LIVE TO REASON: The Gist of Life

THE GIST OF LIFE!             Why are we born? What is the purpose of this life that we carry? Whats life's sanctity? This is the most profound and totalizing problem of all living existence. There are no more solemn questions than these. If you have never asked yourself these questions you're like an illiterate before a text to read. Billions of our kind have classified these problems as religiosity. It's the subject matter of all religious convictions – that which Karl Marx chose to describe as 'the opiate of the masses'. It's the questions that all of science has failed to conclusively address; zoologists, botanists, physicians, chemists, sociologists, economists, theologians, philosophers, scholars and atheists alike. The quest for knowledge of the physical world and its ultimate meaning is deeply a part of all of us as is our very existence. Spirituality appends a divinity to life; it postulates that God infuses an immortal soul into each person at the moment of conception, intrinsically giving rise to the imperative that we are living for something greater than the corporeal – we have a metaphysical providence. This is a subject on which science has nothing to put forward, as it lies wholly outside scientific exploration. Some scientists have attempted to 'capture' the soul as it departs from its lifeless body, but those experiments have constantly drawn blanks.             For all intents and purposes, the vision of the rationale and destiny of mankind pits science against religion. In what might seem as a perceptible attempt at consensus, both parties have marshaled in different conjectures that seem to meet midway in the philosophical meadow. Philosophy seems not to over bearingly lean towards science nor towards religion. Take for instance quantum physics in which case the theory of relativity was used to justify the relative nature of ethics, or the contemporary attempt by anti-feudist protestants to let science be the norm of what is ultimately affirmed as the ultimate, defining truth about man's origin and destiny through the theory of 'Intelligent Design'. In their extremities, both science and religion present views that seem rather not up to scratch. Take for instance the issue of origin; science, through the theory of evolution describes the 'development' of the natural world from the initial explosion known as the 'big-bang' through the formation of the nuclei of atoms and the appearance of organic life culminating in the emergence of mankind, while a theological standpoint presents through the creationists a theory that God created everything about six thousand years ago – a literal reading of the Bible.             THE FACT? It can be scientifically proved that certain stages in evolution cannot 'yet' be rationally explained, and besides, can there really be a 'big-bang' of nothings? There had to be at least two things for a bang, where did these things come from? And could God have created rocks with a million year old fossils inside them? In the end, the reality is that reason will never clash with faith, nor science with religion, nor rationale with belief, neither in antagonism nor in accord – for the simple reason that the spiritual, or non-material dimension is excluded right from the very beginning from the scientific method which is a particular application of reason that seeks to understand the relations of causality between events that are purely material, physical and measurable. When the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson heard about relativity and how it was likely to have a very big effect on theology, he thought it his duty to learn something about relativity, but was soon driven to a state of intellectual desperation. So he just decided to ask Einstein straight up, "what effect will relativity have on theology?" Einstein replied quite definitely, "None whatsoever! Nothing to do with theology!" CONFUSED? To put it in a layman's perspective, I guess what I am trying to say is that a man can be as certain that his wife loves him as he can be of the force of gravity on earth – both faith and reason, singularly or collectively, can be the basis of justifiably sound beliefs, and engaging in the debate between science and religion is just an exercise in vainness.             Has all these idealistic gobbledygook settled our piqued curiosity to our mysterious presence in all of reality? For me, certainly not. In my attempt to search for a 'personal' answer to this age-old cliché, I would like to begin with the whole, and then narrow that down to the constituents; Deductive Reasoning – what is true for the whole subsequently holds for the constituent parts; all countries in the tropics don't ever experience snow, Kenya is in the tropics, so it never snows in Kenya. Ultimately, things - living and non-living - play an important role in maintaining the miscellany of our planet. Elements continually pass from inanimate chemical compounds, are picked up by the living and when these die off, they end up in the inanimate again. All species and non species are there for the collective ultimate purpose of maintaining this complex balance. The cycle of existence – plants pick up minerals and water from the ground, animals feed on plants, animals and plants end up as minerals and water. In a less broader sense, within these universal cycle, every sub set of living or inorganic thing plays a precise part in keeping the cycle going. Ideally, nothing ever moves from or into the cycle. All living things, in their collective role as a particular genus play their humble role in the cycle. Within the species groupings, every individual's role, everyone's singular obligation to the species is clear cut – to play a role in its propagation and perpetuation, to keep their own species going so that they continue to play their part in this larger ultimate balance of things.             The indubitable fact is that every plant; algae to giant figs, every animal; protozoa to humpbacks and tuskers are there for this sole purpose of procreation – keeping their very kind on the planet for as long as possible. Undeniable fact two – until very recently, the only way, and still the best way to procreate is by mating. BINGO! That's it folks! There never was, there is not, and there shall never be a greater calling. Genesis 1:1 multiply and fill the earth. Let's face it people; YOU WERE BORN TO MATE, TO HAVE SEX! Oh, so you are laughing now? You think its humorous? You think this has turned into one of those comic columns? Well, dig this! How many of those discovery channel programs point you in this direction; the fact recurs in all species; the salmon struggle against creaks and rapids to go mate and die, the black widow spider kills its mate immediately after mating, the queen bee feeds on a special diet in preparation for its mating with all the drones and her lifelong goal of continuously laying eggs, the drones die soon after mating, the lions live in a pride in which one male is the leader and the females take turns to mate with him, wild stallions mark off their territory and defend their mares aggressively from competing males, wild geese fly across the entire American continent just to mate, lay their eggs and to brood and on and on. It's the undeniable drift of life.             Let's examine the life of a run of the mill human male; he goes through a rather aimless childhood; playful, learning and mimicking, just living for the day, without a single care. Then comes adolescence and he is suddenly aware of his sexual needs. He is confused, and acts naively. His hormones are on the rage; only societal norms, morality and his inexperience keeps his pants zipped up, otherwise teenagers would start mating like chickens do. He progressively outgrows puberty and learns to better control those desires, but still barely subscribes to societal expectations of one man one 'vote'. The young man of twenties gradually becomes bolder and capitulates to his desires more frenetically; casual sex becomes the norm, prostitution bears root, sexual deviants roam the neighborhoods, probably out of frustration in sexual triumphs, masturbation, incest, pedophilia, rape, sodomy, pornography, orgies, homosexuality, anything goes; experimenting is the key. This mating frenzy continues for the better portion of his adult life, but slowly but surely he runs out of steam, sometimes, for the late bloomers, as late as the end of senility. The man then begins to wither, dusk descends on him as old age ravages his tenacity, and he finally succumbs, a sardonic smile on his face for his legacy continues – he has left behind a string of offspring – enough to fill a classroom, and his lineage completes a school. Beyond that – NOTHINGNESS; just like a dog, or the shed leaves of a maple, dust turns to dust. I know those of staunch faith are almost jumping out of their skins right now – TRUTH? Just like a road kill, he sure festers after death, the bacteria have to have their way.             Why would anyone think that it would be any different? Is it because we think we are the cleverest? The chosen ones? The master species? Or is it because we are a social species? Is there really a reason enough to justify our supposed difference? Aren't we ultimately just mammals? Animals? Living things on planet earth? Isn't our destiny to keep humanity going? So you are now asking – why do we go to school? Why do we work? Why do we do all other things that we do? Well, don't all other living things do the same? To achieve their purpose in life, species must first and  foremost keep themselves alive; they must eat, and defend themselves, they form adaptations with regard to feeding, defense etc. To increase their longevity; the more you live the more you mate. They also do other things to attract the most suitable mates, to create the highest chance of perpetuating themselves, it's some kind of intra-species rivalry for partners. Gorillas thump chests, peacocks display tail feathers, herders have staged mock fights and men flash riches, displays of intellect, muscular superiority, voice and wild calls, eyes are twitched, and the ever flirty females ardently watch, taking stock, encouraging the fierce competition, until they are ready to make the decision – YES, in every courtship game, the decision is the female's, never the male. It has even been suggested that men reflexively make an attempt to display their crotches when they have designs on a female, and the most across the board super flirt for females; swelled behinds, raised tails, pherohormones – see why no mortal man can resist a second glimpse at that curvaceous behind. THE TRUTH IS THAT SEX RULES THE WORLD, IT MAKES IT SPIN.             So you still think that its all a little bit far fetched? Then let's examine Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs that remains valid today for understanding human motivation, and note, Maslow initially studied rhesus monkey for his research. According to Maslow, each of us is motivated by needs; our most basic of needs are inborn, having evolved over tens of thousands of years. Maslow's hierarchy of needs helps to explain how these needs motivate us all, it states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well being are satisfied are we concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal development. Guess what's among these so-called physical needs? You're right on spot! SEX! Biological and physiological needs are air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex and sleep. These are followed by the safety needs of protection from elements, security, order, law, limits and stability. Then there are belongingness and love needs; family, work group, affection, relationship etc. esteem needs are; self esteem, achievement, masterly, independence, status, dominance, prestige, responsibility, cognitive needs are knowledge, meaning. Aesthetic needs are appreciation, search for beauty, balance, form etc. then there are self actualization needs;  realizing personal potential, self fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences and at the very top are the transcedentory needs; helping others to achieve self actualization. Note the distinction between sex and relationship. Sex is part of the most basic needs. It means that all human action, even when aimed at achieving a higher ranking need, sublimely, primarily aims at satisfying the very basic of our needs first.             Even from a different psychological perspective, all human behavior is influenced by the three great complexes; the ego complex, the sex complex, and the herd complex. There are other minor complexes, but these three sum up all human behavior. The ego complex is the instinct of self-preservation. You see it in the way you assert yourself, in vanity, in pride, in fears. The sex complex includes the mating instinct – love, jealousy, the parental drive; while the herd complex urges us to fraternize – to feel loneliness and isolation in the absence of others, it governs our relationships with others. In so many ways, almost all animal species exhibit these complexes. Again, sex comes out tops with the complexes. Perhaps a more harmful complex that is unique to man is our superiority complex that makes us think we are so out of the ordinary that the rules don't apply to us. The inescapable fact is that sexual drive directs a lot of our actions; the way we relate with  other people, mostly the opposite sex, and also same sex who are our competition in this age-old primitive game of courtship. Our mating instinct is a powerful subconscious driving force of our actions and one that cannot be entirely turned off no matter how hard we try. It would probably take the changing of our entire biochemistry to turn it off. It's intrinsic in us, in all species, in nature. It has been suggested that our libido is the sole propulsion for all human behavior. That would arguably imply that top achievers have peak libidos and vice-versa; Bill Clinton certainly did, and so did the wisest man who lived the earth – King Solomon had 700 concubines, and so did so many others who certainly wouldn't tell us openly. Even athletes seem to know that a dose of the sex hormone, testosterone, will have them at peak performance, who are we to argue with the facts?             Important questions pop up though; if sex for procreation is our purpose in life, what about sex for leisure, for just enjoyment? Where does that leave homosexuality? How about chastity? Can sex be just for fun? Does our compulsion then end straight away after the bumping and grinding? It has been documented that only humans, and a few monkey species actually play sex just for kicks. An important facet of reproduction however is parenting. Parenting is of different significance to different species; it's almost non-existent in plants and in some animal species. But in most, especially so in primates, parenting can never be underscored. We rise beyond just mating and giving birth; we endeavor to instill survival, living and interaction skills to our offspring, so that they have an even better chance than we ourselves had. Parenting has even been fronted by some as the 'greatest calling' – the purpose for life – ask Dr. Benjamin Carson. SIMPLE TEST; ask any human, anybody you know, to sincerely and truthfully tell you at what point their own lives became secondary to someone elses? If  you could only save one person by donating your heart, would you choose your mother, your father, your friend, your spouse or your daughter? Or would you choose your own life above all others?             THE TRUTH? Like always, I don't know, I have no idea; I know only what I believe, and that is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reasons. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of realism. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend, just take a stab at understanding a little of this mystery everyday. Share Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Awesome Inc. theme. Powered by Blogger.