"There Is Grandeur in this Life" -- Richard Dawkins

I was very excited to read Slick’s latest blog post. Like him, I, too, have been reading a lot of science-based texts – more specifically, I have been reading a lot of Dawkins. I finished the God Delusion – I know, this is more of a philosophically grounded text rather than a scientific one – and I started The Greatest Show on Earth a couple of days ago. The issue I’ll be tackling for the sake of this article, though, will be in regards to an idea Dawkins put forward in the former text.

Near the end of the book, if not the end, Dawkins brings to light the fact that there are four pillars by which people come to trust and follow god. They are as follows: explanation, exhortation, consolation, and inspiration. These four things are the marrow of, I’m assuming, all religions – especially those in which a personal relationship with a supernatural deity is a crucial component. These things, however, need not be grounded in spirituality. I will discuss briefly each of these three concepts. Following this discussion, I would like to see your thoughts on the subject.

Explanation is a big one, which is why, I assume, it is the first to be listed (the order is obviously not alphabetic). Early religions were formulated in order to explain why things happened. We now know – if we truly can, that is – that these religions didn’t explain much. We assume there is no Jove living high above us (or among us, raping human women, no less) or a Loki perpetually fucking the Aesir up. These gods were meant to explain the universe in order to make it less scary. I, however, think there are better, more sufficient ways to explain the universe. As far as we know – and to the fullest extent that we can currently know – the universe is 14-some-odd billion years old. I won’t go into that more than I need to, nor will I go into this discussion more than I need to seeing as this part of my article can go on for thousands of pages. If anyone is interested, though, there is a fantastic book called Just Six Numbers by Reese that sheds some light on the six factors that shape and mold the universe into the elegant thing it is today. Also, anything by Brian Greene would be good – namely The Elegant Universe. I think physics, mixed with chemistry and biology, is more than enough to explain the universe, and by said explanation, it is easy to create meaning for oneself. After all, that is why we have books, folks.   

Moving on to exhortation, Dawkins uses exhortation to discuss issues of morality, specifically doing so by claiming morality does not come from any religious doctrine. According to an article Dawkins cites when lecturing about the matter of religious-based morality, there is no civilization on this earth that does not share one thing in common: the “Golden Rule.” We all know the Golden Rule, and, assuming you aren’t a psychopath or a crazed sycophantic zealot, everyone generally abides by it. The Golden Rule is, essentially, do to others that which you would like them to do to you. This phenomenon has an evolutionary explanation. In the early ascension of man through the homo family, small bands of people formed tribes, and it was advantageous to do good to others. This notion was primarily kept within familial boundaries; however, as more and more humans began to enter the world, it became more and more likely that human “A” would run into human “B” even though they were not immediately related. This notion has been embedded into our psyche and now lies latently in our neurology. Interestingly enough, our propensity to follow the Golden Rule is now a misfire. For example, I am going to Paris in December. If I meet a middle aged Parisian man on the streets, the chances of meeting the same man a second time are remarkably slim. I would, though, certainly abide by the Golden Rule while interacting with this man, and this is because the misfiring of a human’s Golden Rule inclination is still prevalent in the brain.

Consolation. This is something we all need. Though it may sound romantic, a sense of consolation is quite necessary for human beings in order to thrive. We are fragile creatures living in a rather unforgiving, indifferent universe. If you take a minute to look around – I mean really take in the devastating ubiquity of our vast universe – it becomes quite apparent that a majority of it is uninhabitable; in fact, if a human were to suddenly find his or herself in a random part of the universe at a given moment, said human would almost certainly die instantly. This is a harsh reality, but it is the way the universe is. So where do we find consolation on this tiny blue dot (harkening back to Sagan)? Again, looking around we can find a multitude of beauty and elegance, both on our planet and off of it. Having a basic understanding of the universe allows one to fully appreciate the unique beauty that is the cosmos. Not to mention one only has to walk a few blocks down any street in America in order to find a library or museum filled with art and literature. Understanding of all these beautiful things provides me with more than enough consolation and reassurance that life is a miraculous, beautiful thing that I refuse to take for granted.

Finally, we come to inspiration. This, I think, is the most remarkable aspect of Dawkins’ argument. I believe the last chapter of his book is called, “There Is Grandeur in this Life.” This is a beautiful title and it wraps up the whole book so well. There is beyond a shadow of a doubt so much beauty in this world and in this life. Dawkins illustrates a beautiful picture in his book. He says – and I’m, again, paraphrasing here – that if we look at the timeline of the universe, the totality of the existence of everything can be measured on an astronomically large ruler. We, the people alive today, are but a laser point trudging slowly across its surface with everything behind and beyond the point shrouded in darkness. This, again, illustrates the miraculous nature of our lives, and it implores us not to take it for granted. To be alive during this pinprick on the ruler of time is a special thing, and we all ought to “run faster, stretch our arms out farther, [for] one fine morning…*”

So please folks, let me know what you think.

J

*taken from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby