The Life Principles
The following article summarizes the explanation of "quality of life" in the book, Healing the Culture: A Commonsense Philosophy of Happiness, Freedom, and the Life Issues (by Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.). This book provides the curriculum upon which our mission and activities are based.
Four Ways to View Quality of Life
by Marie Harkins and Camille Pauley
As the elderly population continues to increase in countries around the world, quality of life issues are becoming ever more prominent. This -- coupled with the rise of physician-assisted suicide, the destruction of unborn babies diagnosed with disabilities, and the debate about whether to allow the starvation and dehydration of severely disabled persons -- has contributed to misshaping our culture's view of what it means to have "quality of life." Many people are troubled that our culture's view has become exceedingly shallow, and that we are missing the real point about what gives human life quality and value. Making quality-of-life distinctions is very important for deciding how we will choose to respond to vulnerable populations. (If you haven't read about the "Four Levels of Happiness" yet, we encourage you to do that first by clicking here.)
Quality of Life 1
If a culture overemphasizes Happiness 1, people in that culture may fall into the trap of believing that the value of their lives depends on how much access each person has to wealth and pleasure. For example, as long as I am healthy, comfortable, and reasonably provided for, my "quality of life" is good. Now, it is true that, if I keep the right perspective, wealth and pleasure can sometimes enhance the enjoyment of life to a certain degree, but if I become stuck on Level 1, I will believe that a life without wealth and pleasure is a life without quality. I will believe that hardship, illness, or poverty threatens my ability to enjoy life, perhaps to a point that will make life no longer worth living.
Not only does this affect the way that I view myself, it also affects the judgments that I make about other people. The result of a Level 1 culture is a society that takes upon itself the decision of which lives are worth living and which lives would be better off dead. We begin to treat suffering people the same way we treat suffering animals. When societies adopt this attitude, it is very easy for vulnerable people to be convinced that their existence is a burden to the quality of life of other persons, often with tragic consequences.
Quality of Life 2
Judging the quality of life by Happiness 2 standards leads to the same problem. How many times have you heard someone say about an elderly or disabled person, "Well, she can't really do anything, so what's the point?" While it's true that being accomplished, successful, independent, or productive leads to a sense of self-esteem, do these things really lead to the highest form of self-esteem? If I overemphasize Level 2, I can become so preoccupied with how well I function, that it becomes the yardstick by which I measure self-worth. With this attitude, it is not unlikely that I will treat those who are dependent, less accomplished or less talented as less human. In the meantime, I will likely miss the deeper characteristics of being human, such as the capacity for compassion, love, virtue, empathy, courage, understanding, and faith.
Quality of Life 3
On the other hand, a Happiness 3 viewpoint allows me to value myself and others for who we are, not for what we have or can do. I begin to realize that there is something very valuable about simply being human. Instead of depending on how much we have or how well we function, Level 3 quality of life is focused on the human capacity to reach out to others, to grow in virtue, and to contribute to the common good. If I find myself materially or physically disadvantaged, I can still be confident of my own self-worth because I can be a friend. I can inspire, console, teach, laugh, love, or be loved. I can bring joy, hope, and compassion to those around me. I can live a life of service, or inspire others to service by simply being in need. I believe that my ability to give or to inspire others to love is where my value as a human being comes from.
Quality of Life 4
Happiness 4 gives the greatest and most comprehensive insight into quality of life. From this perspective, I realize that all human life is valuable simply because every person is an image of God, created to love and destined to be loved unconditionally by God for all eternity. Once aware of this, I understand that the worth of human beings does not come from our own abilities. It comes from God Himself. In other words, we have quality of life simply because God made us for Himself. This is what gives life its value and meaning. With this attitude, a culture recognizes that it can never declare one person's "quality of life" to be more or less than anyone else's. While compassion and love may drive us to work hard to improve the material conditions and opportunities for the people around us, we do not judge the value of anyone's life by these standards. It is because we recognize that each person is infinitely valuable that we work hard to improve their physical condition, and vow never to abandon them to hopeless despair.
© Copyright 2005 Healing the Culture. All rights reserved. Marie Harkins is past Director of Administration for Healing the Culture and currently contributes to special projects. Camille Pauley is the co-founder and President of Healing the Culture.
The preceding article summarizes the four levels of success in the book, Healing the Culture: A Commonsense Philosophy of Happiness, Freedom, and the Life Issues (by Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.). This book provides the curriculum upon which our mission and activities are based.
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