My philosophy of nonviolence

Philosophy of Nonviolence

It is tragic that even in these advanced times, violence is still so prevalent in our society. While the most prominent recent example of this is the 9/11 attacks, violence is a worldwide phenomenon, particularly in the political arena, and particularly where certain sectors of society find themselves oppressed. Sadly, examples are almost too numerous to choose from. Indeed, it appears that in most cases of oppression, violence is seen as the means of solving the problem. In turn, the problem with violence is however that it escalates, resulting in a large amount of lost lives and tragedy that often overshadows the initial purpose of the fight. In solution to this, Martin Luther King suggests his philosophy of nonviolence, based upon his study of Gandhi's philosophical work. Indeed, nonviolence creates a much more powerful form of resistance than violence, because it focuses on friendship rather than enmity. The former accomplishes goals much more effectively than the latter.

What is particularly interesting about King's philosophy is the suggestion that nonviolence is not a passive act of surrender, but rather an active force towards reconciliation rather than escalating violence. Indeed, the 9/11 attacks have proven King's point: violence in response to violence leads only to further violence, and little is resolved as a result.

Furthermore, violence cultivates resistance. The reason for this is that violence is born from resistance in the first place. As such, violence and resistance go hand-in-hand in their cumulative effect. Interestingly, nonviolence has the same cumulative effect, but in a much more positive way. This positive paradigm is what King promoted in his philosophy of nonviolence. When violence is used as a means of resisting political oppression, terrorism, or other unacceptable phenomena, the escalation could lead to widescale atrocities such as riots or further terrorism. This is highly undesirable, particularly from the point-of-view of those aiming for political or social change such as Martin Luther King. Indeed, violent events tend to remove the focus from the atrocity of oppression and place it upon the less desirable qualities of those causing the violence. This tends to create a negative view of the oppressed and increases the resistance to their cause.

If I were to personally create a philosophy of nonviolence, I would also, like King, focus on the positive effects of such a form of resistance. The basis for my philosophy would be the qualities that make us human. Most importantly, we are human and as such we are able to reason and think rationally. Because we are more than barbarians, we are to handle our conflict situations by thinking of ways to reach the optimal outcome for all parties. If we let our emotions override our reason, chaos results. In matters of conflict, which can be highly emotional, it is therefore of utter importance to use our rationality. This is what distinguishes us from the animal world. We do not need to fight and kill to reach our goals and obtain our desires. We can do so by reasoning with each other.