Respect: The parabolic quest of self-realization

This is a dialectical exploration of how “respect,” along with “wisdom” and “artfulness,” means “way”. The central argument is that respect is a means by which eternity—the constancy of love—and our daily lives are brought into a purposeful and practical relation, thereby realizing self. This relation is achieved through recognizing and participating with the universal and unique elements of self and of the encountered world. In terms of people, the relation is brought about by acknowledging our common need for love and our individual needs and projects. We respect things by understanding our interrelatedness with them and how they behave physically. Although this piece does not give a detailed examination of our respect of ideas, the philosophy that has informed the writing is that ideas are universal because they can be shared and developed by everybody, and they are “things in themselves” because they are perhaps impossible to fully articulate or apprehend.

Respect, which brings love and life together, operates in much the same way as parable, which means, “to set alongside” (Merriam-Webster 855). In this thesis, the two concepts are set alongside one another. The conclusions of this methodology are that parable is about respect, parable is itself respectful, and that we can respect parabolically. Enfolded into this study are discussions on empathy, death, intuition and trust—to name a few. To assist in the exploration of such themes, this study refers to parabolic quests by Paulo Coelho, Ernest Hemingway, Herman Hesse, and Antione de Saint-Exupery. Works by Martin Buber, Joseph Campbell, John Dominic Crossan, Robin Dillon, Nel Noddings, and Edward C. Whitmont are also drawn from. In tandem with the expository component of this thesis is an original parabolic quest, “The Way of the Leaf.”