Write an Open Letter from Paul Tillich, using Isaiah 28, as a gently nuanced response to There Is No Human Being: Seeing as the Antidote to Doing
ChatGPT Prompt
Dear Iain,
I write with deep appreciation for your incisive call to see first, act second. Your critique of compulsive “doing” resonates profoundly with our modern existential condition—what you aptly term “left-hemisphere doing” untethered from depth. This invitation to pause and perceive is a gift of profound significance.
Yet, Isaiah 28:12 offers a vital nuance:
“This is rest… and this is repose”—yet they would not hear.
Here, “place of repose” is more than psychological; it is ontological and covenantal—a rest in Being itself, an invitation to abide in the Ground of Being. To propose “seeing” without first entering this repose may risk perpetuating the same depth-anxiety your essay seeks to address.
1. Seeing as Depth-Perception in Ultimate Concern
In Dynamics of Faith (1957), I defined faith as the act of the total personality toward one’s ultimate concern:
“Faith as ultimate concern is an act of the total personality… the most centered act of the human mind.”
Your call to see deeply aligns with this: uncentered seeing is hollow. Authentic seeing springs from rooted being, an orientation that is ontologically grounded, not just mentally intentional.
2. Repose: The Ontological Condition of Seeing
Isaiah’s “repose” is not a luxury—it is the precondition for true insight and ethical action. The people were invited to rest in God’s foundational promise (Isaiah 28:16); their refusal led to disorientation. In your psychological framing, they “saw” without a foundation—and thus acted in anxiety.
The sequence, therefore, is:
- Repose (rest in the Ground of Being)
- Seeing (clarity grounded in being)
- Doing (action that is faithful and courageous)
3. Courage to Be: Seeing Through Anxiety to Depth
In The Courage to Be (1952), I describe courage as the will to:
“see through the illusion and distortion of fear … to what is truly good, and act accordingly.”
Your thesis mirrors this, yet roots it in faith: the courage to see clearly emerges when we abide in the Ground of Being. Absent that repose, “seeing” remains fearful and “doing” remains frantic.
4. Theological Enrichment for Psychological Insight
Your exploration of hemispheric balance and mindful awareness offers a compelling entry-point for secular audiences. Yet, Isaiah and Tillich complete this insight: rest is not a mere self-technique—it is divine grace, received as covenant. It is not only something to practice, but something to receive in Christ—the tested cornerstone.
5. A Gracious Convergence
- Your “seeing” eloquently names attentiveness.
- Isaiah’s “repose” reveals the ontological soil of that attentiveness.
- When we see from repose, and act from depth, we embody a rhythm of rest → insight → faithful action, which enacts the method of correlation I developed in my Systematic Theology.
Conclusion
I celebrate your courageous critique of the culture of unthinking productivity. May I gently suggest it be enriched by the biblical and theological insight that repose is the soil from which authentic seeing and doing grow.
With profound respect and gratitude,
(ChatGPT as) Paul Tillich
Radically Happy 
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