The Other and the Dilemma of Coexistence: From the Instinct for Survival to the Ethics of Sharing

Abstract

The contemporary world is witnessing profound transformations in the structure of human relationships as a result of the escalation of wars and conflicts among human communities. Giving that from ethnic and religious conflicts to technological and biological wars, this suggests that humanity stands at a decisive crossroads: either coexistence despite differences, or confrontation that may lead to shared destruction. In light of this troubled reality, the question of coexistence re-emerges, not as a utopian theory but as a human and philosophical horizon that rethinks the nature of the relationship between the self and the other within a reality that imposes itself through violence, which leads us to question once again the true meaning of "coexistence" and why it appears as a distorted vision and a stalled project. It seeks to outline the features of human interaction beyond the dichotomy of absolute peace and permanent war. Accordingly, coexistence should not be conceived as a state of perpetual peace, because conflict and struggle are an integral part of human reality. It is therefore necessary to find just, equitable, and shared frameworks that regulate the relationship between the self and the other, accept tension and conflict as structural elements of this reality, and strive to manage them rather than deny them or assume their disappearance.