' . . . Someone has to say, "I'm sorry," and begin again. Otherwise the old history corrupts the new and there is, in the end, no hope at all . . .' West p 85)
The Problem
Tyger! tyger! burning bright, In the forests of the night. What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetryWilliam Blake William Blake
Our basic global problem is conflict arising from shortage of resources.
Why is this so? Why don't we all work together for our common good? The answer lies not in fallen human nature or in an innate tendency to evil, but in our evolutionary history. Cosmology, physics and biology tells us that we are the result of a long evolutionary process that began from an initial singularity some thirteen billion years ago.
Darwin realized that evolution is the result of the interaction between the infinite possibilites of life and the limited material resources available to realize these possibilities. As a result, individual organisms often face intense competition for the resources they need for survival. University of California Museum of Paleontology
Although some have expressed the idea that a consequence of evolution is nature 'red in tooth and claw' cooperation is just as important as conflict in the evolutionary process. It is the power of cooperation which explains why each of us is a coalition of some 100 trillion cells working together to enhance their individual chances of survival. Very few single celled organisms live more than a few days. We and other multicellular creatures last much longer. In Memoriam A.H.H. - Wikipedia, Axelrod
Evolution appears to operate at all scales, from the simplest physical particles to the largest cosmological structures. Each of us is a cooperative society of cells. At the same time we are also embedded in larger cooperative societies, families, tribes, cities and nations. The cells in our bodies cooperate because they all share the same set of genes and communicate using the same codes. Cooperative societies of people are held together by shared ancestry, language, and culture. Here we understand religion as the sum of all the forces which bind a community together.
Given this history, it is not surprising that different human communities, bound by different religions, find themselves in competition, sometimes lethal. If times are tough, it makes just as much sense to die in a battle to plunder someone else as to starve to death peacefully.
Given a clear statement of the problem facing us, the general solution begins to become clear. There are three strategies to limit conflict. The first is birth control. If we limit our population we are less likely come to the point where the competition for resources becomes desperate. The second is economy. If we limit our individual consumption of resources the same environment can suport a larger number of people. The third is creation. If we find or create new resources, we can consume more without conflict.
The current state of the world is mainly a result of the third strategy. The invention of agriculture and the exploitation of fossil energy have fuelled an explosion in human population and human impact on the planet that was nowhere in sight for our African ancestors. It is becoming clear, however, that there are limits to this approach. We still devote huge resources to fighting for oil, land, money and all the other inputs to survival.
Consequently, the first two strategies are becoming more important. Error drives the search for knowledge. Although some may seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge, most of us are motivated to understand only when something is broken and needs fixing. It is disease that drives medical research and conflict that drives us to spend time on theology and religion.
One cannot fix things without knowing how they work. A break in one tiny wire may stop a motor vehicle. For the average driver, such a defect is a mysterious and frustrating evil. An experienced mechanic, on the other hand, may ask a few questions about the manner of the vehicle's death and from the answers pinpoint the break and repair it.
The history of science shows us the way out of our theological and religious dilemma. We can all agree that God is one, which on this site is tantamount to saying the the Universe is one. The scientific method, we believe, eventually leads us to the truth. If we all have true knowledge of the same Universe, it seems reasonable to expect us all to agree. As we have gradually worked our way toward one physics and one biology, the hypothesis that the Universe is divine can be expected to lead us toward one theology. Given one theology, the way is open to one religion, the foundation for global cooperation.
The growth of science has given us a a comprehensive view of the world. This has led to the conquest of many evils and some ideas about how to deal with others. The problem is that, despite all our wonderful technology, troubles seem to be multiplying faster than we can fix them.
There is a need to bring our religious understanding up to par with our scientific understanding. The fact is that there is plenty to go round if we learn both to share and to use the world's resources intelligently. There will be no shortage of material resources when we learn to recycle everything. There will be no shortage of energy when we learn to live off the sun. And there will be no shortage of understanding when we learn that there is one God, the Universe, clearly visible to us all.
[revised 3 January 2012]
