Yoshimichi Saito: Everyone is a "Solo Traveler"

Perhaps due to the enforcement of so-called "social distancing" during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have found myself doing things "alone" and away from others more often. Even when eating out, large group gatherings are out of the question; if possible, we are told to eat "alone" in silence. Perhaps because of this, the concept of being "alone" seems to be attracting attention. We Japanese, in particular, have a strong group consciousness and tend to feel uneasy unless we are aligned with others, so being told to do something "alone" is a problem. What are we supposed to do? If that is the case, there is a peculiar breed of people called philosophers who are always detached from the group, muttering something incomprehensible "alone." It might be interesting to ask one of them. Thus, it seems a request for a manuscript landed on the desk of someone like me. The idea is that I might say something interesting.

However, I am sorry to disappoint you. It is not that simple. There is nothing particularly interesting to say. It is only natural that everyone is a "solo traveler," and there is not a single thing worth making a fuss about now. If everyone's awareness has finally turned toward that obvious fact, then the spread of COVID-19 wasn't entirely for nothing—at most, I might offer such a cynical remark. In other words, whether COVID-19 is spreading or not, the fact that everyone is a "solo traveler" remains unchanged. But if we notice this and face this unshakable fact anew, that is surely a good thing. This is because if it is an undeniable fact that no one can escape, then how one deals with that fact will undoubtedly have a decisive impact on how one lives.

So, what does it mean that everyone is a "solo traveler"? The easiest examples to understand are birth and death. You were certainly born somewhere, at some time. That is why you are living like this now. Can you have someone else take your place in the event of your birth? Of course, countless people have been born since ancient times, and even at this very moment, many newborn cries are being heard. But those are all other people's business; my birth happened only once. It is obvious. Moreover, since no one is born because they intended to be born, I underwent it without knowing, and by the time I realized it, it had already passed. In other words, I have never experienced it in the present. I have never been present at it. Isn't it strange that even though it is unmistakably about me and cannot be replaced by others (if it could, it would simply be someone else being born), it lies outside the framework of my own experience? If it were something I experienced, I might be able to do something about it, but since it is outside that scope, there is nothing I can do. To that extent, the fact that I am "alone" is an unshakable reality.

My death is the same. It will surely come, but since it seems to be equivalent to my own extinction, I cannot experience it as my own event. Some might say that, unlike my birth, there is still room to do something about my death. Certainly, I can choose the time and place of my death. Suicide is the typical example. I can also choose, to some extent, how I die. Whether to die in a hospital with tubes inserted all over my body or to die at home surrounded by loved ones is not entirely beyond my choice. However, the fact that death will surely come and that no one but me will undergo it remains unchanged. It is possible for someone to die in my place in a certain situation, but that does not exempt me from eventually undergoing my own death. Suicide only hastens the time of death; it cannot touch the fact that I have no choice but to undergo that death myself.

But if the beginning and end of life are such that no one but me undergoes them from start to finish, then perhaps this life sandwiched between those two ends is also something that no one but me can undergo. Moreover, unlike the two ends of life, I can unmistakably experience this as my own business. If so, isn't that something rare? I might be the only one experiencing this "vividly" right here and now, exactly as it is. Others may be doing so in their own way, but it is not "vivid" to me in this way. This is what it means to be a "solo traveler."

One last thing. I could never touch that "vividness" that others may be experiencing. Carrying all of that "alone," others are also born and will die. I cannot help but feel a sense of awe toward such others and their experiences. It is like a cheer sent from one "solo traveler" to another. Doesn't the possibility of an invisible "connection" through things that can never be shared begin to show itself here? If the COVID-19 pandemic reminded each of us of such obvious things, then that is probably a good thing. Thus, the philosopher muttered to himself, "alone."