Finding Meaning in the Human Experience

There are many elements in the experience of being human. Some are as fact, others continue to be debated and have no clear answer.  Shlain in The Alphabet Versus the Goddess says, “The right brain is better than the left in perceiving space and making judgments as to balance, harmony, and the composition of gestalts” (Shlain 16). This is part of the human experience as society has lessened the uses of the right brain. The left-brain is used much more as society develops and begins a written language. The right-brain brings a connection between nature and humanity while with our extensive use of the now dominating left brain society is braking the connection with the natural world. When speaking of the written language’s development David Abram says that “the larger, more-than-human life-world is no longer a part of the semiotic, no longer a necessary part of the system” (Abram 25).  When he says this he is referring to the leap into an abstract way of communicating, where written letters no longer represent things in nature. By having letters become abstract the society took on a more linear time instead of a natural cylindrical one. One type of story past down in a society is a myth. When myths began to be written down they became forgotten and misunderstood. As a book lasts for centuries once the myth is written into a book it need not be looked at for generations, as it will not disappear if left alone for a long, long time. They became misunderstood in the way that they can now be told in a different location to where they should be told. This takes away from the meaning of the story. The Aborigines are one culture that tells myths to each other.  In A Short History of Myth Armstrong said that “a myth could not tell a hunter how to kill his prey or how to organize an expedition efficiently, but it helped him deal with his complicated emotions about killing of animals” (Armstrong 31). This shows how myths help with the emotional right brain. The right brain cannot be stimulated as much by one reading a story out of the location it is meant for. A society with no spoken myths would likely have difficulty dealing with strong emotions or have less civil ways to deal with the strong emotions.

                  The nature of humanity is complicated and cannot be truly sorted out by a human.  Many humans strive to be one with nature, although as humans it is not possible to escape nature. In “Second Nature” from How Art Made the World Nigel Spivey states that “to be ‘at one with nature’ is to imagine an easiness between our cultured selves and the natural world” (129). People try to be “one with nature” in many different ways. Humanity either loves or despises the natural world. Cities and other developments in society take away from natures hold on humanity, but also allows for a farther fall into destruction when nature retakes her own. Individuals try to incorporate nature into their cultural actions.  Others try to flee nature. They wish for nature to be under their control. Nature however fights back, creating a constant struggle with development and the power of the natural world. Douris in the poem Ephesos says “These countless homes, these properties of happy days belong” (Poetry for the Earth 47). Douris says this after speaking of nature’s destruction. Douris is a person who prefers the manmade to the natural, but through this poem shows how he cannot escape the destruction. The distruction takes over and humanity is left with nothing but the will to rebuild and begin again. In “Of Cannibals,” Michel De Montaigne says that he sees no cannibalism or more inhuman acts in the “cannibalistic” societies worse than that of his own society. The European society must therefore be the cannibals; as if on society is not the other must be, at least in the eyes of each society. In Shakespeare’s The Tempest the storm and fear of nature are shown. The noble people in The Tempest show their fear of the unknown through their attitudes towards Caliban. Prospero says “A devil, a born devil, on whose nature Nurture can never stick. …” when he speaks of Caliban (The Tempest IV. i. 188-192). Thinking of Caliban as a devil due to his nature and race indicates that Prospero like the other noblemen in The Tempest thought Caliban not fit to be a nobleman as he was part of the mysterious unknown.

                  The mysterious unknown also includes Love and Beauty. They are however accepted abstracts. The question of what these abstract topics are has been discussed in great depth by many philosophers including; Plato, Kant, and Ficino. The Philosopher Plato once said that love is“… not only the possession, but the everlasting possession of the good?’ …’then love,’ she said, ‘may be described generally as the love of the everlasting possession of the good?’” (Plato 72). In this way love can only exist in the loving of something that is good. Wanting something or feeling the need to possess a thing is a part of love. The want to possess something good is love. Kant pulled apart good and said that one cannot call everything good. He says “That which is gratifying is called pleasant; that which merely pleases him is beautiful; that which is esteemed [or approved] by him … is good” (Kant 285). Beauty is not a universal word. It should not be used where pleasant or good should be used instead. What one finds pleasant another may not and so the pleasant thing cannot therefore be good or beautiful unless the majority agrees upon it. Ficino claimed that love pertains only to three senses or it is not love. He says that “love regards as its end the enjoyment of beauty; beauty pertains only to the mind, sight and hearing. Love, therefore, is limited to these three, but desire which rises from the other senses is called, not love, but lust or madness” (Ficino 207-208). If one does not love something with the mind, sight and hearing then the love does not exist. The love is lust. Philosophers still have differing ideas on the subjects of love and beauty.

                  Philosophers have differing ideas in the subject areas of Laws and Ethics. Religious writings are often contemplated with laws and ethics. In the Jewish Bible it says that, “God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:1-2). The Jewish people therefore follow laws set down for them out of fear and respect for a greater being. The laws and ethics of the society are followed strictly be they for safety, societal connecting, or for uniformly. The laws remained mostly unchallenged until science began to disagree with some of the religious teaching.  Aristotle’s teachings in the time of the philosopher Aquinas throw doubt on the religious teachings of the day. Aquinas brought the two differing ideas together. In The Medieval World it says that Aquinas, “points out that the universe could have existed for ever but that species such as humans and other animals might have a beginning…” (91). The religious teachings and the scientific theories can go hand in hand. This idea keeps societies together and gives a reason for some more abstract ethical codes that appear pointless by a scientific viewpoint. John Stuart Mill taught of the idea of the greater good. This would not have much merit in science as science teaches of the survival of the fittest. In The Age of Revolution it says that Mill believed that a government should “allow all individuals the freedom to pursue happiness” (192). Happiness is not necessary for survival but through religious teachings society has come to believe that everyone deserves to be happy. Mill said that the greatest potential can only be met when individuals are happy. The ability to evolve does not always agree with the laws of a society. Ethics are sometimes brushed aside for advancement, but the laws and people, or social norms, of a society often stamp out the unethical practices.

                  Individuals often contemplate the meaning of life, and human existence.  Joseph Campbell an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer simplified the hero’s journey into three parts; the abyss, the monster and the return. He said that the hero must give life to something bigger than himself or herself such as another individual or a spiritual idea. Some famous heroes that Campbell spoke of in his interview with Bill Moyers are Moses, Christ, Buda, and Mohammad.  Their abyss included the desert, a solitary cave, and other places of isolation. Moses in coming down from the mountain, or out of the abyss, formed a new society. Christ and Buddha experienced three temptations on their quests, which were their monsters. Mohammad wrote a greatly spiritual book after many hours of meditation. Hamlet in Hamlet the play by Shakespeare, an Elizabethan playwright, is also a hero and goes on a quest to avenge his father. On the way Hamlet must struggle with the meaning of human existence. Hamlet says that “Your worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots: your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service, two dishes, but to one table: that's the end” (V. iii. 24-28). He says this to his uncle-father after accidentally killing Polonius. In this statement one sees Hamlet’s struggle with the meaning of life. This is part of his hero’s journey. He goes into a psychological abyss as he begins the quest to avenge his father.  He then meets monsters such as the king, who try and have Hamlet killed. At the end of his quest Hamlet returns to society by coming to terms with life and showing a continued love towards his mother. He shows this, as his guard is let down as she dies allowing Laertes the upper hand in their duel. To have a hero’s journey one must descend into the abyss alone. Hamlet did this as he took it upon himself to avenge his father and find the meaning of human existence.