Humanity

The human nature, our nature and what it means to be human is still an ongoing discovery and mystery, refinement and concealment. What we have learnt, unraveled and realized so far about our nature is baffling, inexplicable and exhilarating. On the other polarized end of the spectrum what remains unknown and what lies un-ventured is profoundly transcendent. What intrigues and perplexes us, what puzzles and astounds us is still enigmatic.

The deepest and furthest reaches of the cosmos are being studied. The nature of quasars, space-time geometry, warm-holes, quantum entanglement and the cryptic nature of the double helix DNA are all under investigation. The anatomic elegance and physiological efficiency of the human body, the cellular organization and histological function of tissues, the evolution of life, the meticulous complexity of the brain, the neural connectivity and plasticity and the geophysical attribute of the earth’s core have been explored to formidable distances and unchartered frontiers.

Our sexuality, societal values, existential quests, normative principles, economic judgment and environmental perception are all under intensive scientific scrutiny which is razor sharp in its nature. The scientific method arrives at conclusions usually after rigorous testing of hypotheses and precision measurements unlike superstition and whimsical thoughts.

We dared to put man in orbit. We also succeeded in having our footsteps over the lunar landscape and watched the earth rise from the hostility of space, a defining image of our civilization and the politically heated space era. “That one small step for man, was a giant leap for mankind”. Perhaps the next leap could be terraformation of planets of our solar system or exoplanets of other systems and marching towards an inter-galactic voyage.

We exhibit the highest stage of cognitive development and sophisticated civilization, yet quarrel over tribal issues and engage in genocide and intended infanticides. Our aspirations are phenomenal and our ambitions far greater than our sheer size. However the level of discord and confusion in our nature is literally indescribable. In an age of reason and enlightenment, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, gene programming and space exploration, global partnership and regional fraternity looms a consuming terror and fragmentation, discord and dissension, hostility  and brutality at never seen scales before. The 20th century witnessed the greatest discovery in science and the gruesome horror of the two world wars.

Is this a duality or dichotomy? Does this represent polarism or centrism? Our own being is torn apart between reason and emotion. Our identity is stranded in a furious battle between spiritualism and carnalism. Our personality is stretched between holism and reductionism. Is this some sort of a spectrum or a continuum?

The confusion emanates and resides in our ingenuity and indifference, creativity and destructiveness. The paradox blossoms between our complexity and Simplicity.

Several reductionist approaches have been adopted by thinkers to explain our very fabric and core of humanity from a cosmological vantage point, man is a remnant of stellar material or more precisely a star dust. Evolutionary biologists argue that man is an advanced primate. Biochemists think that all that makes us human is nothing but a long carbon chain. Social scientists emphasize the fact that we are political animals motivated by ego and power obsession that couldn’t be quenched easily. But can these inadequate descriptions suffice? Can they encompass the entire spectrum of humanities experience? Can we arrive at solid conclusions arguably on perhaps the ultimate quest based on still evolving understanding of physical and computational sciences?

Our nature, what it means to be human is a showcase of clash of titans and a platform of chaos and harmony, water and fire, earth and air.

To humanity.