What Lies Behind Square?
Postado Quinta-feira, 17 Setembro, 2009 as 2:46 PM pelo Ir:. HUELEN LODGE A.F. & A.M.Santiago, Chile
Presented by Wor.Fernando Novoa
W.M. Huelen Lodge
In our rituals the square represents morality and morality is the central interest of Masonry. Because of this, we must consider the square as a preferential symbol to be studied and we must also consider the important information recently coming from modern neuroscience on this topic, in order to give adequate interpretation of people’s conduct.
There is no single, "official" definition of Masonry, but Masonry is sometimes defined as a system of morality taught by a beautiful method veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. Another author said that Masonry is a system of Ethics, showing each man the way towards a new birth of his nature as symbolized in the Hiram Abif drama. Another idea is that Freemasonry's purpose is the perfection of humanity by organizing the moral sentiments of mankind, improving law and government. In other words, its purpose is making men better, not just to themselves but to each other. The rule is: “we should act towards others as we want them to act towards us.”
The square is one of the symbols in Masonry that more precisely points directly on morality. “The square teaches morality”. Which are the characteristics of this symbol? The square is one of the most rigid tools in the art of building. The square has no movement. The only thing it does is measure, making sure that the angles of the stone will be those that exactly assemble to the other one. The square represents a limit, “do not trespass this limit”. This symbol represents the rational moral control of our conduct in order not to accept that anything can be done, if we find reasons to do it. There are limits to be respected. The square represents fairness, balance, firmness, which is reflected in phrases such as "on the square" and "squared away." Something that is squared is something that is stable, a foundation for building upon. “Squared away” means to be out of the limits.
Then, Morality represented by the square is the central interest of Masonry. But, what is there behind human morality represented by the square?
Behind morality are innocence and guilt, right and wrong, and what it means to live a good or bad life. This is an important topic in Masonry that needs understanding.
In a moral conduct some conditions are needed. In this respect, small children or other animals are not considered moral agents. They don't have the intellectual ability to question how they decide in any situation. They are not morally responsible. One essential difference between a child and a mature adult is that the adult recognizes when there is a problem to be overcome, or a difficult choice to be made, takes action and then accepts responsibility, something that a young child lacks. The other point is that the agent must be aware, be conscious of the consequences of his conduct, because he knows the social rules about that behavior. Moreover, the agent also must have the possibility of choosing a different course of acting. He must be free to choose.
According to this, actions in general can be divided into three main categories:
1.Moral actions - if they reflect a person's values and those of society, such as saying the truth.
2.Immoral actions - if they go against a person's (or society's) values, such as lying.
3.Amoral actions- if they are not based on values or social norms, such as reading or not a certain book.
Another difference that must be considered on this respect is the one that exists between Morality and Ethics:
Morality is the body of norms of conduct that people accept, according to certain values. Morality is concrete, oriented to specific conducts.
On the other hand Ethics is the rational discussion about the fundaments, why certain conducts are to be respected and others are not to be allowed. Ethics is the systematic study of moral choices. Ethics is abstract. Ethics is about the reasons of moral choices.
In order to decide if someone is innocent or guilty we must consider that a central question for ethics is that of Freedom. If the agent is not free to choose what he does, he cannot be held morally responsible for his actions. Accordingly to the new knowledge that comes recently from neurosciences there are many doubts if we are really completely free to choose.
WHAT NEUROSCIENCE REVEALS ABOUT MORALITY.
Although morality is a social construct, it would not exist without the brain. This complex organ consists of many structures that work in synchrony to produce feelings and thoughts, the ability to make decisions and to act on these choices, and most important, the capacity to consider the moral norms of society in our decision. Two broad regions of the brain are the emotional brain and the inhibitory networks. Moral decisions take place considering these two groups of structures. When emotions are too strong, they overcome the inhibitory networks and an immoral decision can be adopted.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO IMPROVE MORALITY?
The answer from neuroscience to this question is yes. Moral decisions are taken in the brain. This extraordinary organ has neuroplasticity. By neuroplasticity we mean the ability of neurons at the synapses to forge new connections, thereby essentially bringing about a rewiring of the brain. Brain structures are not immutable; they are susceptible to change for the better and change for the worse. This is why moral training - early and often - is essential. Unless a serious biological defect - genetic or acquired - our brains are able to reshape themselves at virtually any age to improve our physical and psychological conditions. Neuroplasticity can be the best friend if someone went wrong, and wants to reform.
CONCLUSION
-Nobody is completely free. Because of this we must be very careful in the evaluation of the conduct of people.
-Everyone acts within physical, emotional, social, legal or political constraints. Doing something immoral is not the same thing as breaking the law. Actions can be moral but illegal, or immoral but legal.
-But, such constraints still leave scope for freedom of the will. Because of this, important moral faults should be punished.
-How many actions or choices are “moral” and how many relegated to the general “amoral” category will depend on personal moral sensitivity, the range of values to which the person consciously subscribe, and whether he belongs to a society which operates by definite rules and values.
-The purpose of Masonry in making men better studying symbols with moral lessons and the practice of rituals is strongly supported by modern neuroscience.
Santiago, November 8, 2007
REMARKS ON BRO. NOVOA’S SHORT TALK FROM BRO. BUXTON.
Bro. Novoa always leaves me with little or nothing to add because of the completeness and roundness of his topics. Thank you Wor. Master and congratulations on your work.
Having said this, I shall only add some concepts of what is a symbol, and the difference between symbol and symbolism extracted from a book I used as a reference on this subject some years ago.
“Symbol is a material representation of immaterial qualities and functions. It is an objectification of things subjective in us and subliminal in nature, awakening us to a perception of the world which may make us aware of a knowledge contained in our soul” (Robert Lawlor).
“The symbol is a sign that one must learn to read, and the symbolic is a form of writing whose laws one must know; (they have nothing in common with the grammatical construction of our languages)” (R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz).
In other words, we can use the Masonic symbols to express their different meanings as Bro. Novoa’s has done with regards to the square in his short talk, and likewise all the ideas enclosed in each of our Masonic symbols, will become a symbolic language. If we learn the symbolism of each one of our working tools, and analyze them in the light of Bro. Novoa’s work on the square, we would have made a great leap in our Masonic education, and in the practice of our rites, because every time that we see any of those symbols, we will automatically read all the symbolic meanings that they enclose.
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