Praxeology and Suffering

Praxeology is the deductive study of human action, based on the notion that it is an undeniable truth that all human action is purposeful and no human action is without purpose.

Purposeful human action is undeniably true since to be disproven it would require an unpurposed act of proof, of which there is no such thing. To engage in an action to disprove the claim is, itself, purposeful.

One of the sub-areas of study within praxeology is the notion that motives for decisions resulting in actions stem from an awareness of “unease” which influences a change in behavior.

An example is an unease created by an unsatisfied need or want.

As a Christian using a biblical foundation of theology and historicity, I wholly concur with this theory. Indeed, I believe that it is the pursuit of the relief from suffering (and not the pursuit of pleasure) that are the primary motives for all human action.

From the Fall of man in the Garden and his subsequent condemnation to live in a fallen world of scarce resources, disease, and pain mixed with the efforts required to obtain temporary relief, the human condition is repeatedly reminded of its natural state of want.

The history of man records his efforts to be free of these burdens by his pursuit of material abundance, peace, safety, and personal and political freedom.

Acts of aggression, wars, brutalities, acts of greed or selfishness, and other such behaviors follow the same motives, yet are twisted in the sense they use the means of coercion and force to achieve the same (relief from suffering) ends, and in many historical cases for the benefit of only a tribal few. But the motive to relieve suffering remains the same.

The opposite theological view is that man pursues acts of pleasure or selfishness to satisfy his sinful and lustful appetites of the flesh. These acts are categorized as the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, as described in (1 John 2:16).

As a mild example of a pleasure-based motive, it can be argued that the desire for ice cream is not the same as an action that relieves suffering; it is simply the fulfillment of a pleasurable desire for the creamy dessert.

However, when looked at from the suffering-relief point of view, an unfulfilled desire for the temporary effect of consuming pleasurable ice cream can also be a form if suffering. The fulfillment of eating the ice cream is itself an experience that only provides temporary relief from the desire for it or the doing without it. Again, the experience of suffering can be argued to be ubiquitous.

It is my view that our subjective orientation toward pleasure (and our pursuit of it) clouds our perception of the true objective of suffering-relief. So distracting is the pursuit of pleasure that it becomes a focus of purpose when in reality it is the relief from suffering that is the true impetus behind the pursuit of pleasure.

I believe any study of alcohol and drug addictions must plausibly take this view into account. Generally speaking, a person drinks to enhance his capacity to cope, which is an attempt to relieve his suffering.

Any pleasurable experience is ancillary to temporary, cope-producing relief; yet because it is pleasurable the subjective focus narrows to sustain the pleasure experience.

So what has this to do with God?

God is the Only Uncreated Being.
God is the Only Creator.
As such there can only be two states of existence: Created or Uncreated.
All things Uncreated must be God by definition. And all things created must be created by God or they would not exist.

Thus it follows that all things Good, Perfect, Just, Omnipotent, Loving, Fair, Omniscient, and Omnipresent are God. All else are created.

So what is the relationship between praxeology and suffering? To find the answer we must acknowledge the universal presence of human suffering and that all human action is purposeful.

Does the joining of these two observations mean that all human suffering is purposeful? Yes, but it may not be in the way one would obviously conclude on its surface. For example, if all human action is purposeful then why would humans engage purposefully in suffering? (They wouldn't, at least not willingly.) And so, this makes no sense -- and yet humans engage directly in acts in which, and through which, they suffer.

The answer to purposeful suffering must lie outside the purposeful actions of humans (who by their very nature do everything they can to avoid suffering.)

This is indeed a puzzle, but not an unsolvable one. In order to understand the universal presence of suffering it is important to have an essential understanding of the One who created the environment and choreographs the experiences so omnipresent to human life.

The deeper you dig into the nuances of universal suffering (as a purposeful human act to seek its relief) the more you come in contact with the God who made it all possible.

In John 16:33, Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart for I have overcome the world.”

To Be Continued...

William M Lolli, author of "Why God Wills You to Suffer" available on Amazon.com