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| ~ ∞ ~ Humanity – The Pinnacle of Evolution? 2/4 – The Essence of Life ~ ∞ ~ |
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From this, the question arises: What is it that really sets humans apart from other animals? Is it our ability to reason? To feel emotions? To communicate by language? To care for others? Or is it our free will? And what does having free will even mean? Wouldn’t it mean that we have the choice to stop and think about the consequences of our choices and actions?
We can begin answering these questions with the following: What sets humans apart from other animals is our ability to reason, plan, assign meaning, and cooperate; other than that, it is our mutual understanding and respect between peoples and societies that really sets humans apart from other animals.
This is where the term ‘spiritual’ comes into play. You see, ultimately, it is our spiritual nature that sets us apart and allows us to express ourselves creatively, with feelings and emotions; to do things such as art, music, sculpture, dance, creative writing etc. It is our spiritual nature that finds us asking the ultimate questions: one’s meaning in life, what happens when we die, is there something more than day-to-day existence?
There is a point, a moment we arrive at where the inevitable strikes us with its adamant presence – this is one of those moments. You see, if we are spiritual in nature, then this life is just one phase of existence and not our final destination. By the same token, if this life is only the first phase, then there is a very good reason for living a virtuous life, is there not? So therefore, maybe the real question we should be asking is: Why is it such a struggle to rise above these bodies and their desires to return to one’s spiritual origins?
Well, as pointed out earlier, we are highly evolved, sophisticated social animals, which brings about its own set of challenges and consequences. You see, most people lack both present moment awareness and sentient awareness, which makes it difficult to practice free will. The weakness of will, combined with ignorance is what gets us in trouble.
Now, let me ask you this: If you don’t have control over your thoughts, feelings and actions, then who does? Who’s in control, then? From this, the question becomes: Do you have free will, and furthermore, do we as humans have free will? Although it is widely believed that all humans have free will, it isn’t so straightforward as one might expect. Why is that? Let us explore this further and see if we can find out, shall we?
The question of free will is deeply profound and intriguing; it is one of the oldest and most enduring questions facing humanity, and hence it is of great importance – not only for its ethical implications, but also because our moral values spring directly from the experience of learning how to live and coexist with other people. Our understanding of free will in relation to ethics will influence the way we think about justice, the way we treat and meet other people, and the way we take care of other people in need of help and so on – see?
It is through our free will that we develop spiritually and refine our ethical faculties; and this is where it gets interesting. You see, the experience of free will is closely connected and related to the experience of self-awareness. The truth is that we can only apply free will to that which we are aware of, to that which we have “control” over; only if we are aware of ourselves, and thus of our actions – is it truly possible to experience that which we call free will.
And so you see, the question of whether humans have free will is not so straightforward as one might expect. Why is that? Well, firstly, we have choices from which to choose, but now the question becomes: If someone or something presents you with a set of choices, does it qualify as free will when you make the choice from the predetermined selection?
Secondly, having ownership over one’s life, health and well-being adds a level of responsibility and accountability that can be hard to get accustomed to. This is why most people prefer to live their lives in ‘autopilot’ mode, or just simply in a voluntary unconscious state. Thirdly, free will only apply to those who truly have it – not all people have the same will. In this sense, free will is a privilege – see?
So this being the case, we should ask ourselves: If most people live their lives in ‘autopilot’ mode, based on the contents and programs that are stored within their subconscious minds, how many conscious choices have they really made throughout their lives? Have they utilized their free will, and if so, to what extent? To what extent then can it properly be said that we have free will?
Keeping all that in mind, it is an understatement to say that there’s a certain irony in that we are searching for the signs of intelligent life in the universe, even though we cannot even recognize other forms of intelligent life here on Earth, let alone recognize and acknowledge the unity of humanity – there’s a huge dichotomy here – don’t you think?
The irony becomes even stronger and more apparent when we consider the fact that we cannot even coexist with other life here on Earth. You see, the irony is that we as human beings are evolved enough to realize that we have a deeper understanding of consciousness than other creatures we recognize, and yet we are not smart enough to realize that we are destroying the very conditions on Earth that make life possible for us.
However, upon deeper examination, it can be seen that maybe we do, indeed, realize that we are destroying our environment; but then it makes the situation even worse, does it not? In our hubris, we have lost our perspective about what is good and wholesome. Driven by the primal fear of death and survival, we are increasingly encroaching on other species and their habitats like savages; no matter how far we have evolved – this seems to be the defining theme that lives on.
From this, the question arises: Is that what intelligent sentient species really do? At this point, some might ask: What is wrong with us humans? Why is human history an endless saga of warfare, conflict, oppression, exploitation, domination and misery?
Well, usually this inherent part of humanity is explained away by our physical animal heritage. When we really think about it, we can realize that for thousands of years we have used it as an excuse to do nothing, to make no progress at all; we have used it as a convenient scapegoat when necessary. Therefore, our divisive behavior which make us fight and compete for food, shelter, territory and a mate – is justified by our savage animal instincts.
Unfortunately, in a similar way, many also turn a blind eye to the aforementioned oppression, exploitation and so on. This is where we go off the rails – big time. You see, all too often we just stand by and watch as these things happen – doing nothing, saying nothing. It is no wonder, then, that history repeats itself, would you agree?
It is our passiveness and ignorance that keeps us segregated, under the rule and influence of others, which in turn makes us frustrated. Our frustration turns to anger, and anger turns to fear that expresses itself as rage, which eventually turns against us. More to the point: every time we try to explain away our destructive, divisive behavior – what we are actually doing is that we are trying to escape the responsibility of our actions.
To be truthfully honest, when we are capable of explaining our actions with excuses – it tells us that we are well aware of what we are doing; justifying our actions with excuses is always a conscious choice – or do you beg to differ? However, as we continue to take a deeper look at ourselves as humans, we can see that we are far off from being truly conscious, rendering our so called free will questionable.
But even more to the point is the fact that we as humans are not acting divisively only because of our animal instincts, habits and behavioral patterns, but also because we choose to do so. This leads us to conclude that humans as we know humans – are like this; the truth is – no matter how difficult it is to bear: underlying all of our marvellous accomplishments in every field imaginable, we humans have also been the most ferocious and malicious beings to have ever lived on Earth.
Just like an animal going in circles and chasing its tail, so do humans – repeating their mistakes. For only through pain, seemingly, do humans grow. Through mistake, or suffering, or difficulty, they seem to realize the error of their ways. It is not to say they cannot learn in a pleasurable and comfortable atmosphere, for they can! But humans as we know humans, cannot believe the obvious, they cannot hear the truth, and they will not do what is good for them – this is why humans learn by their mistakes – see?
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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~
Get the Book: Awaken the Living Awareness Within – Discover the Keys to Happiness, Inner Peace & Harmony
~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~
Get the Book: Awaken the Living Awareness Within – Discover the Keys to Happiness, Inner Peace & Harmony
[ Click » here « to read the next part: Humanity – The Pinnacle of Evolution? 3/4 – The Essence of Life: Part III ]
Extra Material: Video: Society, A Perpetual Cycle [Alan Watts]. Video description: "Alan Watts talks about how our society conditions children to live with a constant frustration and worry about the future, and never learn how to live in the present."
