they deserve what
they have achieved, and,
consequently, they tend
to lose empathy, a
fundamental feeling in
any society. The others,
the “defeated”, are seen
as incompetent, obtuse
or weak. Therefore, all
they have to do is
conform to the idea that
they are “below” because
they are “inferior”.
The “victors” lack the
beautiful virtue of
gratitude, as they do
not recognize that their
success was the result
of a huge range of
conditions, many of them
independent of
themselves. They are
unable to recognize that
evolution is collective
and supportive; that no
one wins alone or falls
alone; Everything stems
from a huge multiplicity
of factors that come
together. In many ways,
we are indebted to the
community that makes our
success possible. A
basketball star would
possibly become rich in
North America, but
unlikely in Brazil,
where this sport is
little valued. Would
Anita and Neymar be what
they are living in a
Muslim theocracy?
We read in Kardec: Any
man who is proud enough
to consider himself
superior, in virtues and
merits, to his
incarnated brothers, is
foolish and guilty.
Fourth
The concept of merit is
largely mistaken because
it ignores the existence
of forces that are
beyond our control, are
independent of our
effort and will. When
examining the basis of
human actions, Kardec
admits that our choices,
actions, and decisions
are under three orders
of influence, which are
largely independent of
us: the organism, the
environment in which the
individual is located
and the supervening
circumstances.
a) Intelligence: people
have different
intelligences.
Obviously, smarter
people tend to do better
in various situations in
life. Intelligence has a
heritability of 50%,
that is, genetics
explains 50% of the
variation in
intelligence, and is
therefore largely
innate. This does not
depend on personal
effort; It is the result
of genes inherited from
parents.
Someone will say that it
is the reincarnating
Spirit that selects the
genes that will form
your body. Thus,
indirectly, the Spirit's
intelligence (the fruit
of its efforts in
previous existences)
will define man's
intelligence. In other
words: we deserve our
talent! This is only
partially correct, as
the incarnated Spirit is
under strong influence
from matter. According
to Kardec, intelligence
depends on the state of
the body you acquire,
remembering that with
the change of bodies,
certain intellectual
faculties can be lost.
To illustrate, we evoke
a biological phenomenon
called linkage, or
united genes. Certain
genes, being very close
in a specific region of
the chromosome, will be
selected together, as a
true package. When
gametes (sperm and egg)
are formed, these genes
always remain close
together and cannot be
separated. This is
called linkage, that is,
genes joined together.
Thus, by “selecting”
certain genes necessary
for its new
incarnational
experience, the Spirit
can “load” other genes,
which were not
necessarily “chosen”,
but which come together
in the package.
Let's consider a
hypothetical example: a
certain Spirit wants (or
needs) to have
experiences in the
sphere of music, as a
pianist. When tuning
into the paternal and
maternal gamete, it will
do so with those that
contain genes linked to
the musical physiology
of the brain. This way,
the construction and
functioning of a brain
with circuits more
suited to playing music
will be assured. If, by
hypothesis, there are
genes related to, for
example, baldness next
to these genes, they
will come together. He
must be a bald pianist.
The baldness genes, in
our example, were not
selected by the
reincarnated person, but
came, via linkage, in
the package.
b) Social influences:
not everyone is born
into families with the
same financial
resources, with the same
moral values, giving the
same importance to
issues such as
education, or the need
to prepare for life.
Individuals during
childhood and
adolescence are
subjected to different
stimuli, more or less
nutritious foods, access
to books and
technological teaching
resources, very
different medical and
dental care, greater or
lesser self-esteem due
to the family
environment, parental
affection, prejudices,
better schools, bullying
for being too fat or too
thin, too short or too
tall, black, gay or
transsexual, etc. All of
this, obviously, will
influence that person's
performance in their
adult life.
According to Joseph
Stiglitz, Nobel laureate
in Economics, 90% of
boys born into poor
homes die poor, no
matter how capable they
are; over 90% of boys
born into rich homes die
rich, no matter how
stupid they are.
There is a strong
correlation, for
example, between the
level of educational
performance and
occupational success in
modern society. The
better grades an
individual gets in
school, the better paid
their job will probably
be when they leave.
(Continues in the next
issue)
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