<いのち>のどこが大切なのか? : 古代ギリシア人の死生観への一瞥

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It is often said, "We must today realize the sublime value of life on earth." This is one of the most basic convictions of modern humanism-or, more strictly speaking, "humanitarianism." In fact, we reckon the dignity of life among the principles of our sense of morality. From a historical point of view, however, we find that such a high estimation of life has not traditionally been a self-evident truth; rather, it was an idea formulated no earlier than the 19th century. The Renaissance's humanism involved an admiration for man's excellence as exemplified in classical antiquity; therefore, it had quite a different connotation from our present adoration of life as such. This essay undertakes a brief glance at the "classical" view of life, chiefly guided by Burckhardt's The History of Greek Culture. We find there a deep shadow of pessimism-the idea that the best thing for men is not to have been born, while the next best is to die as soon as possible. In the eyes of the Greeks, who left us the most striking culture that human beings have ever achieved, life without health is not worth living, and suicide is a noble gesture when used to escape a life that has become burdensome. To say the least, a certain pessimistic and non-humanitarianistic idea thus lay in the background of the very origins of humanism.
東京女子大学の論文
2000-03-10