Man's being is in constant tension between two aspirations - animal and spiritual

By: Psychologist Isa Pašalić

Man's being is in constant tension between two aspirations: animal and spiritual.

Since the world began, people have lived a dual nature within themselves. Every person, every day, wages a secret battle balancing between these two forces.

Instinct is the animal and biological segment of human beings. It is not bad in its essence and is useful to us in many ways. It is the driver of processes that enable us to survive, to eat, to enjoy a favorable social position, and to allow our bodies to serve their material existence as painlessly and favorably as possible.

On the other hand, the spiritual component of man also has its impulses which largely align with the instinctive ones, but in many ways also clash with what instincts demand of us. This segment of spirituality, in other words, can also be called humanity. And the main characteristic of humanity is principles. Principles represent clearly defined rules that the pursuit of instinctive needs cannot cross. Principles do not exist on their own, and their nature is not subjective. They arise from an objective moral sense that is embedded in every human being.

This means that if our instinctive need crosses the boundary set by a principle, our humanity and integrity are reflected in our ability to remain consistent with principles and resist this need, despite the insistence of instinct. By this act, we satisfy the spiritual component of our being and become more human and less animal. This is why integrity and consistency are so respected in people. It is an innate human reaction that occurs when they notice that someone is consistent with the moral and spiritual sense that we all carry within us.

It is important to note that there is a constant and continuous dynamic between spirituality and instinct. Therefore, if we want to maintain principledness and integrity, we must learn to nurture spirituality and morality within ourselves. This does not mean that we create it out of nothing; on the contrary, it exists in all of us, and it is important to maintain its flame so that it can burn brighter in the future. And we find it in that quiet shame, which, when we do something that is not in line with a principle, begins to make our cheeks blush, and we feel shame even when no one knows about our inconsistency.

In this situation, many people decide to suppress this feeling of shame. Using the energy of instinct, they devise excuses for why they did something. An excuse almost always hides the satisfaction of some material, animal need. However, spirituality does not care about excuses of this kind - something that is unprincipled remains so, regardless of the number of excuses devised.

This is where the power of spirituality and morality lies, but also the burden that comes with the effort to ignite this moral flame.

In creating a future for other people, it is crucial to know how to harmonize these two impulses and not allow the animal to take the helm. Because a person who neglects their humanity loses the right to be a true protector of human dignity.