The paradoxical nature of surrender

Surrender is one of the most fundamental, important aspects of spirituality and of integration. It is crucial to our relationship to God, to self, and to others. While surrender is essential for any real attempt at authenticity and integration, it is also one of the most challenging aspects of any spiritual pursuit or endeavor. The inability or unwillingness to surrender is a serious impediment to our relationship with God, with others, and even with ourselves. Paradoxically, there is great freedom and an increased sense of control that is experienced when one is able to surrender. This article explores two themes that the author believes are involved in surrender: fear and trust. Clinical as well as personal examples of the paradoxical nature and transformational power of surrender are offered.     

Breaking the Rules When Others Do

People often speak as if the behaviour of others is relevant to the question of whether they are justified in violating a rule. This paper explores three lines of argument which might be used to justify rule violation on grounds appealing to what others do. The appeal to self-defence as a justification does not succeed, since it must expand the concept to involve a cumbersome weighing of harms. The argument that complying with a rule may involve too great a sacrifice in some cases needs to be developed by an account of when a sacrifice is morally significant. It is tempting, but problematic, to do this by weighing consequences of individual acts. An alternative approach is to argue that the behaviour of others is sometimes relevant to determining what rule is actually functioning in some context as a part of a particular moral system.