The question why are we here has probably been asked by man countless times in his time line of existence. Despite being an organic aggregation of biochemical components, the breadth of man’s intuition and intelligence defies the paradox of the intricate simplicity in its construction. Our bodies have billions of cells each of which is made up of billions of even smaller structures in the form of amino acids and other building blocks for life. In turn, these are made up of even smaller particles called atoms. No one will ever see an atom with the naked eye and this literal introspection of sorts regarding the stuff that make up every concrete thing can be intellectually overwhelming - assuming of course that a person dares to foray into cerebral realms.
Most people have the penchant for romanticizing things. Not wanting to be in the dark, some would try to explore his world and his universe to study the forces that move it. The information that he gets from these experiments enable him to be more secure in his future. This distracts him from wandering to the unmapped regions of the intellectual landscape and saves him from confronting questions that have no answers. When science falls short, those who can’t take the agony of uncertainty make things up and try to pass it off as the truth. This masquerades in the form of realism wherein one tries to find purpose and meaning through symbols and events in one’s life. Once the symbolism and events crossover and are interpreted in the context of belief systems and esoteric creeds, it stops being real.
This is of course the realm of religion and theology.
As proven by its staying power and across-the-board popularity, it’s fair to say that most people would need some sort of crutch to live through one’s life. Uncertainty just exposes one to an immense amount of anguish, anxiety and depression. Not knowing what lies ahead can turn people into nervous wrecks who would be paranoid and uneasy about everything they experience in life. Their incessant worries and fears are tamed and controlled by their belief. All people are ignorant one way or another because of the things that we will never know for ourselves in our lifetime, but to suppress this, most would choose to surrender this ignorance to something that claims to be genuine, accurate and real. His critical side has little say in this aspect of his life - despite skepticism, the possibility of being left in the dark is more daunting and unacceptable to those already weary of life. This is why that school of thought sells - not everyone can step out and say that there is none.
As a young boy - about six or seven years of age — I would often have a hard time sleeping because of these nagging questions in my head. As I try to bury my face in my pillow to lull me to sleep, I often asked myself not why am I here but how did ‘here’ happen.
You see, the universe is a vast collection of everything that we know and even more things that we have yet to know and a plethora of entities that we will never know. The universe as a confluence happened as an event and as an entity. It is governed by various forces and man-perceived laws that were arbitrarily put into a form that we could understand. The things that we see now is just one permutation and one combination of what the universe could have been. This thought would could also be moot because the possibility of the universe never happening as an event. The universe was literally something that didn’t necessarily need to happen. Life happened.
And yet, it happened. They all happened.
There is greatness in that occurrence but to those who have the intellectual depth to explore this dark and mentally-draining realm. Though one could suggest research and further experiments, human intelligence would only reach to a particular amount that there will always be room for anxiety to breed and propagate. The word choice gets thrown around a lot, but I personally don’t think that I had a choice.
My brain doesn’t come with an off switch. I will explore those deep trenches in my idle time whether or not I consciously choose to do so. Most people would just look at me and dismiss me as someone who is simply odd or disturbed when I wax nonstop about this topic. Unsurprisingly, few will have the intellectual mettle to even grasp what was actually bothering me. Clearly, an overly inquisitive mind can prove to be burden especially when make-believe fairy tales don’t work to pacify the neuronal rancor and chaos that comes secondary to the helpless feeling of knowing what lies ahead.
To combat the helplessness and desperation, man romanticizes his persona into a duality. He constructs the idea of the body and the soul. The flesh is something that is easily corrupted by the elements. It can be mangled, burned and butchered in such a way that it would no longer resemble the original form once the transformational processes are done. The soul of course is the ultimate manifestation of man’s arrogance and denial. Through the soul, man consoles himself that his essence transcends that of his mortal manifestation and has the ability to defy time. Time corrupts flesh. The soul is virtually invincible to the threats that make continued mortal existence precarious.
Despite my Atheism, I too struggle with the idea that my consciousness was a mere result of the firing of neurons and the release of neurotransmitters. There is an innate need to rebut the statement. We were conditioned to see ourselves as the best life form there is - at least on earth. Despite this denial of sorts that I am a mere aggregation of flesh and bone, I do not see this as a reason to subscribe to made-up beliefs that other troubled individuals concocted to either put themselves at ease of create a hoax that would eventually win the hearts and minds of millions. The thought of being no greater than your mortal self is saddening, but it is no reason to romanticize and fabricate an overly complicated lie.
And here it stands. I live a life that would likely be plagued by the hyperactive and unstoppable machinations of my brain. I am predisposed to explore those areas of permanent misery. Sometimes, I feel like this type of thinking is quite ironic for the pathetic pile of connective tissue that we are.
Existence was never a choice - yet we did. Having me exist as the person as I am now required the union of two cells that correspond to a one-in-a-billion event. Another combination would’ve yielded a totally different person - and my consciousness and the very essence of who I am would’ve never existed.
And yet I did. It is a statistical probability, but the funny thing is, we only see the anomalies that managed to actually break through the plane of statistical probability and permutation into the realm of actual, palpable and concrete entities. This is quite similar to the universe - it could’ve totally been something else, but this is what we have now. We are left to be alone in a rocky ball hurtling across space wondering for eighty years or so before our entire beings are swallowed up by oblivion.
I apologize if this just sailed over your head, I would be the first one to admit these types of thought experiments are not for everyone. Only those who continue to dare to really think and suspend their fairy tale beliefs could ever tap into the vast chasms and trenches that are often times unexplored.
I also apologize for the limitation of language. Language is but an arbitrary system that was used by man to make sense of the randomness interaction. The words by themselves may not really be an accurate depiction of how puzzled, mesmerized and disturbed I am with this entire phenomenon which I still do not have a name for.
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The Crutch of Intelligence by Blogie Robillo
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Comments ( 37 )
PrudenceI believe it’s when we stop thinking that the universe was made for us is the time when we’d truly appreciate the beauty in everything. We, as humans, have been self-centered in relation to the universe; we think everything has to be because of us or has to involve us.
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May 04 08 at
12:37 am
BlogieWe can argue to no end about how religion came about — whether it was truly divinely inspired, or concocted and perpetrated by devious people. So let’s not. The point is moot, just like arguing existence, I should think.
Imagine a box. The mind will be able to define this entity only if it can perceive the object’s limitations: its inside and outside. Beyond merely defining things, however, the human mind has the capability to, and will always, look for what’s beyond limitations.
Now, imagine the universe. Can you imagine the universe having a limit? It could. But, can you fathom that there’s absolutely nothing beyond? The mind will struggle against this concept of oblivion. So, if it’s not nothing, then there must be something. And that something can never be the creation of mere mortals and their craftiness, because it is beyond our reach and comprehension.
I’m not trying to convince you of anything. I’m just trying to convey how it is that I am a believer. (And, believe it or not, I was able to read your long post with no intellectual difficulty.
)
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May 04 08 at
12:41 am
PrudenceI believe it’s when we stop thinking that the universe was made for us is the time when we’d truly appreciate the beauty in everything. We, as humans, have been self-centered in relation to the universe; we think everything has to be because of us or has to involve us.
This post reminded me of an imagery I associate with Sophie’s World (I think). Somebody’s supposed to have pulled out the hare out of the magical hat and everybody’s supposed to have been utterly convinced it’s the world they know. But then someone looked for means to see around, to check if that’s all there is and found that by climbing out of the hare’s fur, he can see another world, a world different from that beneath the hare’s fur. That somebody pointed to the others, “there’s the world out there!” But nobody cared enough to listen because they’re already too comfortable to be bothered.
Okay, now I’m ranting. Haha.
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May 04 08 at
12:43 am
benjBlogie: Hi, Sir! Thanks for reading. I never meant to imply that those who don’t share my stance are not smart enough to get it - but I did want to weed out the simpletons who will surely not get this. :p
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May 04 08 at
12:48 am
benjAnyway, Blogie, for me, the uncertainty is not an excuse to believe in the esoteric. Accepting that there are things that are beyond what one could know is a more courageous concession than just submitting oneself to a human construct that was made to supposedly make sense of things.
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May 04 08 at
12:56 am
BlogieOops! I didn’t mean to say that the uncertainty we have is what we believers use to equate to divinity / God / what-have-you. I used the universe imagery simply to portray my state of mind. : )
I believe, but not because the Church says there is a God. I believe because I acknowledge a supreme being in a way that is both emotionally and intellectually satisfying — but that is meant for face-to-face discussions, not here. My point is: I accept that there are things that I cannot understand fully in my lifetime, and at the same time, I believe in God. I am also, btw, very inclined towards the empirical. (One day I asked one of my science professors, who also happened to teach religion at the Ateneo, ‘How do you reconcile science and God?’ Her reply: “I don’t.”)
Oh and benj? Th divine does not have to be looked at as esoteric.
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May 04 08 at
1:07 am
benjIt is esoteric, Blogie. Well, it is to me. Let’s just agree to disagree on this one. Haha.
Kudos for the prof.
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May 04 08 at
1:23 am
mitchWhen I was 6 or 7, the only reason I couldn’t sleep was because I was anxious to go to school. We’re of the same age but you certainly had a different, and quite big I must say, issue to handle. Hehehe!
Maybe it’s a sign of weakness and stupidity to believe in something “romanticized” and hang on to it for dear life. But I think most people, with our inherent vanity , would prefer to believe that we’re not merely of “flesh and bones.”
Plus aren’t we all suckers for all types of romance?:D
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May 04 08 at
3:05 am
jaywalker@blogie
With all due respect, I think you made a lot of invalid arguments that don’t connect with each other.Firstly, you argued that the mind would struggle to grasp the concept of oblivion. And then you argued that because nothingness is hard to grasp, there must be “Something” outside the bounds of the universe.
These are weak points since reality isn’t defined by what is conceivable by the human mind. What is conceivable isn’t even constant across the human spectrum. Some minds can conceive concepts better than others. Yet reality is independent of this variability.
It’s hard to conceive how a particle can be in two places or can have more than one state at a given time. It’s also hard for the human mind to grasp concepts like infinite density, multiple histories or relative time. However these are phenomena that have been observed or are supported by generally accepted scientific theories. One only has to read up on quantum mechanics and general relativity to realize how modern science defies common sense and logic.
And finally you argued that this “something” cannot be a creation of mere mortals because it’s beyond our reach and comprehension. I fail to see the point of this argument, how you arrived at it or how it connects to your previous points. It even contradicts your previous point wherein you argued that the inconceivability of a concept strengthens the case for its antithesis. In this case the inconceivability of a god strengthens the case for his nonexistence.
I don’t know what you meant by “can never be the creation of mere mortals”. I don’t see the point of arguing that god wasn’t physically created by mortals.
If you meant god could not have been imagined by mortals, I think it’s safe to say that it’s easy to create a god using one’s imagination, provided one has imagination. It’s definitely easier to create a god in one’s mind than to formulate a scientifically plausible theory.
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May 04 08 at
3:56 am
Blogie@benj — Maybe (just maybe) one is an atheist because he/she perceives religion as something that is clique-ish? Is that what you mean by the divine being esoteric?
@mitch — I like your last statement. Rather flippant, but it breathes of happiness that’s not necessarily spiritual nor religious.
@jaywalker — This is the point where I say, I’d rather discuss this with you in person. If we go on here, it will never stop, trust me. So, I respect your views and will try to digest it later. (I just woke up again and I’m not in the proper frame of mind.) Just let me explain very briefly what I meant with my universe imagery: When we die, my mind refuses to believe that that is the end. There must be something beyond life. Sorry I wasn’t able to convey that earlier.Ciao for now!
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May 04 08 at
5:24 am
BlogiePahabol:
Benj? Install ka naman ng WP plugin for comment subscription. Makes it easier to follow comment threads, coz I’m too lazy to subscribe to comment feeds hehehe…Here’s the download link.
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May 04 08 at
5:27 am
Pinoy AtheistBlogie’s box reminds me of Kant’s ding-an-sich.
Anyway, nice article @ Benj. Maybe that’s why humans invented religion in the first place, to satisfy and ease this “agony”. Well the truth it, sometimes it works, religion do ease the agony…but so does spirituality. And when we talk about spirituality, it doesn’t necessary mean being religious. Spirituality sometimes fills up the void.
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May 04 08 at
9:15 am
Jon LimjapWhen I was 6 or 7, the person who could not sleep was my mother, because I was pestering her on why this is like this and why that is like that. She finally made me shut up when she gave me the encyclopedia.
I’ve always held the view that it doesn’t matter if we have purpose. We can give purpose to ourselves if we want to. If we want to be the living hell of the people around us we only need to diss everyone. If we want to be some sort of saint, we can be oh so kind and martyr-like. In the end the choice is OURS. It doesn’t matter if the universe was made for us or not. It really IS up to us.
As for the “body and soul”, well, quantum physics tells us that matter is nothing but energy in varying states. While we are alive we consume resources in order to re-emit the energy contained on those resources: we cease to emit that energy when we die. In the most absolute sense we are nothing but organic powerplants, designed to keep on trying to live forever, but designed to expire when our energy consumption exceeds the capacity to generate energy. Is there a body, is there a soul? Is there a spirit? However we think of it it’s all just the same: energy.
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May 04 08 at
9:44 am
benjHi Jon, so the choice to self delusion lies in everyone of us? What if one can’t see past the delusion?
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May 04 08 at
10:29 am
utakGAGOThis is - so far - an intellectual discussion, eh?
I’ve read every bit of this post and I have to say, especially when you mentioned yourself when you were still six or seven years old, that I have been experiencing (and have experienced) the nagging thoughts and questions about the truths and lies and everything. I hate myself for being such a deep thinker, but I can’t help but assume things and rationalize everything that is, in my own point of view, irrational.
I am still striving to find the clearest, not the most convincing, explanation that could stop my “worries” about these “mundane things” or whatsoever.
And so far, your explanation is another version of mine.
(I don’t think I need to check for the grammar, LOL)
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May 04 08 at
12:14 pm
RamillavWow, I never taught that thinking so deep about Why we are here could be so fashionable at times when half of the world is experiencing hunger… hmm, curious.
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May 04 08 at
12:25 pm
benjtaught? you mean thought, right? Before you grandstand on this blog you might want to try learning the english language first.
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May 04 08 at
12:32 pm
benjThe “real” problems are temporary problems that are coterminous with the sufferer’s life. These problems are trivial compared to the dilemmas that stretch to the end of time.
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May 04 08 at
12:35 pm
Jon LimjapIf one can’t see past delusions… that’s their problem.
Not yours.
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May 04 08 at
12:39 pm
benjThen Jon, it’s not a choice - for someone like me at least.
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May 04 08 at
12:40 pm
Socrates“taught? you mean thought, right? Before you grandstand on this blog you might want to try learning the english language first.”
You mean the English language right?
Anyway, you have a point in all of your atheistic perception of the world. But life is so much more than calculating cells and molecules and experimentation. Despite all your denial of the abstract things, I’m pretty sure that even for just once in the span of your scientific existence, you have looked up the sky, and witnessed the beautiful creations and thought about it for a moment. “Are these things really all just coincidences? Or is there a greater force behind?”
Sure that your claims of a universe existing without help from beyond temporal things is feasible. But you still can’t wholly disprove the fact that causes millions of advocates hold on to their beliefs.
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May 04 08 at
1:51 pm
benj^ That is the dumbed down romanticism that I was talking about. No, I don’t use my inability to understand certain things as an excuse to believe in make-believe constructs that don’t have anything else to stand on.
This isn’t meant to rebut anything. For the people who are willing to fall for fairy tales, rebuttals would be unnecessary. The believers could hold on to what they believe in for all i care. The conclusion that you got was not even the point I was trying to present.
Did you even read the entry?
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May 04 08 at
2:01 pm
JoeWe were also conditioned to think that there is such a thing as faith, and that faith is unquestionable. We were made to believe that there is a “prime mover”, there is this ‘greater force’ behind all existence. No more questions. There simply is.
Peace!
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May 04 08 at
2:55 pm
spliceanddiceOne cannot draw the lot of life without drawing the lot of death at the same time. We are here to die, apart from the ‘other things’ that go with life.
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May 05 08 at
7:22 am
micketymoc“Maybe (just maybe) one is an atheist because he/she perceives religion as something that is clique-ish?”
Let me propose this: one becomes an atheist when one perceives religion to be at odds with truth.
That’s how it happened to me, anyway. I mean, transubstantiation? Papal infallibility? Creationism? The overarching belief that a divine sentient being created the world and cares if I worship him? I don’t think any of these are true, and I’ve discovered that the parts of religion that are true aren’t dependent on religion to be true.
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May 05 08 at
10:56 am
benj@Blogie - I second what micketymoc says. A belief in a god is nothing but a romanticized set of assumptions. Yes, it’s clique-ish - and it’s a group of people who choose to not use their intelligence in certain areas for the sake of convenience.
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May 05 08 at
11:08 am
Renz“We were also conditioned to think that there is such a thing as faith, and that faith is unquestionable.”
Exactly. IMO, every person is born atheist until they are indoctrinated, basically tabula rasa, a blank slate. At an early age, we are “labeled” into a religion just because our parents are in it.
This thought experiment is somewhat related to the thought experiment done by Scott Adams, the writer of dilbert, (Turns out, he could be a serious person, whenever he wants to.) , in his book The God Debris (which you can download freely, btw). But this blog is better, methinks.
Good Job Benj. Will be waiting for more …
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May 05 08 at
11:59 am
BlogieThanks for installing the plugin, Benj! However, I’m not going to subscribe to this post. It used to be a discussion on intelligence and faith… now it’s turned into an argument between atheists and theists. So this will be my last comment on this post.
Look, people, stop trying to convince the other side. This post was about something focused, now it’s become too broad and unclear.
We had a good run, though, in the beginning, didn’t we, Benj? Till next time!
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May 05 08 at
3:05 pm
joyfulchickenOh yay, a comment subscription plug-in.
The nature of human intelligence and rationality is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, and I would love to discuss that stuff in person with you people someday. But for now, I’ll just subscribe to this thread and see if it turns into a flamewar. I like flamewars.
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May 05 08 at
7:50 pm
margotocea added these pithy words on May 05 08 at 8:35 pmBenj, would it be possible not to call the whole thing agonizing?
It’s the same romanticizing zone we spoke of before. It all comes off as burdening to you when you can actually find peace there.
I think I’m beginning to go back to Jiddu Krishnamurti again. Now that was agonizing! with the same dilemna of limited language as we all do.hehe. Be well.
Gian PaoloWhen I was around six years old, I couldn’t sleep alone because I was afraid of the dark. Not anymore.
While I do not believe that we will go to heaven/hell/whatever when we die, I cannot bring myself to believe that we’ll just rot and that’s it. My ego is telling me that there’s more to me than that. But that’s just my ego.
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May 06 08 at
1:23 pm
Gracei have always been a firm believer that there is a bigger and more powerful being. There is no point rationalizing everything. Your emotions and thoughts while making this blog is something that can’t be explained by science or philosophy. I think it is true that man’s intelligence is just the foolishness of God.
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May 09 08 at
4:08 am
micketymocGrace: there really is point to anything, but that’s no reason to stop doing something, right?
No, science and philosophy can’t fully explain our emotions and thoughts, but that’s no reason to stop applying science and philosophy to emotions and thoughts anyway.
Your reply suggests we should just stop thinking and leave it all to God. Sorry to break it to you, but there is no God to leave things to!
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May 09 08 at
7:02 am
EuriAccording to the Purpose Driven Life book, our reason for living is to serve and love God. But this, of course, only applies to theists.
If we associate everything to God, then wouldn’t it be like we’re giving God the task to treat as like dolls in a huge doll house called world? That when he grew tired of us, he could just “dispose” us whenever we want. Anyway, he could always make another billion of puppets in a blink of an eye so disposing 2 or 3 billion of puppets doesn’t really matter.
IMHO, no matter how much we cracked our minds out, we can never give a definite reason on why we exist, and why we should live this life. It’s all about how we should live it.
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May 10 08 at
9:53 pm
