Fr Michael Whelan writes:

The American Jesuit, William Lynch, speaks of the “absolutizing instinct.” (See William Lynch, Images of Hope, Notre Dame University, 1974, 105-125.) On the basis of this “instinct” – which affects us all in one way or another – we turn means into ends and relative things into absolute things. In other words, this “absolutizing instinct” has us turning the world upside-down. We probably do this, ironically enough, so we can be in charge of the world, even if it is upside down. If that plot sounds familiar, it is because you have read it in the third chapter of the Book of Genesis.

Lynch writes of the consequences of this “instinct” when it is allowed to create an upside-down world:

“The absolutizing instinct is the father of the hopeless and adds that special feeling of weight that hopelessness attaches to everything it touches. It is, in general, the creator of hopeless projects and the creator of idols.” (106)

Lynch goes on to note a particularly sinister aspect to this process. Human beings are inclined to give other human beings absolutized status and power and other human beings are inclined to accept this:

“Such is the need and such the demand of people for gods and absolutes, that it will often be wise to descend slowly but firmly from the throne. It is a pity that this must be. But the fact that there is one God and no more is for all of us, the well and the ill, the most difficult proposition in this world.” (125)

All human lives and all human systems are subject to this dynamic. The “absolutizing instinct” will, sooner or later, make itself felt unless there is constant vigilance and constant work to counter its insidious movements. Even then, it is hard to imagine any system that could remain entirely free of it.


So, I find some understanding. Not sure if it makes total sense, but at least I can comprehend that choices lead to other choices.