I Am, Therefore, I Think

What is it that separates humanity from the other creatures that inhabit the Earth? A gorilla has far greater strength than any man. A Cheetah, or even a dog can easily outrun a human. Sea creatures can swim faster and dive deeper. Birds have the power of flight. In matters of physical prowess, we humans are surrounded, on every side, by superiors from the animal kingdom. Consider the vast universe that reveals itself to us on a dark night. The best current estimate of the number of stars in the universe is some 10 to the 22^nd power. That is, a 1 followed by 22 zeros. We have, to date, no direct evidence that this universe harbors any thinking beings other than man. Many people, myself included, believe that God exists, but this view is not without controversy. Therefore, as far as is known, every poem or novel, every work of mathematics or science, every painting or sculpture, every symphony and every philosophical argument has its genesis in the human mind. If we exclude beings whose existence is disputed, then, in the immense, possibly infinite, expanse of all creation, human beings stand as the sole keepers of the flame of rational thought.

Surely the above conclusion must lay a significant responsibility upon the collective shoulders of humanity. Are there questions to be asked? Then it is we who must ask them. Are there mysteries to be solved? Then men must solve them. Is there art, music and literature to be created? Then humanity must create it. Is there a future to be built? Then we are the architects. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we humans are the only game in town. We cannot assume that there are other races in the cosmos to be our partners in thought. Until further notice, we are the custodians of mind.

That being said, we must seek to elevate mental achievement to the highest priority in all cultures. It is wise to try to cultivate a strong and healthy body, but mind is what humans are all about. To admire physical beauty or athletic ability is fine, but such attributes are trivial in comparison with the power of the mind. When cultural norms or economics hinder someone from maximizing his full mental potential, then that person has been cheated out of his birthright as a human being and humanity has been robbed of the contributions that such an individual might have made if allowed to reach his full development. If the minds of the world are to be properly nurtured, then instruction in reasoning and critical thinking must be made part of the educational curriculum from the very beginning. The citizens of the earth must have unrestricted access to education at both the elementary and advanced levels. It is in their own best interest for the peoples of the world to see that not one of their fellow citizens is barred from any educational opportunities by financial hardship, location or social status. Let every human being strive to develop his intellect as far as his own desires and abilities will allow. Only in this way can we mature as a people and stop squandering that which lies at the very heart of what it means to be human – the power of thought.

Introduction

One of the many outstanding episodes of the original “Twilight Zone” series is entitled “Five Characters In Search Of  An Exit”.  It is based on a short story called “The Depository” by Marvin Petal and it concerns 5 characters, an army Major, a hobo, a bagpiper, a clown and a ballet dancer who awake to find themselves in an empty cylindrical room without doors or windows.  The episode may be viewed here.  The Major was last to arrive, by means unknown, and has the following exchange with the others:

MAJOR: What's going on here?  Where are we?  What are we?  Who are we?  Who are we?

BALLET DANCER: None of us knows, Major.  We don't know who we are.  We don't know where we are.   Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.

MAJOR: How could that happen?

BALLET DANCER: That's the question we asked ourselves, a question with no answer, Major.  We're nameless things with no memory, no knowledge of what went before, no understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.


There is, in my opinion, no more direct, succinct description of the condition of humanity than this simple story.  Unlike the characters in the story, we, as individuals, do not wake from unconsciousness into a state of full mental awareness, complete with a knowledge of language and ideas.  Yet we are each born into this world with no knowledge.  We know nothing of the world into which we are suddenly deposited and nothing of our existence, if any, prior to our arrival here.  Gradually, we become aware that there are others here, others like ourselves.  From the others we learn that we are only one of billions who presently dwell in this place and that many billions have come here before us – and departed.  Arrived from where?  Departed to where?  Where is this place?  What are we?  Why are we here?

We soon learn that we are stuck to the surface of a large spinning rock that is circling an enormous ball of fire and that the points of light in the dark sky are other enormous balls of fire that are very far away.  How many of those points of light have rocks circling them?  Do any of those rocks have people stuck to them?  What is that seemingly empty blackness between the points of light?  How far does it extend?  Does it have an edge?  What is outside it?  Is it part of an even larger place that we cannot see?

And what of us?  Did we exist before coming here?  If so, then why can't we remember?  What kind of beings are we?  Are we just arms and legs and blood and bones?  Are we minds?  Are we both mind and body?  What happens when we leave here?  Do we go somewhere or just cease to exist?  Why are we here?  Do we exist for a purpose?  If so, then whose purpose?  Do we exist just to exist or for no reason at all?

We are not quite so ignorant as the poor characters in the story.  Much has been learned by those who came before.  Many things have been established with supporting evidence that is sufficient to justify assigning them to the category of the “known”.  Yet, the catalog of those things which we may justly claim to know is still dwarfed by the mysteries that remain.  It is the purpose of this blog to discuss anything and everything related to the nature and purpose of this place in which we  find ourselves, including the nature and purpose of our own existence.  We will discuss the Major's questions:

What's going on here?  Where are we?  What are we?  Who are we?

We will discuss them simply because, by their very nature and scope, they are the most important questions that any human being can address.