一個人從出生到死亡，都佔有一些物質和空間。這些物質和空間可以被其他人所掠奪，但無法否認曾經被那個人佔有過。這種佔有也無須任何人去允許。我們擁有自私的天性，以及謀求利益最大化的能力。這種天然的能力就是權力。當權力之間發生衝突，我們的自由就受到限制。因此，權利是我們所能行使的最大權力，代表著我們可以獲得的最大利益，以及自由程度。
生存權利是我們的第一個權利，這使我們有機會思考權利存在的原因。如何看待自己的權利，反映我們對權力和自由的看法。當認識到權利的作用和侷限，我們就可以選擇放下自己的權利，並讓自己和別人享受更多的自由。這意味著我們的意識有了顯著的成長，因為我們明白了如何對自己的生命更有利。
無庸置疑，權利是由大自然賦予的。然而，大自然包括人類和其他生命。因此，只要存在其他生命，一個人的權利也可以被視為是其他生命所授予。野獸襲擊這個人，就會剝奪他的生存權利。我們保護這個人，就是賦予他生存的權利。之所以說天賦權利，是因為大自然賜予了我們同伴，而同伴給予我們權利。假如世界只有一個人，這個人就會缺乏與別人交往的權利，相當於被單獨囚禁。因此，權利是人與人互動的結果。也就是說，權利不僅是別人給予的，也是我們自己爭取的，而所有這些別人和自己，都是大自然的一部份。這就是天賦權利這個觀念所能表達的內容。
很多時候，權利指的是我們爭取自然資源的能力。我們所能爭取的東西都是自然的，甚至"爭取"這種能力本身，也是一種可爭取的自然資源。這意味著，大自然賦予我們能力，讓我們去爭取一切自然存在的資源。對人類來說，這些能力是無法完全被剝奪的。我們可以反過來思考：如果能夠禁絕避孕，那麼避孕就不是自然的能力。如果墮胎能把出生率降為零，那麼受精卵就沒有自然的生存能力。我們這些能力之所以是自然的，正是因為一切人為的干涉，都只能是事後的懲罰。這也是天賦權利的涵義。
權利有時也代表我們控制或影響別人行為的能力，與權力同義。在出生那一刻，我們就以哭聲宣示自己的生存權力，以便影響別人不要加害於我們，好讓我們繼續佔有資源。換言之我們擁有生存的權利。殺生權力是另一種權力，目標是奪走別人的生命，讓自己獲得更多的資源和利益。因此，也可以說我們有殺人的權利。
可見，我們不一定需要權利的觀念。大自然賦予我們殺人的權力，社會亦沒有規定絕對不可以殺人，這意味著社會認同我們自然的權力。這種認同可以減少社會上的權力衝突，因為我們無須以實際行動去證明自己的權力。社會仍然不鼓勵殺人，所以殺人肯定需要承受後果。但一個人只要不去殺人，就表示他沒有運用殺人的天賦，可以降低被殺的風險。所以，即使社會沒有規定絕對禁止殺人，人們殺人的權力也會自然達至平衡，而無需通過權利主張來宣示自己的殺人權力。人們發展出權利觀念，目的是減少權力間的衝突，希望別人獲得授權之後，才行使自己的權力。然而，人類是大自然的一員。大自然不斷演化而趨於穩定，因此權力亦必然趨於平衡。當我們不再擔心權力之間的衝突，就能放下對權利的追求。
放下對權利的追求，意味著我們放下權力。然而，來自大自然的權力只可以放下，而無法放棄。例如，一個人的土地使用權力是天然的，他只能出售行使這種權力的利益，而無法出售這種權力，因為他仍然佔用一些土地。同樣地，要求別人放棄權力是無效的。例如，一個人無法以結婚方式去獨佔另一個人。他最多只能獲得一些利益，且這些利益是以他的利益去交換的。一個人要求另一個人放棄與其他人結婚的權力，也是難以實現的。這說明權利主張不一定有效。無論我們是否宣示自己的權力，或要求別人放棄權力，這些權力仍然有效。也就是說，我們不必擔心放下權利的追求而失去權力。
我們或許會想到，只要宣示自己擁有某種真實存在的權力，並爭取別人支持，我們就能獲得權利。然而，無論有多少人支持，那些不能轉化為利益的權力，仍然不可能變成真正的權利。例如，宣示我們有勞役別人的權力。也許我們能夠獲得不少人的支持，但如果找不到能被勞役的人，那麼勞役別人的權力就不可能轉化為利益而變成一項權利。另一方面，如果我們擁有獲取某種利益的權力，又得到別人的支持，就可以降低行駛這種權力的成本。但即使沒有別人的支持，我們仍然有行使這種權力的機會。因此，只要能夠真正行使權力，也就意味著我們獲得了權利。從這個角度看，我們也不必擔心會失去權利。
我們可以將權利看成是對別人權力的認同。當我們認同別人擁有某種權力，並承諾不干擾該權力的行使，就是以自己的權力支持別人的權力，給予別人權利。這樣做並沒有賦予別人任何權力，只是為其行使自己的權力提供方便。這實際上是我們對別人的一種尊重。因此，認同別人的權力，不僅不會使我們有所損失，還會使我們更容易與別人建立友好的關係，從而獲得更多自由和幸福。
權利觀念的發展是一個過程，這個過程涉及對自己與別人的認同，是理性發展的結果。第一個形成自我意識的人，可能已具備初步的權利觀念。理性是自然產生的，是人類的天賦。人類首先認同自己，然後認同別人，這是現實。因此，賦予別人權利，意味著我們認同別人。然而，認為否定別人，就會讓別人失去權利，卻是一個錯誤的想法。這是因為，即使我們找到很多人一起否定某人，那人不過是失去很多認同，而不會完全失去權利，他可以自己認同自己。我們提倡天賦權利，就是說自己有權力決定如何做，這就是認同自己的權力，賦予自己權利。當然，我們同時也在尋求別人的認同。如果認同的人數足夠多，我們就比較容易行使權力去獲取利益。權利觀念只是提醒我們，通過互相認同可以獲得更大的自由。
認同別人的天賦理性，是權利的基礎。我們認同每個人生而平等，就是認同理性平等。這意味著我們能夠理解生命演化的偶然與必然，同情所有生命。認同人有天賦權利，而不倚賴任何人的權力，反映出一種獨立自主的人格。有理性才會有權利，尊重理性才會尊重權利。意識到自己的權利，我們就能意識到別人的權利，這是一個自我覺醒以及意識增長的過程。如果認為我們的權利是別人給的，這是自卑。認為別人的權利是我們給的，這是自大。認同每個人生來就有權利，而且可以交換，才是如實反映世界的思想。
認同天賦權利，我們就會捍衛自己和別人的發言權，並學會表達自己和聆聽別人。這也意味著承擔自己的天然責任。逃避責任的人會倚賴別人的權力，是專制政權出現的關鍵條件。當一群依附權力的人走到一起，希望有人來為自己負責，自然會製造獨裁者。只要每個人都能獨立行使自己的權力，並承擔自己的責任，社會的權力就會互相制衡。人際關係出現的問題，大多來自推卸責任或兜攬責任的不良行為。顯然，權利越多並不意味著更多自由。權利越多責任也越大，意味著我們與別人的雙向倚賴也越多，自由更容易受到干擾。減少對別人的倚賴，我們的自由才會增加。而且，自由與意識也是互相促進的。當我們意識到自己的能力，並充份利用環境來行駛自己的權力，就不再需要別人來給予權利。這樣，我們就能促進自由的發展。
唯有共享財富的關係不需要權利，最少互相倚賴，所以是最自由的。如果有足夠豐富的物質資源，沒有人會在意正在佔用的資源是私有還是公有。深入地看，私有財產不過是一種假象，共享才是現實，因為沒有人能夠獨佔任何東西。另一方面，現代人口數量多，但比原始人的生活也好得多，可見地球的物質資源充足。雖然人口增加對物質的需求也增加，但物質都在循環使用，而當循環效率得到提高，就顯得豐富了。人類的生活越來越好，終有一天物質會比所需要的多得多。我們還可以更加重視精神上的創造，讓人們的生活更容易滿足。因此，共享財富的關係並非不可能實現。
我們已經很大程度地實現精神財富的共享。而有關物質財富的共享，則可在親密關係中首先實現。例如，在以愛情為基礎的婚姻關係中，兩人不僅共享身心，還共享其他財富。因為共享財富的關係不需要權利，所以兩人不會因爭取權利而發生衝突，並能更專注於感情的發展。其實，共享即自由，當兩人都真正感到擁有對方的一切，那麼在關係中就會感到自由。因此，成功建立共享精神和物質財富的關係，標誌著我們放下了權利，並獲得了自由。
權利觀念因私有財產而存在，這是"天賦權利"的本質。說到底，所謂權利，只不過是我們面對現實的態度。我們應該認識到，只要認同"身體"是一項個人財產，那麼，對任何其他個人權利的否定，都顯得極不合理。因此，我們實在不必恐懼失去權利。在現階段，我們可以做到的是放下權利，並給予別人自由，建立真正緊密的關係。這樣，我們也無需終生爭取權利和維護權利，更容易獲得愛、自由和幸福，這些人生中最高的享受。
70. 活出精彩的人生 (上一篇)
72. 和諧的感情源於相愛 (下一篇)
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The path to Tranquility (71)
From natural rights to shared freedom
From birth to death, a person occupies some material and space. These materials and spaces can be plundered by others, but it cannot be denied that they were once occupied by that person. This kind of occupying does not require anyone's permission. We have a selfish nature and the ability to maximize our own interests. This natural ability is power. When powers conflict, our freedoms are restricted. Therefore, rights are the greatest power we can exercise, representing the greatest benefits we can obtain, as well as the degree of freedom.
The right to survive is our first right, which gives us the opportunity to think about why rights exist. How we view our rights reflects our views on power and freedom. When we realize the role and limitations of rights, we can choose to let go of our rights and allow ourselves and others to enjoy more freedom. This means that our consciousness grows significantly as we understand how to be more beneficial to our life.
There is no doubt that rights are given by nature. However, nature includes humans and other life. Therefore, as long as there are other lives, a person's rights can also be regarded as granted by other lives. If a wild beast attacks this person, it will deprive him of his right to survive. The reason why we say natural rights is because nature has given us companions, and our companions give us rights. If there is only one person in the world, this person will lack the right to interact with others, which is equivalent to being imprisoned alone. Therefore, rights are the result of interactions between people. In other words, rights are not only given by others, but also earned by ourselves, and all these others and ourselves are part of nature. This is what the concept of natural rights can express.
Many times, rights refer to our ability to fight for natural resources. Everything we can fight for is natural, and even the ability to "fight" itself is a natural resource that can be fought for. This means that nature has given us the ability to fight for all naturally existing resources. For humans, these abilities cannot be completely taken away. We can think about it in reverse: If contraception can be prohibited, then contraception is not a natural ability. If abortion reduces the birth rate to zero, then fertilized eggs have no natural ability to survive. The reason why these abilities of ours are natural is because all human interference can only be punishment afterwards. This is also the meaning of natural rights.
Rights sometimes represent our ability to control or influence the behavior of others, and are synonymous with power. At the moment of birth, we declare our power to survive with a crying, in order to influence others not to harm us, so that we can continue to occupy resources. This shows that we have the right to survive. The power to kill is another kind of power, with the goal of taking away the lives of others, so that we can get more resources and benefits. Therefore, it can also be said that we have the right to kill.
It can be seen that we do not necessarily need the concept of rights. Nature gives us the power to kill, and society does not stipulate that we must not kill. This means that society recognizes our natural power. This recognition can reduce power conflicts in society because we don't have to take actual actions to prove our power. Society still discourages killing, so there are definitely consequences for killing people. But as long as a person does not kill people, it means that he has not used his talent for killing, which can reduce the risk of being killed. Therefore, even if society does not stipulate that killing is absolutely forbidden, people's power to kill will naturally reach a balance without the need to declare their power to kill through rights claims. People develop the concept of rights in order to reduce the conflict between powers and hope that others will exercise their powers only after they have been authorized. However, human is a member of nature. Nature continues to evolve and become stable, so the powers of human must also tend to be balanced. When we no longer worry about conflicts between powers, we can let go of the pursuit of rights.
Letting go of the pursuit of rights means that we let go of power. However, the power from nature can only be let go, and cannot be abandoned. For example, a person's power to use land is natural. He can only sell the benefits of exercising this power, and cannot sell this power, because he still occupies some land. Similarly, demanding others to give up power is invalid. For example, a person cannot monopolize another person by marriage. He can at most get some benefits, and these benefits are exchanged with his interests. A person asks another person to give up the right to marry others, which is also difficult to achieve. This shows that rights claims are not necessarily effective. No matter how we declare our power, or demand others to give up power, those powers are still effective. That is, we don’t have to worry about losing power by letting go of our pursuit of rights.
We may think that as long as we declare that we have a certain real power, and fight for the support of others, we can obtain rights. However, no matter how many people support, those powers that cannot be transformed into benefits will still not become real rights. For example, declare that we have the power to enslave others. Perhaps we can get the support of many people, but if we can't find people who can be enslaved, then the power to enslave others cannot be transformed into benefits and become a right. On the other hand, if we have the power to obtain certain benefits and get the support of others, we can reduce the cost of exercising this power. But even without the support of others, we still have the opportunity to exercise this power. Therefore, as long as we can truly exercise power, it means that we have obtained rights. From this perspective, we also don't have to worry about losing rights.
We can regard rights as recognition of the powers of others. When we recognize that others have a certain power, and promise not to interfere with the exercise of this power, it is to support the power of others with our own power, that is, giving rights to others. In doing so, we did not give others any power, but just made it convenient for them to exercise their own power. This is actually a kind of respect we show to others. Therefore, recognizing the powers of others, will not only make us lose nothing, but will also make it easier for us to establish friendly relationships with others, thereby gaining more freedom and happiness.
The development of the concept of rights is a process, which involves our identification with ourselves and others, and is the result of rational development. The first person to develop self-conscious may already have a preliminary concept of rights. Rationality is naturally produced and is a gift to human being. Humans first recognize themselves, and then recognize others, this is reality. Therefore, giving others rights means that we recognize others. However, thinking that denying others will make others lose rights is a wrong idea. This is because, even if we find many people to deny someone together, that person just loses a lot of recognition, and will not completely lose rights, he can recognize himself. We advocate natural rights, which is to say that we have the power to decide how to do it. This is to recognize our own powers and give ourselves rights. Of course, we are also seeking the recognition of others. If the number of people who recognize is large enough, we will be more easily to exercise powers to obtain benefits. The concept of rights just reminds us that we can gain greater freedom through mutual recognition.
Recognizing the natural rationality of others is the basis of rights. We recognize that everyone is born equal, which is to recognize rational equality. This means that we can understand the randomness and inevitability of life evolution, and sympathize with all life. Recognizing that people have natural rights and do not rely on anyone's power reflects an independent personality. There will be rights if there is rationality, and there will be respect for rights if there is respect for rationality. By becoming aware of our own rights, we can become aware of the rights of others, which is a process of self-awakening and consciousness growth. It is inferiority complex to think that our rights are given by others. It is arrogant to think that other people’s rights are given by us. Recognizing that everyone is born with rights, and can be exchanged, is a thought that truly reflects the world.
Recognizing natural rights, we will defend our own and others' right to speak, and learn to express ourselves and listen to others. This also means taking on our natural responsibilities. People who evade responsibility will rely on the powers of others, which is a key condition for the emergence of authoritarian regimes. When a group of people who depend on power come together, hoping that someone will take responsibility for them, they will naturally create dictator. As long as everyone can independently exercise their own power and take on their own responsibilities, the power of society will check and balance each other. The problems that arise in interpersonal relationships mostly come from the bad behavior of shirking responsibility or soliciting responsibility. With more rights comes greater responsibility, which means that we have more two-way dependence on others, and our freedom is more susceptible to interference. Reduce dependence on others, our freedom will increase. Moreover, freedom and consciousness are mutually promoting. When we realize our abilities and fully use the environment to exercise our powers, we no longer need others to give rights. In this way, we can promote the development of freedom.
Only the relationship of sharing wealth does not need rights and are the least dependent on each other, so it is the most free. If there is enough material resources, no one will care about whether the resources being occupied are private or public. Looking deeper, private property is just an illusion, sharing is reality, because no one can monopolize anything. On the other hand, modern people have a large population, but their lives are much better than primitive people, showing that the material resources of the earth are abundant. Although the increase in population increases the demand for materials, materials are all used in circulation, and when the efficiency of circulation is improved, it appears to be abundant. Human life is getting better and better, and one day there will be much more material than needed. We can also pay more attention to spiritual creation, making people's lives more easily satisfied. Therefore, the relationship of sharing wealth is not impossible to achieve.
We have largely achieved the sharing of spiritual wealth. As for the sharing of material wealth, it can first be realized in intimate relationships. For example, in a marriage relationship based on love, the two not only share their bodies and minds, but also share other wealth. Because the relationship of sharing wealth does not require rights, the two will not conflict over fighting for rights, and can focus more on the development of affection. In fact, sharing is freedom. When the two truly feel that they own everything about each other, they will feel free in the relationship. Therefore, successfully establishing a relationship of sharing spiritual and material wealth marks that we have let go of rights and obtained freedom.
The concept of rights exists because of private property, which is the essence of "natural rights". In the final analysis, the so-called rights are nothing more than our attitude towards reality. We should realize that as long as "the body" is recognized as a personal property, then the denial of any other personal rights will appear extremely unreasonable. Therefore, we really need not fear losing our rights. What we can do at this stage is let go of rights and give ourselves and others freedom to build truly strong relationships. In this way, we do not need to fight for and defend rights throughout our lives, and thus gain love, freedom and happiness, the highest enjoyments in life.
The concept of rights exists because of private property, which is the essence of "natural rights". In the final analysis, the so-called rights are nothing more than our attitude towards reality. We should realize that as long as "the body" is recognized as a personal property, then the denial of any other personal rights seems extremely unreasonable. Therefore, we really need not fear losing our rights. What we can do at this stage is let go of power and give others freedom to build truly strong relationships. In this way, we do not need to fight for and defend rights throughout our lives, and it is easier to obtain love, freedom and happiness, the highest enjoyments in life.
On Mar. 28, 2024
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