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Essay Contest
Whatis“Peace”?
TomirisCaesar
T
hroughout generations, humanity has put peace on a pedestal. From the
inclusion of the word in the bidding of farewells, like the Korean “안녕
히가세요” (annyeonghi gaseyo: go with peace) and the Arabic greeting
“
” (asalaam alaykum: peace be upon you), where ‘peace’ has been so
deeply entrenched into those simple phrases that no longer do the native speakers
recognise the word’s essential meaning; to the glorification of peace in antique
mythology, embodied by the Roman Goddess - Pax and her Greek counterpart -
Irene, peace has always made its presence evident in all cultures. But what is the
essence of peace and how does it manifest itself in the world around us and, of
course, within ourselves? For such a ubiquitous concept it certainly presents itself
differently in almost every culture. It is hence easiest to start with defining it by
what it is not - it is not conflict, unrest, or violence. But peace is not simply the
opposite of a sum of its antonyms. It goes beyond that. At its very core - peace is
somethingindividuallydefinedbyafeeling,state,orlifestyle.Anabstractnounthat
emerged from its veryantithesis - war. Bythe principle of Wilde’s “to define is to
limit,” I will only attempt to make an outline of peace’s many meanings, drawing
fromvariousphilosophiesandreligions,andwillconcludewithmyveryown.
It is most intuitive to start defining peace within the framework of the most
fundamental human instincts. Is humanity, as a holistic entity, meant for peace?
Areindividualsbornwiththepreconceivednotionsofpeaceor,akintomanyother
things,isitsimplyasocialconstruct?Forthewesterneye,peacecanbeindicatedby
anabsenceofdissension;whereastheEastwouldmostlikelyviewpeaceasserenity
and harmony internally, meaning within oneself, and externally, within the world.
42
www.theargus.org
Whatis“Peace”?
TomirisCaesar
T
hroughout generations, humanity has put peace on a pedestal. From the
inclusion of the word in the bidding of farewells, like the Korean “안녕
히가세요” (annyeonghi gaseyo: go with peace) and the Arabic greeting
“
” (asalaam alaykum: peace be upon you), where ‘peace’ has been so
deeply entrenched into those simple phrases that no longer do the native speakers
recognise the word’s essential meaning; to the glorification of peace in antique
mythology, embodied by the Roman Goddess - Pax and her Greek counterpart -
Irene, peace has always made its presence evident in all cultures. But what is the
essence of peace and how does it manifest itself in the world around us and, of
course, within ourselves? For such a ubiquitous concept it certainly presents itself
differently in almost every culture. It is hence easiest to start with defining it by
what it is not - it is not conflict, unrest, or violence. But peace is not simply the
opposite of a sum of its antonyms. It goes beyond that. At its very core - peace is
somethingindividuallydefinedbyafeeling,state,orlifestyle.Anabstractnounthat
emerged from its veryantithesis - war. Bythe principle of Wilde’s “to define is to
limit,” I will only attempt to make an outline of peace’s many meanings, drawing
fromvariousphilosophiesandreligions,andwillconcludewithmyveryown.
It is most intuitive to start defining peace within the framework of the most
fundamental human instincts. Is humanity, as a holistic entity, meant for peace?
Areindividualsbornwiththepreconceivednotionsofpeaceor,akintomanyother
things,isitsimplyasocialconstruct?Forthewesterneye,peacecanbeindicatedby
anabsenceofdissension;whereastheEastwouldmostlikelyviewpeaceasserenity
and harmony internally, meaning within oneself, and externally, within the world.
42
www.theargus.org
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