What Does It All Mean?
What does it all really mean? You know. Life. All things being equal, the simplest solution is the best. Occam’s Razor. Life is a simple process, unfettered by ego, ideology, or opinion. The purpose of life, assigned at the biological level, as it applies to all living things, is birth, eat, sleep, fuck, and die. These five components of life are not chosen, and therefore usurp all other “meanings” we create to explain our existence. We don’t choose birth, we must eat, we must sleep, we are driven to fuck, and we have extremely limited capability to control when and how we die. And die we must, regardless of our desire to do otherwise.
The fact is that none of these absolutes are ours to possess or control because the biological process cannot be interrupted. Our intentions cannot pale the process that created us in the first place. Yet, with our consciousness, our self-awareness, comes ego. Our evolution might seem extraordinary, our abilities unmatched by other biological creatures. But, to whom or what are they extraordinary? To US. Outside of our conscious perception, as a species, that we are special, we really aren’t special. To state otherwise is folly, a magic trick we perform for ourselves to calm our fear and raise our spirits in the face of fact. And, that my friends is where logic comes into play.
A great friend of mine has expressed his love of life, and treats it as a giant mystery to be solved by science. He is a scientist of extraordinary talent, insight and dedication. He embraces the scientific methods of inquiry, observation, evidence, and falsification. Yet, even with the solid foundation of science, he still leans heavily on human emotion to navigate life’s challenges. While emotion is inherent in the human species, and possibly in species other than humans, there are illogical emotions that dominate our human life landscape. Emotions, while a powerful force in the human paradigm, are not always logical, nor are they impervious to logic itself. There are logical and illogical emotions, dictated by the context in which they are experienced and expressed. Love, for example, carries the dubious distinction of being both an emotion and a concept. The word itself is without definition due to its conceptual foundation, and the emotions assigned to it run the gambit of human experience. Love can be both logical or illogical dependent on the individual humans interpretation of it. A woman who has known the beating of fist against bone in a violent act throughout most of her life, all the while being told that it is being done out of love, may be inclined to associate the violence with love. Conditioned to accept this aggression as an act of love, she is more than willing to endure this abuse as a display of “love” for ,and from, her abuser. This “definition/emotion” of love is illogical. Love, expressed through a myriad of positive ways, from hugging a willing participant, to kissing a willing participant, to saying “I love you” to someone who knows and understands your definition of love, are simple and logical expressions of emotion. They convey the message of “love” that is understood at an emotional level and are positive in their conditioning. Pavlov’s dog, or conditioned response, is the key to understanding this. But, what’s more important is the fact that all living things are “conditioned” and therefore emotion is subject to this conditioning. Survival for any species is a matter of adaptation, and conditioning results in adaptation.
My friend is inclined to express his emotions with ethereal terms. Most people do. Words like “blessing”, “thankful” etc. permeate his descriptions and explanations for his existence. The word “blessing” infers “given to”. But, by what or whom? To a religious individual the word “blessing” is used in the context of “given” by a supreme being. But, to someone who claims no entity, the word should have no meaning. The word “thankful” used in the context of “I’m thankful to be alive” in a generic sentence, with no value given to a potential life threatening situation thwarted by a flesh and blood rescuer, should cause pause to a non-believer. To whom or what are you thankful? Is it logical to express thanks to nothing?
Logic is a great tool. If used to sift through the complex emotions of life, logic gives humans the ability to adapt to life easily. It conditions us to think critically in our own space and apply logic to our reality. It also offers us a unique and quantitative insight into how simple our life really is to understand. Without logic, we tend to create enormous complexity from the absurdly simple. While endeavors of science discover the complex nature of us and the things around us, the never ending question of “why”, as it applies to our existence, is not complex. Sure, I’d like to know why a tornado forms. Sure, I’d like to know and understand more about the mechanics of the universe. But, the chances of discovering the answers to all the questions I could ever come up with get smaller and smaller with each new question. The word “why”, a simple word, yet with too many answers to ever be discovered, becomes its own judge, jury and executioner. The fact that you can answer “why” with “why” is a dead giveaway. “Why” creates its own paradox. The word “why” when used in the context of attainable answers, is logical. Used in the context of unattainable answers, it is illogical. Here’s an example: “Why is the sky blue?” The answer was attainable. Even before the discovery, the question was logical. “Why does the universe exist?” The answer is unattainable. It is outside human understanding. Therefore, the question of “why” in this case is illogical.
When applying “why” to our human existence, the answer is already apparent when logic is applied. “Why do we exist?” There are two ways to come to a single logical answer. One is to apply logic to the word “exist”. Is “exist” a thing? If so, then what type of thing is it? Is it self-awareness? Is it a physical reality according to the brain? Logic says to exist is to have conscious awareness as perceived by the bearer. I “exist” because I perceive my existence. Therefore, to me, I am here. The second way to apply logic to this question is to substitute the word “I” for “we” in the context of “Why do I exist?”. The word “I” denotes a perceived awareness of self, and therefore begs logic to answer what is “I”? “I” is a descriptor assigned by my consciousness to describe what my consciousness perceives itself to be at the moment. Simple. Now, the answer is even simpler. We exist just because. Yes, just because. Our existence is only predicated by our consciousness. As part of a biological process, outside of the “I”, the “me”, we are meat and exist only in physical form at best. Our evolution is not framed in the here and now. Its is framed over millions of years, outside of our perceived time. Time, is only perceived through our existence, and is only relative to the moment we perceive it.
So, what does it all mean? Well, life really is simple. It is simple to understand and simple to live. While the physical and emotional challenges may try to condition us to make life complex, logic can keep the human apple cart from tipping over. My friend values life through emotions, as do I. But, I use logic to determine whether an emotion is valid or invalid. I also understand that my life is not special, unique, nor exclusive. In the grand scheme of my existence, there is no game to be played. There is no set moral or ethical code that comes before nature’s. I am neither afraid of, nor do I fear the pain of, death. I have already not existed. And why we exist is a not a question. The question is already answered. Because. I really don’t care. It does not affect me.
Many have come before, and many may come after. But, “I” am a complex biological form, a slave to evolution, a temporary consciousness, a product of physics. Without these things there is no “I”. To assign any emotion to my life, outside of what is logical, is conditioning the illogical into favor and disposing of the joy that “I” perceive while living. Kinda like going to a movie. You didn’t know anything about it till you saw it, and you knew when you got there that it had to eventually end. So, you might as well enjoy it, but don’t forget that it’s only a movie.
“I don’t remember anything before I was born, and I’m not going to remember anything after I’m dead. After I’m dead, there is no “I” to remember. “ -RJ Evans-
