<Delusions/Journey to the West> The Omnipotence Paradox and 'The Trial of No Trial,' 'Can Die But Do Not Die,' the greatest right of self-determination in one's own life, which is ultimate freedom, 'Can Do But Do Not Do,' 'Can Kill But Do Not Kill' = What is the meaning of life = Turning the question around to 'What is life expecting of us' and taking responsibility for answering that question

The ultimate trial of humanity can be said to lie beyond specific physical hardships or ethical choices, in continuously facing the fundamental existential question of 'how to live.'

From philosophical, psychological, and religious perspectives, the most widely accepted ultimate trial for humans is the challenge of **'how to find meaning within unavoidable suffering.'**

The Ultimate Human Trial: The Search for Meaning and Self-Transcendence

The philosophy of psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl, who established 'Logotherapy' (meaning-centered psychotherapy) based on his experiences in Nazi concentration camps, most clearly illustrates this ultimate trial.

The ultimate trial consists of the following two dimensions.

1. Freedom within 'Suffering' (The Last Freedom)

Humans face **unavoidable suffering (fate) that they cannot do anything about themselves**, such as poverty, illness, disaster, death, and irrational violence.

• Ultimate trial:

  1. Facing the fact that 'even if everything is taken away and one is placed in the most painful situation, the last human freedom—how one behaves within that given environment—cannot be taken away.'

When one cannot escape suffering, the 'attitude' toward that suffering becomes the ultimate trial that determines human dignity and the meaning of existence.

2. Responsibility to answer 'Life's Question' (Self-Transcendence)

Humans tend to ask, 'What is the meaning of life?', but Frankl reverses this.

• Ultimate trial:

  1. Turning the question around to 'What is life expecting of us' and taking responsibility for answering that question.

In other words, the purpose of living is not to pursue pleasure or happiness, but lies in noticing the concrete tasks and missions given by life and acting to achieve them, a way of living that transcends the self (for someone or something else).

Summary

The 'ultimate human trial' is to exercise one's last freedom (attitude) amidst unavoidable 'suffering and death' and to find meaning in that fate, which can be said to be a task that continues forever as long as one is alive.

• Can die but do not die (suicide prevention): The trial of spontaneously affirming the 'meaning of life' amidst suffering.

• Can kill but do not kill (non-violence): The trial of transcending anger and hatred to affirm the ethical value of 'the existence of others.'

What is the ultimate trial

1. [Restraint of Power] The ultimate trial is not to flaunt one's greatest power (omnipotence or freedom), but rather the self-denying choice to deliberately restrain it.

2. [Self-Transcendence] The purpose of a trial is not to obtain personal happiness or success, but an ethical challenge to live for a greater 'meaning' or 'responsibility' that transcends one's own existence.

3. [The Trial of the Omnipotent] For an omniscient and omnipotent God, the trial is the 'infinite patience' of 'not giving a trial'—renouncing complete control and accepting unpredictability and freedom—which is something one 'could do at any time if one wanted to', representing infinite patience.

4. [Proof of Freedom] One of the trials for humans is to continue to affirm one's own existence through the decision of 'being able to die but not dying,' using free will amidst the agony of living by continuously affirming it.

5. [Ethical Choice] Another human trial is the choice of 'being able to kill but not killing,' which is the exercise of the power of compassion that respects the absolute value of another's life, transcending instinctive impulses and hatred.

6. [Acceptance of Suffering] A trial is not about helplessly lamenting unavoidable hardship or absurdity (fate), but is proof of spiritual freedom—the ability to freely choose one's 'attitude' toward that suffering.

7. [The Search for Meaning] A trial is not asking 'what can life give me,' but rather taking responsibility for answering the question 'what does life expect of me?' by continuing to answer through action.

8. [Overcoming Boredom] Regardless of whether one is an omnipotent being or a human, at the root of every trial lies a craving to escape from 'nothingness' or 'boredom' caused by everything going exactly as one wishes, in other words, to regain 'surprise' and 'discovery'.

9. [Endless Tasks] The ultimate trial is not something that ends once overcome, but an infinite task that one must continue to question and face forever, as long as one lives or continues to exist.

Instead of asking 'what can life give me,' it is about taking responsibility for answering the question 'what does life expect of me' by continuing to act.

In a world of omniscience and omnipotence where everything goes as one wishes, what is God's ultimate trial?

In a world of omniscience and omnipotence where everything goes as one wishes, God's ultimate trial is 'self-restraint without the exercise of power'.

Since there are no external restrictions whatsoever, this becomes a trial of challenging the only limits arising from one's own inner self, namely logical contradiction and the nothingness of existence.

Two aspects of the ultimate trial

1. Challenging the logical limits of omnipotence: The paradox of omnipotence

One of God's ultimate trials is to face the logical consequences of being omnipotent and to avoid them.

• The trial of renouncing power: God faces the question of whether He can 'create a stone so heavy that even He cannot lift it.' Against this logical contradiction where omnipotence is lost whether He can create it or not, God challenges it not through the 'exercise of power,' but through the 'transcendence of logic.'

• Conclusion: Restraint of power: The true answer to this trial lies in stopping the very act that involves the exercise of power, in other words, self-regulation: 'I can do it, but I will not.' By limiting omnipotence Himself, He frees the concept of omnipotence from a logical dead end.

2. Challenging the existential limits of existence: Confronting nothingness

For an omniscient and omnipotent God, all results are known, and everything goes as He wishes. This perfect state creates a new trial.

• Loss of surprise (boredom): Because He knows everything, things like 'surprise,' 'discovery,' and 'challenge' are lost, and ultimate boredom (nothingness) covers God's existence.

• Content of the trial: "The trial of not giving a trial"

  1. The only way for God to overcome this void is to cease His own control and entrust freedom to the world in the form of "not giving a trial."

     • Renunciation of granting trials: The omnipotent God dares not exercise the power to bring everything under control, allowing unpredictable freedom (human will) to emerge in the world.

     • Patience toward oneself: The patience to continue watching without intervening in the tragedies, absurdities, and unexpected outcomes caused by this freedom becomes the endless, ultimate trial that God imposes upon Himself.

The ultimate trial can be said to be a self-sacrificial choice to give the world values such as love and freedom—which cannot be created by omnipotence alone—by restraining power rather than demonstrating it.