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Wiki MarkupAccording to E. M. Adams, "\[t\]o be a man ... is, as it were, to have an office, a position, defined by the imperative to live so that one would stand justified under rational criticism"; and in this connection he speaks of "the office of a human being" ("The Philosophical Grounds of the Present Crisis of Authority": 13 f.).

This seems to me to be only another way of saying that to be a human being is to be called to obedience -- obedience to reality as it is, understanding oneself realistically and, therefore, authentically, and leading one's life accordingly. This assumes, of course, that to live rationally, so that one would stand justified under rational criticism, and to obey reality in one's self-understanding and life-praxis come to the same thing.

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