Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
I have been teaching Ethics at Framingham State University
in the greater Boston area, part-time, for the last five years. Recently, and
in various sessions, we have been debating the philosophic question of the
right path that we need to follow in life.
This is what I told my students: some people exhibit extreme
behaviors. Some are impetuous; others are more restrained. Some quickly become
angry; others are more calculating. Some cannot contain their curiosity and look
for a quick answer; others are more apathetic and take their time. So, thinkers
in the past, as well as in the present, have been asking, as we did in class, what
is the most salutary attitude, the most productive path that a human being can
and should follow in life. A number of thinkers have suggested “the middle
road.”
This concept is not new. Aristotle as well as Buddha already
advocated it in the past. In his book, The Nicomachean Ethics (Section II/9),
Aristotle (4th cent. BCE) acknowledged, “in everything it is not
easy task to find the middle,” but that we need to follow it for our sake. Similarly,
Buddha (6-4th cent. BCE), in what is believed to be the first
teaching after his awakening, describes the Noble Path as the path of
moderation, between indulgence and mortification. Following this path, Buddha
reasoned, gives people vision, knowledge, leading to insight and eventual enlightenment. During the
Medieval times, the Jewish philosopher Maimonides (12th cent. CE), a
committed Aristotelian, promoted this idea as well, and suggested, “The way of
the righteous is to find a path in-between the extremes of these temperaments”
(Sefer Ha-Mada, Hilhot Deot 1:1). As example, he stated that in life, “One
should not be easily angered, nor should one be like a dead person who does not
feel, but one should be in the middle; one should not get angry except over a
big matter about which it is appropriate to get angry, so that one will not act
similarly again.”
This approach, I believe, contains lots of wisdom. Thus, for
example, instead of humility or pride, we should follow the path of modesty;
between boastfulness and self-depreciation, we should follow the path of simplicity
and truthfulness; rather than indecisiveness or impulsiveness, we should choose
self-control. Instead of pursuing happiness (which can never be achieved) or
resorting to self-loathing, we should pursue contentment.
That, I believe, is the way to wisdom.
Oct. 18, 2019
