Energy, composing everything in our plane of existence, visible and otherwise. Colliding, fusing, repelling, radiating and combining, energy is the very definition of chaos, yet it is the precise foundation on which order is built. Balanced on a blade’s edge, energy forms asteroids, planets, stars, galaxies, and at least on our planet, life. It is the core of our duality, pockets of order in the chaos.
Life, the product of particle physics and quantum mechanics giving way to Newtonian physics, then to chemistry, and finally bowing to biology itself. A remarkably improbable event, life will nonetheless exist where it is able. An infinitesimally small, blue dot in the incomprehensibly vast universe, which may itself be in a sea of many, the Earth, our Terra Nostra, is a remarkably rare bastion of order in an ocean of chaotic energies.
Time, a concept developed by those with a finite amount of it. 13.82 billion years is the estimated amount of time our plane of existence, laws of physics, the universe has existed. Our own planet formed an estimated 4.8 billion years ago. Colliding, super-heated masses of energy coalesced, separated and settled over the course of eons to produce our solar system. Our particular rock would come to retain its heated, molten core, allowing the formation of a magnetic field, atmosphere, and retention of liquid water. The essence of chaotic order slowly building upon itself while remaining inescapable, life is indelibly defined by this remarkable force.
Cells, conceptually simple yet functionally impressive things. Lipid bilayers folding in on themselves, creating membranes which house proteins, amino acids and organelles which power the most advanced of creatures today. Beginning as objects hardly different from a virus, life struggled, fought the chaos, and shaped the very nature of this planet. Basic chemical reactions repeated, continued, combined with others of its kind to create ever more complex, self-sustaining cells over the course of eons. Prokaryotic cells gave way to eukaryotic cells, colonies of cyanobacteria reworked the very atmosphere of our planet, single-celled bacteria filling warm, shallow oceans the world over began to work together as multicellular organisms. Order built through chaos.
Death and rebirth, time and again our planet has provided this reality. Soft-bodied creatures in the Achaean, diversification of sea-based life in the Cambrian, early fish in the Devonian, land plants and insects in the Carboniferous, dinosaurs and large-scale diversification of life from the Triassic to the Cretaceous, dominance and diversification of mammals upon the downfall of the Jurassic-era world, emergence of the great apes, humanity’s more recent relatives the likes of Heidelbergensis and Neanderthalis, and finally anatomically modern man. A never-ending cycle of order fighting chaos, death and life, creation and destruction, the duality of our existence at its most apparent.
Struggle, the only true constant known to life on this planet. Survival demands it, our planet ensures it, our very neural structure, instincts and primal urges, compel us to challenge and overcome obstacles in our path. We are the product of hundreds of millions of years of such struggle. Fighting to survive, outcompete our adversaries, dominate the environment around us, continue our genetic heritage, give a safer, tamer world to our offspring, such prerogatives define life on this planet, and ourselves as a species.
Humanity, currently the undisputed, dominant land-based life-form on Earth. As impressive as this position is, we cannot escape the duality of our nature. Our reptilian brain structures still instruct us to respect strength and violence, to take, dominate, and win at all costs. Selfishness leads to survival, and survival is the rule of the day. In contrast, our more mammalian brain functions push us to be social, caring about others and their opinion of us, taking care of the community and cooperating with fellow humans for the greater good, promoting survival of the species over the individual. Both aspects of humanity, our urges to create and destroy, take and give, dominate and protect, accept what we have and struggle for something more, these urges define us, motivate us, keep us keen and working towards something greater. We are, in essence, both the figurative light and dark, good and evil, a delightful and terrible fusion of order and chaos.
Acceptance, this is required for one to truly live a fulfilling life. Our social customs, law codes, cultures and religions all acknowledge our duality, whether passively or actively. The reasons given for this duality vary based on custom and belief system, but the fact thereof remains inescapable. We may be born innocent and primarily ‘good,’ yet are selfish and self-absorbed from the outset. As we age the world forces one and all to adapt to the relative harshness of our existence, the more feral side of our nature.
Yet, caring people and institutions abound even in the most chaotic places on the planet. Family, friends, and communities still support each other in a way remarkably uncommon outside of the human species. With the exception of small percentages of the population which are either incredibly philanthropic or sadistically lack empathy, humanity is a never-stopping sliding scale between what we commonly consider good and evil. Rarely fully one, rarely the other, thin strands of order built up atop the chaos.
Thus, I propose the human species wholeheartedly embraces and adapts to this reality, mapping it onto more primitive belief systems if they must. Realistic and flexible values and beliefs within a humanistic worldview have been shown to be the most effective and equitable used to govern individuals and society today. Laws which acknowledge human nature, mitigating the effects of its negative components while preserving individual freedoms, are far more valuable than neo-puritanical governance we are too often saddled with today, which prefers to pretend the problem of humanity’s darker nature does not exist or remains entirely criminal.
Social structures and institutions which enact and personify the best in our species should be uplifted, ensuring a baseline equality for all citizens in the realms of education, healthcare, housing, food production, water distribution and energy consumption. Modern religion, notably the Semitic variety, with a focus on the supernatural and archaic, outdated beliefs supported by violent and arrogant deities, would better serve humanity to give way to less legalistic, discriminatory and close-minded versions of themselves, simply encouraging the selfless parts of human nature, pushing humanity to greater discovery and cooperation while admiring and appreciating the natural world.
All in all, humanity would do well to remember we were not the first, nor are we likely to be the last dominant species on this planet. Caring for our environment, responsible management of resources, supporting our fellow humans and building an increasingly free world are worthy goals we should work towards. Yet, we must also accept and relish our more primal nature. Our anger, violence and vanity, when properly harnessed, drive us to work harder, protect our loved ones, compete more intensely, and push everyone around us to be the best version of themselves. Our sexuality should be explored and nurtured in safe, sane and consensual environments, fulfilling one of our most basic urges in a healthy, gratifying manner for all involved. Our need to love, be loved, and feel wanted is intoxicating when met, and loved ones allow us to tap into our drive to better ourselves and our lives more so than nearly any force known to mankind.
Thus, I propose the human species wholeheartedly embraces and adapts to this reality, mapping it onto more primitive belief systems if they must. Realistic and flexible values and beliefs within a humanistic worldview have been shown to be the most effective and equitable used to govern individuals and society today. Laws which acknowledge human nature, mitigating the effects of its negative components while preserving individual freedoms, are far more valuable than neo-puritanical governance we are too often saddled with today, which prefers to pretend the problem of humanity’s darker nature does not exist or remains entirely criminal.
Social structures and institutions which enact and personify the best in our species should be uplifted, ensuring a baseline equality for all citizens in the realms of education, healthcare, housing, food production, water distribution and energy consumption. Modern religion, notably the Semitic variety, with a focus on the supernatural and archaic, outdated beliefs supported by violent and arrogant deities, would better serve humanity to give way to less legalistic, discriminatory and close-minded versions of themselves, simply encouraging the selfless parts of human nature, pushing humanity to greater discovery and cooperation while admiring and appreciating the natural world.
All in all, humanity would do well to remember we were not the first, nor are we likely to be the last dominant species on this planet. Caring for our environment, responsible management of resources, supporting our fellow humans and building an increasingly free world are worthy goals we should work towards. Yet, we must also accept and relish our more primal nature. Our anger, violence and vanity, when properly harnessed, drive us to work harder, protect our loved ones, compete more intensely, and push everyone around us to be the best version of themselves. Our sexuality should be explored and nurtured in safe, sane and consensual environments, fulfilling one of our most basic urges in a healthy, gratifying manner for all involved. Our need to love, be loved, and feel wanted is intoxicating when met, and loved ones allow us to tap into our drive to better ourselves and our lives more so than nearly any force known to mankind.
Humanity must fully embrace and discipline our nature if we are to properly harness and maximize its effectiveness, as individuals and a collective species. We are dualistic creatures, light and dark, good and evil, selfish and selfless, order and chaos, creation and destruction, we are the product of a dualist world in a dualistic universe. Struggle and competition will continue to define us, as will compassion, love, and determination. When accepted and internalized, the duality humanity possesses allows us to be the most dynamic, successful, reality-changing species to ever exist on this planet. In short, a channeled, fragile, dynamic order on the knife's edge of chaos.
Thanks for reading! This blog works in tandem with my YouTube channel of the same name. Feel free to check it out if you enjoy my content here. Come back often for regular updates, and see you next time...
YouTube channel here.
Thanks for reading! This blog works in tandem with my YouTube channel of the same name. Feel free to check it out if you enjoy my content here. Come back often for regular updates, and see you next time...
YouTube channel here.
