The well-known phrase ‘divide and conquer’ has not only been applied to winning battles and subsequently wars, or in commercial transactions to maximise profits; it also applies to human beings themselves, in their various spheres (work, family, social, professional); for example, in medicine, the focus has been on treating the patient’s specific ailment, without considering that they are a whole human being with multiple conditions; and that even if they suffer from localised pain, that organ is affected and is affecting the rest of the body.
Knowledge, too, survives in a fragmented state; research and teaching have become hyper-specialised. It was not always so: those who dedicated their lives to unravelling the secrets of nature and teaching them were knowledgeable across all possible fields: philosophy, science, mathematics, languages, and so on.
They were sages who reflected on what they had studied up to that point and pondered new questions they sought to answer. In the last few centuries—perhaps two or three—the entire realm of knowledge has become disciplinary: one knows a great deal about one area and is ignorant of everything else, and this practice is encouraged: with university accreditation, so many hours must be devoted to the teaching of each discipline that it is impossible for a student to know about others, and such dedication is demanded of them that they are not even interested in learning about literature, art or other sciences, considering that they would be ‘wasting time’ if they studied other disciplines that would enrich their education and culture.
We are told that we must separate our working or academic life from our personal life, but the truth is that we have only one life, which unfolds through work, study, social and family life; we cannot divide it. Rather, each aspect must be continuously nurtured and enriched for the person’s full development; division creates confusion. We cannot have multiple lives and adopt different attitudes in each one, but rather must complement every aspect of our life with the rest; otherwise, we are forced to hide, to pretend, and to adopt attitudes that are unhealthy not only for the individual but also for those around them.
It is natural that family life, with its joys and difficulties, should have an impact on work or school life and vice versa; if a person leads a balanced and healthy family life, they will radiate serenity wherever they go; conversely, if they face difficulties at school or work, this will be reflected in their family life; we cannot ask them to fracture internally, to reject or repress what troubles them, because this will cause further suffering, and internal tensions will build up, which will eventually have to be expressed in some way.
We are called to live all aspects of our lives to the full, to heal our wounds and restore our bonds: inwardly, within the family, socially, and spiritually; but this is only possible if we cease to be broken inside, integrating all aspects of our single being. To restore ourselves, to heal ourselves, to care for one another. We probably also need to forgive ourselves and others; the experience of forgiveness is healing and restores our unity.
We must learn how to channel our feelings and emotions and welcome others, because within our families and in society, we are all important, and the suffering of one person affects us all; it is more than Edward Lorenz’s butterfly effect: we are interconnected and must look after one another. Only then will we have the full perspective needed to reach a new horizon, with hope.
So that we may then dare to restore our bonds with others, for in addition to internal divisions, we also suffer from fragmentation within society. In a company, we are divided between staff and customers, managers and workers, and within these groups we form further sub-groups, with more divisions, which only serve to breed and increase mistrust.
An inclusive perspective should make us reflect that differences should not separate us, but rather enrich us; having diverse occupations, languages and backgrounds should not create divisions amongst us, but rather foster openness, even awakening a healthy curiosity to get to know and welcome one another; discovering that the other person offers me the chance to learn something new, to grow alongside them; for although we could go on listing divisions, the truth is that we are brothers and sisters, we remain more alike than different, and together we can build a community, a dignified home that embraces our very humanity.
At this point, it is only right that we ask ourselves: if it is so healthy for us to live in unity with ourselves and if encountering others enriches us, why is this fragmentation being encouraged? Who benefits from it? Perhaps we do not know, but it is fitting that, with healthy defiance, we begin to live and take steps to strive to live consistently with what we consider to be best for ourselves, our families, our colleagues and our fellow citizens.