Ever since recorded history, the question regarding man’s existence has been one of the most crucial query ever made. Man in his deepest despair and probably in his greatest triumph would look to the heavens, and then look around him wondering where he came from and why is he here on earth. And for thousands of years the question is still begging for answer. This paper will look at old ideas like those coming from Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection and relatively new ideas coming from deep ecology to find meaning in existence.This study will also look at the real driving force of evolution and its purpose in the greater scheme of things.
Introduction In trying to answer the mother of all questions: why am I here and what am I doing here; man went through three distinct and major stages. The first one is through religion; man turned to theology to find answers for the most basic and complex questions about life and morality. Yet religion according to some is too simplistic. Well, it was not too simplistic when major religions were founded thousands of years ago.
It required deep and careful thought and engaged some of the greatest minds of ancient times.The real reason for abandoning religion is simply that man has found other means where he felt he has more control, unlike religion wherein the spiritual nature of the subject matter leaves him frustrated. It did not take long before someone realized that the idols and images modeled after things that could be seen in the earth and sky could never fully answer the deepest longings of man. A good number of educated men came to the following conclusion, “Theistic accounts of the origin, nature, and future eof the world seemed … to be inadequate, unsound, and, to a naive realist, contrary to the plain evidence of one’s senses” (Robson, 1987, p.
1).And so man tried another route and this time he turned to philosophy. With philosophy, the use of his mind and the rules of logic and rationality, man has found a place where he can stand and see God eye to eye. In the world of philosophy man can do leaps and bounds, circumnavigate the earth and travel through space without having to leave his chair.
At last man can be free to contemplate about his existence with a system that promises results that even though imperfect, its strength and great potential lies in the fact that it can be explained in human terms.Then, man discovered science. It is the byproduct of the Age of Reason, the enlightenment spoken by the brilliant minds of 18th century Europe. In Science philosophy was replaced with something more concrete. If philosophy has rules of inquiry, science elevates these rules to scientific laws.
The scientific method of finding answers to mind-boggling questions became the only acceptable standard to finding truth. Charles Darwin’s Theory The relegation of religion and philosophy invited controversies.Great minds pointed out to the inadequacies of the scientific method. But there was no other theory or scientific postulation that turned the world upside down than the theory of evolution as proposed by Charles Darwin. The English Biologist, published, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection … he (Darwin) argued that all organisms, including humans, are the end-product of along, slow, lawbound process of evolutionary change” (Ruse, 2003, p. 6).
Darwin adds that change is caused by natural selection or the survival of the fittest.The theory of evolution by way of natural selection threatened to rend the fabric of European society, a society built in the idea that God is the source of all things and the creator of life. Now, here comes a scientific – or so it seems – idea that man evolved from a series of events that could well be described as accidents. A simple interpretation of Charles Darwin – and if he is to be believed – makes man nothing more than a cockroach or worse a bacteria who happened to get lucky in a scientific sort of way.
And by virtue of some random change he developed a human brain.Darwin’s idea, under closer study will reveal the following assumptions, “…that dispersed, and lifeless atoms and molecules spontaneously came together over time, in a particular order, to form extremely complex molecules such as proteins, DNA, and RNA, whereupon millions of living species with even more complex structures gradually emerged” (Yahya, 1997, p. 151). Human Life Charles Darwin’s idea if taken at face value will definitely lead many to conclude that life is meaningless.
It should have provided great relief. Man should have rejoiced in this discovery of Darwin.Finally, the much sought after answer to millenniums of seeking has arrived. Man has found the answer to the question why he is here and what he is doing in this planet. And the answer is as empty as the far reaches of outer space.
Then suddenly, one gets hit by that awful feeling in the pit of the stomach. This answer, wherever it came from is not it. Something from within man revolts against the idea that everything is for nothing. It is as if, science to whom man surrendered all his hopes to find truth has led him to a dead end. How can this be reconciled?One way out of this dilemma is to go back to theology and philosophy. The other route is the reinterpretation of Darwin’s theory.
Deep Ecology A school of thought that could be used to reinterpret Darwin’s theory is called Deep Ecology. It was developed by a Norwegian philosopher named Arne Naess who asserted that the traditional view that man is the center of all things – living and non-living – is absolutely wrong. Naess argued that man and the earth are one and that evolution is not primarily geared for the survival of the fittest but it serves a higher purpose (Drengson & Inoue, 1995, p. 3).John Bonner, at least in principle supports the deep ecologist’s insight on evolution and he wrote, “While we readily admit that the first organisms were bacteria-like and that the most complex organisms of all is our own kind, it is considered bad form to take this as any kind of progression.
In the first place to put ourselves at the pinnacle seems to show the kind of egocentricity that has been a plague to science…” (1988, p. 5). The kind of evolution that deep ecologists are after is one that brings about a deeper self-realization as described in the following:Self-realization involves recognition that there is no core ego-self that is radically distinct from other entities. Self-realization is involved with the disclosure of the internal relatedness of all things, that is, that particular entities are but temporary knots in an interconnected cosmic web. “My” Self-realization then, cannot take place apart from the self-realization of all beings (Zimmerman, 1998, p.
2). Based on the above-mentioned statements it is now clear that Darwin’s theory of evolution is not only problematic in terms of its probability but it is also problematic in terms of the final end-product.The final product of Darwin’s world is a being supreme among others by virtue of natural selection. And having best others in a long process of survival of the fittest the end result is a species that has the right to dominate others.
In this view it is easy to deduce that man being the only being on earth that can manipulate and control others, then it follows that man is the most complex and the most highly ordered organism. Deep ecologists disagree with this view because they believe that it is now high time to put an end to such an egocentric view of man taking center stage in the evolution of the planet.Deep ecologists contend that the correct view is simply that every living thing on earth is evolving simultaneously and going to one direction which is self-realization. Man evolves together with the other living beings not in the center but as a participant, a mere knot in greater scheme of things.
Conclusion For ages man has struggled to find meaning in his existence. The age old question as to who he is and where he is going continues to hang above his head seeking resolution. So from religion to philosophy and then finally to science, man sought answers.Religion was the first and natural step to take for deep within man is the understanding that there is a higher being designing and sustaining life.
But as mentioned earlier there is no simple and stable way to go about finding answers using religion. Others even conclude that theistic ways of seeking answers is all too simple and therefore a new way of inquiry needs to be discovered. Philosophy was the next path that man took in the hope of solving the riddle. Philosophy is easily understandable and to a human mind it is more accessible than using spiritual means.Philosophers then tried to establish rules for inquiry and the way in which to find knowledge and truth. But just like religion, philosophy could not fully answer the deepest questions of man with the highest level of certainty.
Science came along and for a while it was considered as the ultimate revealer of truth. With scientific laws man has established a standard of finding truth. Everything went well until Charles Darwin’s theory came along with a bold and sweeping goal, which is to put an end to that age old quest. But upon closer inspection Darwin’s theory is unacceptable because it concludes that human existence is for nothing.
Irregardless if the conclusion was reached using scientific means, man could never rest in the realization that he is a product of blind chance at best and an accident at worst. Aside from the depressing conclusion brought about by the Darwin’s theory, the idea that organisms came about because of a slow process of natural selection, created an idea that man is on top of the food chain. The natural consequence of Darwin’s views gave man license to do whatever he pleases because science has proven that he is the survivor in the ultimate game of survival of the fittest.Due to these problems an alternative view was sought. Man can revert back to religion and philosophy.
But another way of reconciling the conflicting views would be to reinterpret Darwin’s theory. The best possible reinterpretation is one that came from the Deep Ecology school of thought. Deep ecology proposes that evolution is indeed real but it is achieved through the evolution of all and the end goal is self-realization of all beings including man. The self-realization is that all beings are one and interrelated.
