The Nature of Existence and the Existence of Nature

I would argue that existence and nature are synonymous and, as Aristotle would say, “self-evident.” However, there are definitive so-called “laws of nature” that define existence, are immutable and govern all things across time and space from the very largest to the very smallest. The most profound and puzzling question that has no straightforward answer is how and/or why does anything exist at all? This question has never been satisfactorily answered by Aristotle or anyone else up to and including present time. Leaving aside this unfathomable mystery leads me to consider a more pragmatic issue: What is our role in nature as we search for meaning and purpose in our existence?

From the geological record, humankind evolved on planet Earth from ape-like ancestors a few million years ago. As our enlarging brain capacity to think has evolved, we have tried to explain our presence on Earth through myth, religion, philosophy and, more recently, science.

All things, whether animate or inanimate are subject to the universal laws of nature; a rock and an animal both must yield to gravity. Yet living things possess something extraordinary: the capacity to adapt and change their responses to those very forces (e.g., a bird can fly by adapting its shape and body composition to take advantage of the lifting power of air).

By far the most adaptive animals on planet Earth are humans. The interaction of the forces of nature over the millions of years that life has evolved here led to the creation of today’s human species Homo sapiens — with all of our idiosyncratic differences. These have emerged from geographical and cultural adaptations to natural forces — those same forces creating changes and sometimes even extinctions of entire species, including at least eight human species before our own species emerged about 300,000 years ago.

One of the many capabilities that give modern humans a unique place in the structure of life on Earth is our ability to not only look beyond Earth’s atmosphere at other celestial objects, but to actually travel beyond our own world and look back at Earth from the darkness of space. From this perspective we can see just how small and seemingly insignificant we are relative to the universe we exist in.

The main argument I want to make is regarding human responsibility with respect to nature and existence, and the risk and rewards in managing this responsibility. First, I am convinced that every spiritual or religious movement that has previously existed or is currently in existence in some way attempts to explain nature and to give our lives a meaning and purpose beyond just being alive. In addition, the belief in an afterlife gives humans a way to diminish fears of death and separation from life and loved ones. The difficulty with religion, profound though its influence has been, lies in its reliance on belief rather than knowledge. This does not mean that religion or spirituality is without value or meaning. Many religious and spiritual teachings are aligned with nature’s laws even if they are expressed metaphysically in metaphors and parables. In contrast, the laws of nature rest not on conviction but on observation of phenomena that can be repeated, measured and independently verified.

One fact stands as irrefutable: Every human throughout time, regardless of religious or spiritual belief and along with every other living or inanimate object, responds to the universal forces of nature.  Another way to think of this is that all religions are subordinate to the laws of nature — one of which is that all living organisms are transformed by death into an alternative state of matter.

My second deduction follows on from the above. Spiritual and religious doctrines, along with cultural tribalism and ethnocentrism, provide some comfort and create communities for humans to coexist and even thrive. Unfortunately, however, some major religions teach their followers their “God” is the one true “God,” and this has led to attempts to convert, discredit and even destroy humans with differing “beliefs.”

Today, a more rational, scientifically based analysis is exposing a dangerous confluence of negative factors that are threatening the continued existence of life as we know it. Our ignorance and willful disregard of nature’s immutable laws of existence are putting our entire planet’s ecosystem on a course of self-destruction. The Earth is the only place we and all the other life as we know it can coexist, but we are desecrating it and selfishly gobbling up its precious resources with little regard for the long-term consequences. We are ignoring what science is trying to tell us about the inevitable consequences of our short sighted, avaricious actions. Most political leaders, like most religious leaders, tend to serve their faithful followers first, rarely aligning with what is beneficial or necessary for the planet as a whole. It may be that as a consequence of human ignorance and/or willful destruction (as in a nuclear war), modern humans along with many other living creatures will fail to survive. My hope though, is that reason and self-preservation will prevail and as a species we use our extraordinary intelligence and adaptability to work in harmony with nature and all of its animate and inanimate resources so that we and the planet will continue to exist in ways we would wish.

Perhaps we could consider embracing the challenge under the umbrella of one “church,” only a “Universal Church of Nature?” Under its umbrella everyone and everything belongs automatically, and humans may continue to thrive though exploring and exploiting, in beneficial ways, both nature and the nature of our existence.