**Spoilers Ahead!**
It's really best to watch the entirety of the film before reading this.
"People give up their lives for a variety of reasons. For friendship, for love, for an ideal; and people kill for the same reasons."
Brief Synopsis
One man's quest driven by revenge for the murder of his family, leads him to unrelentingly train for 10 years to perfect a warriors move to kill the Qin King.
He colludes with 3 top pugilistic heroes, the most highly skilled and honorable people of the land, who were willing to sacrifice all, to stop the Qin King's conquest and destruction of their homes.
Eventually, he realises the highest ideal of a warrior, in the quest for perfection to be able to kill his enemies, ultimately is to bring peace to the land without any more killing.
The ultimate act for peace and act of wisdom, is sacrifice.
Eventually, he realises the highest ideal of a warrior, in the quest for perfection to be able to kill his enemies, ultimately is to bring peace to the land without any more killing.
The ultimate act for peace and act of wisdom, is sacrifice.
Ideas to Think About
Give up ones life in Sacrifice vs Live a Life of Meaning
- Is one's life is worth giving up or dedicated for higher ideals greater than himself Or should One's life should be lived based on one's own personal desires and beliefs.
- Movie e.g. Should a person live his life to kill because of his own need for revenge, or sacrifice his desires and life for the greater good.
- Religious e.g. Should I as a faithful Muslim give up my life and kill infidels, in so being a martyr, bring glory to my religion; or should I be a faithful Muslim, living life to the fullest with the best example of my religion so that I myself can enter paradise? As a Christian, should I be a living sacrifice and give up all worldly desires to fulfil God's words, or should I embrace society's values and pursue a prosperous life in combination with fulfilling the church's beliefs and rituals.
- Asian conundrum e.g. Should I do my best and give my all in order for my children to have a better life OR should I have children so that I can be pious and dutiful in continuing the family line/ in my old age I will not be lonely and have someone to take care of me?
Ways to Live life or Give up one's life
- To live one's life
- by giving in to immediate desires/ situational cognitive shortcuts to fulfil an immediately obvious ideology and purpose. e.g. To give in to a movement: The environmental movement believes that not using plastic bags will help save the environment. Hence I will not use plastic bags.
- to consistently pursue an end-goal based on a non-shifting philosophy or mission. It is not good to waste material. e.g. To develop a lifestyle: I will try not to use plastic bags as I also try not to waste other things. e.g. money, electricity etc.
- To give up one's life (Metaphorically or physical existence)
- by giving-in to immediate desires/ situational cognitive shortcuts to fulfil an immediately obvious ideology and purpose. e.g. To give up a habit or behavior: I will remove every plastic items currently in my life and endeavor not to have any new ones.
- to fulfil an end-goal based on a non-shifting philosophy or mission. e.g. To give up a lifestyle: I will no longer be a consumer and no longer use disposables. I will not buy more than one set of crockery and cutlery and use them when I eat in or when I take out.
Collectivism Vs Individualism (moral, political and social theory perspective)
- Does 'Eastern' philosophy equate to 'Confucianism', hence collectivism: The idea that people should be interdependent on others and all conform to the same ideas and worship the goals of group than that of the individual.
- Does 'Western' philosophy equate to 'Rights Movement', hence individualism: the freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.
Differentiating between Following a Mission Vs Choosing an Ideology
- To fulfil oneself, one can choose a Mission that benefits others
- To fulfil others, one can choose a Mission that benefits himself.
- One's goal can be selfish or selfless and can be perceived as collectivistic or individualistic. e.g. if I give a donation,
What is a good life?
- To live life faithfully following a mission that has a system of prescribed behaviours, or to choose an ideology and constantly check to see if the independent decisions you make in life are consistent in espousing it.
Other ideas to think about
- Reductionism Vs Holism - Can we understand things by logical conclusions or by building theories?
- Is there such a thing as alturism?
- The good tend to sacrifice themselves as an example for the rest to believe in what they are doing.
- Is man's intrinsic or basal motivation driven only by euphoria? Or can at ground state (without education or choice) be a higher idea e.g. eudaimonia. Conversely can a person who transcends basal motivation and deny instinctive desires choose euphoria over eudaimonia?
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