Dimensions

What is life?

We cannot simply define what life is. To examine an answer for this question, we need to an integral and holistic approach instead of one that is fragmentary and reductionist. It is not merely a biological notion. In Korean it is the SaengMyong, which means the whole life of all living entities.

Three dimensions of communication for life:

1. Communication for life is to overcome anthropocentrism in communication. So far, concern about communication is only human centered communication. But Eastern traditions of thought contend all parts of the entire cosmos belong to one organic whole. Moreover, human beings are companions of all things in the universe and we are interconnected with all other forms of life.

Communication for life, thus, is to create community with all living beings in the universe as well as human beings. In other words, all living bodies are communicating entities and, they are communicating partners to each other and among themselves.

2. Communication for life is a value-based communication. It is to live together with all living beings. The role of communication is important to link with all living beings.  Communication for life is strengthening the harmonious relationship between human and nature in order to bring cosmic harmony and peace.

Thus, all communication that fosters values such as harmonious relationships, peace, justice, participation, coexistence and mutual living is communication for life. By contrast, all communication which fosters values such as confrontation, conflict, injustice, exclusion, isolation, and domination is communication for death.

The main goal of communication for life is to overcome communication for death and to bring conviviality to the human society and also the entire cosmos.

3. Communication for life is to converge of all forms of communication. Eastern and Western ways of communication are convergent and integrated into communication for life to bring Great Peace in the universe. In other words, communication for life is not a fragmentary communication between human beings and other living beings as well as the East and the West. It is a holistic and integrated communication, just as life is holistic and integrated.