The more I think about human community, the more amazed I am about how much we depend on one another. On every single level of being human we can be influenced by others.

There is a philosophy called sociologism that states that persons are nothing but products of the groups to which they belong. Really this philosophy is stating that persons are nothing but things, completely formed and shaped by the groups to which they belong.

I am always uncomfortable about visions of human nature that use the words “nothing but” in a description of human persons. Invariably they miss the mystery of the human person. Though persons can be enormously influenced by the groups to which they belong, they always remain persons, free and to some extent responsible for their lives.

Meaning and Truth
I believe that persons are greatly dependent on others in relation to meaning and truth. Our parents give us a whole world of meaning even before we enter school. They tell us what it means to be good or bad, smart or ignorant, kind or mean. They tell us the meaning of God. When we become adults we may discover that not everything our parents told us is the truth.

When we attend school – from kindergarten to even graduate school – we are dependent on our teachers. The best teacher I ever had taught me two theology courses in graduate school even though my major was philosophy. I am not exaggerating when I claim that he changed my life.

Usually when I start to teach a course in philosophy at St. John’s University, Jamaica, I tell the students that all of us are in this together, that I hope to learn from them and that all of us are equal. However, the fact of the matter is that I give the lectures, I give the exams and I give the grades. So all of us are equal but I am little more equal than everyone else.

I am frightened by how much we depend on newspapers and television news shows to find out what is going on in the world. When I hear someone talk abut the president, congress or even some current events, I can guess where they’re getting their news. There is a radio show I listen to when I am driving that often declares: “You give us 22 minutes and we’ll give you the world.”

Of course someone decides which stories are worthy to be mentioned during those 22 minutes and which stories don’t make the cut. The motto of The New York Times is “All the news that’s fit to print,” but I have heard that the paper never reviews a book on theology. What does that say about the editors’ view of theology?

Also our emotional lives are greatly influenced by others. Freud claimed that our basic personalities were shaped between the ages of three and six. I disagree with that but there is no doubt that we are greatly influenced by our parents, our siblings and other adults. Spend all your time with happy people and it will be very difficult for you to be sad. Spend all your time with sad people and it will be very difficult for you to be happy.

In the Church we depend on one another. A study of the history of the Church reveals that the Church changes in different historical periods. Liturgy changes, theology changes and popes and bishops have different styles of teaching and ruling. Even on the local scene parishes differ because of the pastor, parochial vicar, religious and laity who live, worship and are involved – or uninvolved – in the life of the parish.

We are tied together in the Church. I think of the impact that Pope Francis has already had on the Church. I think of some of the great Catholic philosophers and theologians who have contributed to growth in the Church – not only in the distant past but even in recent history.

In James Joyce’s “Finnegan’s Wake,” I love the line: “Catholicism means here comes everybody.” Everyone has a role to play and a gift to give in God’s plan from the pope to some Catholic who is lying on his deathbed. All of us are related and can be blessings and graces to one another. We should be grateful for the countless people who have been positive influences in our lives. The self-made person does not exist. In the Church we need one another. The Holy Spirit is involved in every life helping us to help one another.

Father Robert Lauder, philosophy professor at St. John’s University, Jamaica, is the author of “Pope Francis’ Spirituality and Our Story” (Resurrection Press).