TRANSIENCE AND TRANSIENTS







A Study in Thought

sa027



by





Marius Heuff

Chapter 1

Content

Everything changes; the transience of all observable existence.
A focus upon the transience of life and our own existence.
The transience of our experiences and reality perceptions.
Reality, as a blend of the past, the present and the immediate future.
The classifying processes of the brain and the mind.
Recognition and awareness.
I, as the center of my sphere of reality.
The past and the future are functions of our existence in the present.
Life, seen as possibilities of existence.
Actualisation of living existence; by guidance and happenstance.
The human individual, seen as a chance-actualisation of a member of the human gene-pool, as well as a haphazard series of contacts and cultural influences.
The identity feeling as a manifestation of our instinct of self-preservation.
Sharing the same instincts and identity feelings with all human beings.
The instinct of self-preservation in its behavioural, non-verbalised form is a basic characteristic of all living existence.
The species-wide human ability to be aware of the sense of identity; a tool to develop wide-ranging communications, cutting across cultural barriers.
The possibility to use the experience and awareness of transience as a relativistic principle, reducing the importance of our existence and beliefs.
The possibility to create a deliberate and all-encompassing reality with relevance for everyone.
The possibility to harmonise the instincts of self-preservation and social existence; the just and efficient communities of the future.
Necessity, as the motivating force to develop social coherence.
The need to have a conceptual blue-print available for the time when this necessity will make itself felt.
If harmony is possible on a small social scale, it is also possible on a global scale.
A dull-witted pre-occupation with instinctive behaviour-patterns.
Does intelligent behaviour really exist?
Viability has to be found in a comprehensive grasp over reality, rather than continued strife and combat.
The transient reality perception, free from absolute, non-transient, divinely revealed, eternal truths.
The need to abandon the hope of obtaining eternal life in an eternally existing, absolute truth.
Does the religious believer "suppress" a sense of transience?
Arguments against this view.

If we look at a large enough period of time, everything is transient. Whether we look at rocks, continents, a star, or the Universe, everything has a limited period of existence, but our reality perception is focussed, far more often, on the transience of our own existence. We are much more aware of the transitoriness of human life, as well as the fleeting existence of our awarenesses and perceptions, than the seemingly immobile world of inorganic existence. What is real, existing, present now, is gone a moment later, and, how remarkable is our own existence, if we scrutinise it carefully. Even our own past blurs, quickly, into a vague memory, regardless, how well we are able to remember or recall certain fragments of this past; a reality we participated in, some time ago, but a reality that is no more.

We notice, that our judgements about the realities of the past and the experiences we can recollect, are coloured by a varying emotional ground-tone, which lets us interpret the same past differently, on different occasions, as we reflect, from time to time, on "the past". Usually, we are not even aware of the fact, that our present reality, the "now" of our contemporary existence, is, actually, a blend of our past existence and the anticipations of an immediate future, cemented together by a continuous process of classifying contemporary sense impressions. These classifying processes depend, entirely, on the memory-banks of our past experiences, as well as on a judgement about the meaning of a recognised object or event that is taking place, now. Without these mechanisms, these sense impressions can not become a meaningful, conscious awareness in our minds.

In this on-going process of perceiving reality, we are aware of a more or less constant feature; nl., the perception or awareness, that I am the center and the creator of the sphere of reality perceived by me, and, that I am more or less the same entity, the same person of yesterday or several years ago. The feeling that this same "I" is present in our anticipation of the future, (the immediate future, as well as our long-term plans and aspirations), gives a sense of continuity and identity to our experiences and perceptions. Yet, we know, or, we should know, that this feeling of continuity, the perception of "me" being the same as the "me" of the past or the future, is not quite correct.

Certainly, my central nervous system contains a continuous record of my experiences, and a categorised summary of these experiences is available to me, every time I inter-act with my environment. Some experiences of the past figure more prominently than others, because they have been more important to me, but, I have the strong impression that this "me", who participated in the experiences of the past, is the same as the "me" of today, while we know, that our interpretations and outlook always change, as we grow older.

We should not forget, that we "remember" the past as a function of our existence "now", because the act of remembering the past takes place in the present. Just as we extra-polate our anticipations about the future as a projection of our existence in the present, so do we interpret our past experiences in the light and mood of the moment. This is the main reason, why we get the erroneous impression, that the "me" of the past, is the same "me" of today.

We know, now, from our studies about life, that a life-form is a transient possibility of existence, and, that we are an accidental actualisation of such a possibility of existence as a member of the human gene-pool. To a large extent, we are the result of happenstance, and, the make-up of our memories and our personality reflects the fact, that we are the product of a somewhat haphazard series of events and cultural contacts.

Our chance-existence and chance-contacts represent, together, a rather arbitrary form of function and existence within the society into which we have been born, in spite of the fact that the actualisation of our organism has come into being under the guiding influences of the genetic code. Our identity-feeling is, in essence, an expression of the instinct of self-preservation, which we share with all other human beings, be it in varying degrees of intensity and conscious awareness. We share the drive to live, (without the conscious, psychological or verbalisable component), with all living organisms, in spite of the fact, that the conscious awareness of such a reality, as well as the ability to abstract and communicate this awareness, seems to be limited to the human species.

To be aware of existence and, especially, to be aware of the transience of existence, (be it of ourselves, our surroundings, or the Universe), seems to be a specific human ability, which we all share throughout the entire species. With this specifically human capability and awareness, we have an opportunity to communicate world-wide, across cultural and language barriers, or, across racial and religious dividing lines. In the transience of our experiences and existence lies the possibility to see the relative importance of our drives and ambitions, and, we may, even, acknowledge the relative importance of our own existence.

Certainly, assessing the importance of our own existence is an emotional or instinctive behaviour-pattern, and not a philosophical abstraction, but the possibility to be philosophically aware of the transience of all things, including our own being, gives us a golden opportunity to temper our combative drives with a more mellow hue of understanding and insight. What is more; we may use our commonly shared ability to abstract and create our own perceptions of reality, to form, deliberately and consciously, a widely acceptable, and, even, a globally persuasive cultural pool from which all future generations can be nourished. Future generations will, then, have a chance to construct an elaborate conceptual scaffold, which will temper and harmonise the egocentric and divisive individual instincts into a just and efficient community of mutual advantage and benefit.

Let us not concern ourselves, here, with the somewhat utopian dream of sketching a globally happy family of mankind. We should be realistic enough to acknowledge, that necessity will be the only significant motivating force to dampen the egocentric combativeness of the vigorous human being, but, in order to make such a transition to global harmony possible, we have to have a conceptual blue-print for such an integrated society, because, without any ideas how to achieve the objective of long-term survival, we can not make use of the insights which opportunity and the force-fields of necessity may open-up for us. The instincts of self-preservation can harmonise with our efforts to cooperate with each other, and, if we see such a harmony working well in the occasional small-scale social unit that has found a strong, organising and integrating factor, then, there is no reason to believe, that it is essentially impossible to achieve a similar harmony on a much larger, or, even, global scale.

It is more important, and more advantageous, to emphasise, at this point, the conceptual possibilities that have already found a beginning of acceptance, and, which can be developed further as a result of our awareness of transience. Most of us are so pre-occupied with a somewhat dull-witted pursuit of ambitions, or, an uncritical acceptance of local cultural guidelines, that we would seem to be thoughtless automata, if we could be observed, from a great distance, by another intelligence. A keen awareness of the transience of existence, together with the fact that ideas and interpretations evolve continuously, will give us a better grasp over reality compared to a continuation of our emotional and instinctive efforts to find viability in strife, conquest and a desire to dominate.

A more harmonious way of co-existence is possible, if we make the effort to search for a clear and manageable, if temporary, image of reality; free from absolute truths, religious revelations or unquestioned social dogmas. If we remain narrowly locked into our egocentric concerns, and, if we cling to the hope of eternal salvation in an imagery of eternal, non-transient truths, this sense of transitoriness will be suppressed, and, it will be stifled in an atmosphere of self-righteous certainty and courageous combat.

Yet, it is not justified to equate the religious believer with the cause of self-righteous certainty and a blunting of the sense of transience. "On the contrary", you will say, "the religious believer has realised, very well, how transient his own existence is, and, how short we live on earth. He has searched, and found, answers to this transience of existence, and, he understands, why man, and all life, has become subject to the mechanisms of death and decay. God has revealed these eternal truths about the origins of man, his death and his destination. How can you then accuse the believer of blunting his sense of transience, if he is pre-occupied with the coming of his death and the state of his immortal soul? How can you say, that the God-fearing human being is a source of strife and stress, if he, more than anyone else, knows, and fears, the reality of death and Divine Judgement?"

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Chapter 2

Content

The religious believer conquers the problem of death with his faith in the existence of an immortal soul.
Transitoriness is rejected, and the process of death is seen as an illusion, or, as a transition to a different form of existence.
This belief structure is a direct result of the instinct of self-preservation.
A ferocious and fanatic emphasis on personal, egocentric salvation.
An answer to the experiences of injustice and suffering.
Difficulties accepting such imagery, especially, when one is emotionally neutral and existentially comfortable.
The inevitability of being judged; anticipating, to some extent, God's Judgements.
A crutch for egocentric and anxious people.
The vanishing intellectual foundations for religious beliefs.
Increasing difficulties, when trying to reconcile the imagery of the sciences and the religions.
A pass-port to egocentric survival, as well as an instrument of prejudice and clannishness.
A social symbol of self-esteem and conservatism.
The danger of a nuclear doomsday because of an all-out attack on Satan by fanatic Christians.
The dangers of fanatic behaviour.
A glorification of the awareness of transience.
The basis for relativistic reality perceptions.
A return to transient phenomena; musical harmonies and music-making.
The transience of interpretations and judgements.
The vagueness of meaning.
Doubts about our sense of identity.

I agree with you, that the religious believer is very much aware of the transience of his existence, and, it is true, that his anxiety about the certainty of death is a prime motivation in the search for a satisfactory psychological and intellectual response to this problem, but, unfortunately, the most common solution to the problem of existential anxiety is not an awareness that our personal existence is only transient, and, that, perhaps, our existence is not quite as important as our instincts would like us to believe.

On the contrary, the solution to these existential anxieties is, usually, found in the belief of an immortal soul, and, this belief is a direct result of the quest for self-preservation, where our instinctive desire to cling to life is sharpened into an unassailable and fanatic belief in the eternity of our existence. With a belief in God's Grace and the Salvation of the individual soul, the problem of death and transitoriness has been conquered, and, we believe, then, that death is not real. In essence, we believe, then, that our existence is not transitory, but is, in reality, eternal. The reality of death is seen as an illusion, and the perception of transitoriness is suppressed; literally banned from the mind. Even, if the soul does not find salvation, the perpetuity of its existence is not questioned, since the alternative to a saved soul, is a damned soul, existing nevertheless.

The solution of the Christian Faith is, therefore, a total denial of the transitoriness of human existence, and, with this denial, a ferocious and fanatic emphasis of importance has been placed upon the accomplishment of a personal, egocentric salvation. In essence, religious behaviour becomes an intense effort and struggle to safeguard, and guarantee, that this eternal existence of the soul takes place, forever, in an agreeable and pleasurable form. It is a strenuous effort to reject the reality of a transient human existence, and, to replace it with a belief in an immortal soul, which will find, eventually, justice or just retribution. Such an effort and drive is psychologically logical, and, it is a profound answer to the experience of injustice and suffering, but, this rejection of the reality of death is always very difficult to accept intellectually, whenever we are able to function, comfortably, in an emotionally neutral frame of mind.

However, if we are able to accept this rejection of the finality of death, it is inescapable, that one's existence will be judged by some sort of power, greater than man's own, and, it is logical, that the imagined reality of divine judgement will function according to our own beliefs and perceptions. It is, therefore, impossible, not to anticipate, at least, to some extent, God's Judgements, as we come into contact with a great variety of different people. For those, who are anxious and egocentric in their attitudes, the Christian Faith becomes a crutch for the instinct of self-preservation, and, such people tend to consider themselves a small elite of saved souls. The virtues of the Faith are stressed in the concepts of self-sacrifice and humility, but, these ideas are largely lost in the behavioural attitudes and egocentric orientation of such timid and introvert personalities.

No, we can not expect, anymore, that a sweeping concern for the entire human race will come from these anxious and introvert remnants of Christianity, because the Christian beliefs, just as all religious beliefs, are losing their rational and moral foundations in the advancement of the scientific imagery, in spite of the fact, that these scientific images are still hopelessly confused and fragmented.

At the time of its peak persuasiveness, when the Christian reality perception could be fused with an intellectual reality perception that could be generally accepted, it was possible to inspire millions of people with the beauty and truth of such an unquestionable and absolute reality perception, and, the Christian faith could then be a "prime mover" for the attitudes of a philosophical broadness of concern and an atmosphere of good-will. Then, Christianity was, or, at least, it had the potential of being an up-lifting Faith, and it could fuel the attitudes of compassion and understanding.

Now, Christianity is an embattled belief, tenaciously clinging to a reality perception that has increasing difficulties with the ideas of natural evolution. Now, Christianity is a collection of fragmented, scattered and anxious clusters of elitist individuals, trying to sustain the hope of obtaining eternal life with the riddle of an immortal soul. Now, Christianity only appeals to those, whose intellectual horizon is narrow; to people, who know little or nothing of the broad areas of human knowledge and concern. Christianity appeals, primarily, to those, who try to preserve their sanity and stability in a confused and chaotic society, and, these people cling tenaciously to contradictory and irreconcilable concepts of eternal salvation or damnation in a God-created existence of imperfection.

The Word of God has become a pass-port to egocentric survival, and, the concept of God becomes an instrument of prejudice and clannishness. The redeeming qualities of the Christian believer have largely disappeared. To be a Christian is, often, a social symbol of self-esteem and conservatism, where poorly understood values and objectives become, inevitably, instruments in the struggle to cling to a privileged position. The Christianity of the rich and privileged is dangerous, because, in their fanatic ignorance, they may start the doomsday of a nuclear holocaust in a desperate attempt to defeat their Satan, who seems to be conquering the world.

Let us indeed be aware, how dangerous a fanatic attitude can be. How dangerous is it, when strict believers are absolutely convinced that they are right, and, that God is on their side! In essence, such an attitude is a result of the fact, that the sense of transience of existence has been suppressed by their belief in an eternal life, as well as their faith in an absolute truth. The moment we think, that we have conquered the problem of death, we are likely to become a scourge to the rest of mankind. The moment we have locked ourselves into an intransigent and in-transient doctrine of absolute truths, we become rigid oppressors of our fellow human beings.

Let us glorify the feeling of transience. Let us treasure the awareness of transient existence, and, let us be thankful for the reality perception that everything exists temporarily, fleetingly, for a moment only. As long as we keep in sight a perspective of continuous change and transience, we may continue to build upon a conceptual framework of relativistic relationships, and, such a way of looking at reality may allow us, the human species, to fuse into a global, supra-national, supra-ethnic and supra-individual organism.

We are back, again, to our ultimate goal; a globally acceptable system of concepts and guidelines, ensuring justice and viable relationships on a world-wide scale, but, we will again retreat from this objective and concentrate on the transience of the present. We are surrounded by transient phenomena. A musical note exists, fleetingly, in a harmonious structure with its neighbours, and, we perceive a musical meaning that is based, not only, on the transience of individual notes and harmonies, but also, on the progression of these harmonies and the structure of musical sequences. This meaning is sensed by the interpreter and is transmitted to the audience by the specifics of his music making. In turn, the individual listener senses this interpretation in a manner that depends on his own past experiences.

A new, strange, unfamiliar sequence of musical notes is almost always meaningless to us, but, as soon as we have developed some familiarity with a musical sequence or construction, or, if we can relate a musical experience to sounds and harmonies we have heard before, meaning starts to take shape, and, we may experience a sensation of beauty or dislike.

In addition to the transience of sound, we see, how transient and variable the interpretations of the musician and his audience are, and, how these interpretations are influenced by our past experiences. Certainly, it is true, that the contribution of the listener is less important than the musical concepts of the interpreter, and, we are, as an audience, usually persuaded to accept the interpretation of the performing artist or artists.

The same mechanisms apply to the recitation of a poem or prose, where the intonation of the interpreter adds a layer of meaning to that of the writer, which blends, in turn, with the understanding of the listener. The whole structure blends, then, into a transient flow of meaning and emotive forces, which are present, now, but gone, a moment later. They linger-on as a memory. Only a fragmentary recall is possible, and, large fluctuations in evaluation and judgement may take place, each time such a partial and fragmentary recall occurs.

Therefore, the transience of our experiences is augmented by the transience of our interpretations and judgements, and, we are, sometimes, vaguely aware of the fact, that the whole process of living existence is a transient phenomenon, where we have to come to the intellectual conclusion, that, at the time of our death, we revert to a state of nothingness or non-existence. Besides the realisation that our existence and our awarenesses are transient, we have to acknowledge, also, that our awarenesses and concepts are often ill-defined and variable in meaning. The more we try to define the content of our realities, the more we realise, that we do not know, exactly, what we feel, what we mean, what or who we are. Even the definition of our sense of identity becomes vague and ambiguous, whenever we focus our attention of this subject.

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Chapter 3

Content

Is there a need for super-abstractive thought?
The morass of ever-increasing uncertainty.
Concentrating on practical realities.
Carpe diem; refrain from useless philosophising.
Let those with a strong faith or absolute beliefs be happy in their certainties.
Can we adopt absolute truths without being completely convinced?
The severe price we may have to pay for unquestioned beliefs.
The problem of doubt and the emergence of questions.
A blind rage for the Glory of God?
Sharing uncertainties, rather than the certainty, that we will never share the same absolute truths or dogmatic Faith.
Questions.
Are we able to avoid the paralysis of constant questioning?
The difficulties and apparent sterility of relativistic thought.
The view from an ivory tower.
Acknowledgeing our instincts, emotions and drives.
The jump, and the glass of water.
The relative validity of all imagery; scientific or religious.
A tool to bring us together.
We all can understand the basic principles of relativistic thought.
A careful and broad-minded attitude resulting from a scrutiny of beliefs.
The need to guard against deceitful intellectual sophistry.
Understanding ourselves, as well as our natural surroundings.

"What does it matter?", you will ask; "What are we gaining from this kind of super-abstractive process, where we try to analyse, ever more in detail, who we are and what the nature is of our existence, awarenesses and emotions. We seem to sink into a morass of ever-increasing uncertainties, which is confusing and horrifying, and, why should we not suppress these useless feelings and thoughts? Why should we not concentrate on the practical realities of our existence and needs? Why should we not reach for every possible fulfilment? We are here today, gone tomorrow; carpe diem; let us enjoy ourselves, and, let us refrain from useless philosophising".

"Even, if our awarenesses become so strong, that we can not ignore or suppress, any longer, these gnawing feelings of uncertainty and chaos, let us then look for certainty. Let those, who can find strength in an absolute Faith or in an absolute philosophical truth, be happy with their certainties. Why meddle with things we do not know? Why delve into the vagueness of our awarenesses by questioning everything that still has a semblance of certainty?".

"But", I ask you, "can you really adopt the certainty of a belief in an absolute truth, a divine revelation, or a divine reality, if you know, in the back of your mind, that you adopt these beliefs because you want to believe them; because you need to believe them; because they give you strength and emotional satisfaction? If you know, in the back of your mind, that these images of absolute certainty are images you believe in because you are helped by them, how can you be sure about their absolute validity? Do not forget, that you really have to believe these images in the deepest corners of your heart. If not, these beliefs will fail you, when you need them most. Do not forget, that these beliefs of absolute truths may exert an enormous toll, some day. They require a total commitment from you".

"You may have to sacrifice everything, perhaps, even, your life. This may be the price exacted for your beliefs, and, how do you deal with doubts when they come? Do you suppress doubts as a temptation from Satan? Do you consider any questions into the validity of your beliefs as evil; as something you have to shun or destroy? How can you love those, who threaten or destroy the fundamental truths of your certainties? Do you suppress these doubts within youself in a never-ending struggle of neurotic tensions, or, do you strike in a blind hatred at those devils who are tempting you, destroying everything in your path in a blind rage for the sake of "God's Glory"?

Certainty has an awful price to pay, some day, and yet, the acceptance of uncertainty and transience is difficult as well. However, the realisation, that we all share the same doubts and uncertainties may be far more constructive, far wiser, and, far more human, than the realisation, that we never seem to be able to share the same certainties, the same dogmas, or the same absolute truths.

I know, you are not convinced as yet. There is an air of disbelief and irritation in your eyes, because you are waiting for an opportunity to ask me, what to do with such a sea of uncertainty; "How can you ever expect to make a decision, if all our certainties are illusions of the mind? How can you maintain your existence with such a philosophical relativity? How is it possible to maintain viability, if we let ourselves slide into a vulnerable passivity; if we deliberate and meditate constantly, how can we do anything decisively?"

For many people, the concepts of philosophical relativity will appear sterile and useless, because it seems to negate the fundamental instinct of all living organisms to be absolutely sure about the reliability of their perceptions. The concept of relativity seems to undermine, with an attitude of futile irrelevance, the most fundamental aspects of the struggle for existence. It saps the energy of the elan vital, and reduces life to a view from a high ivory tower, where the luxury of invulnerability makes it possible to adopt such a total relativistic point of view.

"Wait", you are saying to me". "Come down from your invulnerable perch; wait, till you are thrown back into the turmoil of real life, where your existence can and will be challenged. I am sure, that your dormant instincts of self-preservation will come to life. Do you mean to say, that you will be totally relativistic in your attitudes, when your existence is being challenged? When stressful displacement forces are inflicting pain or discomfort upon you, you will react, again, as a human being, and the vigor and combativeness of a long dormant aggressivity may surprise many, including yourself".

I agree completely with you, and, I do not dispute your conclusions and predictions for one moment. I fully acknowledge the biological heritage of my instincts, and, I have also an instinct for self-preservation. Certainly, I can be enraged and emotionally stimulated into a defensive or aggressive behaviour-pattern, just like everyone else. I agree with you, that philosophical relativity is a product of shelter and invulnerability, and, we have discussed before, how fragile a philosophical or rational attitude really is, especially, in the face of an emotionally arousing anxiety.

You are quite right in pointing-out the difficulties, when accepting and acting according to an uncertain reality-picture. The ideas behind a relativity of truth do not deny the need for practical certainties, but, they emphasise the fact, that they are, indeed, practical certainties, and, the concepts of a relativistic interpretation of reality emphasise, that we can not find absolute truths. If I jump over a barricade, I trust, implicitly, the judgement functions of my senses and my brain, and, I let myself go in a jump, without really giving any thought to relativistic considerations of this particular act. When I pick-up an object, or reach for a glass of water, I do not hesitate for one moment, while I may be discussing relativistic ideas at the same time.

The physiological and psychological certainties of a practical reality are functions that take place routinely and nearly completely beyond the level of our conscious awareness, and, these functions do not require any input from our "free will". We only make the decision to jump or pick-up a glass, and the execution of the act occurs automatically, without a conscious effort to carry-out this particular act. We all agree, that it is better not to tamper with these physiological mechanisms. However, the need to accept routine, physiological or practical realities, does not mean, that we also have to function with conscious belief structures that imply, or have accepted, an absolute and unquestionable validity of their imagery and perceptions.

We are better of, if we learn to see, that, neither the religious, nor the scientific images of reality, are absolutely valid. We have good reasons and good arguments for the point of view, where we see the drive to search for such absolutely reliable reality images, as an instinctive or emotional pattern of behaviour, reflecting our biological need for certainty and security. We have good reasons to believe, that the acknowledgement of such biological and instinctive drives in our quest for certainties, will bring us closer together than has been possible at any time in the past, when we based our arguments on a comparison of one absolute belief structure versus another.

It is true, that, most of us are not patient enough to master, fully, all the subtleties of relativistic thought, and, this is not necessary, either. Most of us will be able to understand the fundamental ideas, and, we will be able to develop a "feeling" for the widespread consequences of such an approach to reality, if we are taught the principles of a relativistic reality perception by lucid and expert teachers.

This means, that it will be difficult for people, who are used to receive guidance and leadership in matters of perceiving reality and forming their conceptual imagery, to appreciate the relativistic implications and complex ideas of such a philosophy. Nevertheless, we should be able to instill a careful attitude, where emotional anxieties and fanatic responses, (such as those aroused by an intense questioning and scrutiny of fundamental beliefs), will be replaced with an attitude of broad-minded willingness to listen and learn. It is obvious, that we have, then, a good basis for cooperation and mutual trust, provided, that our defensive instincts are not aroused, again, by deceit or intellectual trickery.

In other words; with a sense of security, together with a measure of logical and gentle but persistent efforts, most people could be made aware of the mechanisms that take place within ourselves, as well as in all living organisms around us, and, it should be possible, for most people, to grasp some of the elements of relativistic thought.

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Chapter 4

Content

A short summary of the foundations of relativistic thought.
The limited validity of such a summary.
Transience of all existence.
Existence, seen as the actualisation of a possiblity to exist; in the living world, as well as the world of inorganic existence.
All reality represents a conceptual reality, based upon images that are recalled with the help of symbolic representations.
The sharpening of conceptual meaning through frequent dialogue.
Evolutionary images that are based on the sciences, and the possibility to grasp events and items of existence in concepts of regularity and cohesion.
No absolute truths; scientifically, nor religiously.
Reality perceptions have to take into account the anatomical and physiological constants of human existence.
Reality perceptions depend upon the human genetic code and the cultural currency.
Living existence, seen as an actualised possibility.
The genetic code, guiding organic-chemical sequences within a suitable environment in order to accomplish the actualisation of a possibility to exist.
The common denominators of our biological heritage.
A basis for cooperation, and a choice of necessity.
The utilitarian and biological aspects of all reality perceptions.
The relativity of individual uniqueness.
The certainty of death, seen as an evolutionary necessity.
Further elaboration in the series; In Search of Reality.
No morass of meaningless existence.
The confidence, that such a relativistic reality perception will, eventually, find a far wider acceptance than any specific scientific or religious point of view.
The need for practical certainties.
The high price of belligerence.
The limits of ethical concerns.
A pre-occupation with personal salvation and well-being.
The socio-centric orientation of a nationalistic leadership.
The remarkable parallels between a self-centered individual, and an equally self-centered society.
An absence of effective criticisms for the self-centered society.
The absence of an effective world community of nations.
Dangerous nationalistic sentiments.
Why patriotic citizens see themselves as virtuous and ethical people.
Narrow horizons.

What is the essence of a relativistic perception of reality? What, in a few words, are the fundamental characteristics of relativistic thought? I will try to answer this question, but, let us not forget, that a short summary, written-down at the spur of the moment, may reflect only a particular interpretation, which, I believe to be valid at this time, but, which may have a transient validity. I mean this; it may be illuminating to try to capture these ideas in a few sentences, but the results may not be wholly satisfactory, as we read, again, much later, these efforts to capture the essence of relativistic thinking.

In relativistic thinking, we acknowledge, not only, the transience of all existence, and, certainly, of all living existence, but, we see the entire world of reality as a product of natural evolution. This view is based upon the specifically human ability to re-stimulate our mental imagery with the help of a variety of symbolic representations, or "symbols". All reality is conceptual reality, and, all concepts are specifically human abstractions of sensory experiences, which have been given a measure of precision in their meaning through an extensive dialogue. The sciences have given us, now, a fairly complete mental picture of the evolutionary changes in organic and inorganic matter; at least, they have given us an outline of these evolutionary changes, and, we have learned to grasp the world of observable phenomena, including those of man's own existence, in concepts that show patterns of regularity and mechanisms of cohesion.

As soon as we see our scientific images as absolute truths, we run into the same difficulties that were associated with religious reality perceptions. From now on, human thought has to keep in mind the physiological mechanisms and the anatomical constants of our existence. Certainly, these physiological and anatomical features are also reality perceptions. They are mental images that represent a specific, human way to help us understand and grasp our realities, but, it is just these images and concepts which give us the possibility to see, that all reality perceptions are products of living existence, and, that the form and content of these images are determined by our genetic blue-print, our cultural traditions, as well as our past experiences.

All living organisms are specific actualisations of possibilities of existence, and, this applies, also, to our own individual existence, where we represent a small, actualised fragment of the human gene-pool. The genetic blue-print of human existence is a complex genetic code, which makes it possible to guide organic-chemical sequences, (within a suitable environment), in such a manner, that it becomes possible to translate the potential to exist into an actual existence. All living members of the human species are actualised organisms, and, only these living, actualised members are the carriers of the gene-pool, comprising the totality of all possible genetic combinations from which the future generations will have to originate.

By seeing ourselves as "actualised existence possibilities" of the human gene-pool, we emphasise our common denominators, and, we learn to see our combative instincts, our struggles for existence, as well as all our instinctive drives, as the main common denominator we share. Therefore, what seeems to divide us into warring factions, can be interpreted as precisely that, which we have in common, and, practical considerations will, eventually, force us to choose between compromise and cooperation, or, ruthless mutual destruction.

These ideas provide us, also, with the insight, that every truth has only a conditional and relative validity. They show us the utilitarian aspects of our belief structures, and, in the vast transience of it all, these ideas show us, also, the relativity of the idea of individual uniqueness, as well as the reasons, why man believes, so easily, that the essence of his personality will persist after death. The certainty of death becomes an evolutionary necessity, and, the basic mechanisms of human behaviour have been unraveled in the imagery of a biological heritage, as wel as a super-imposed pattern of cultural regulators. Together, these genetic and cultural guidelines provide the possibility for a marked degree of behavioural fine-tuning, as well as the potential for a conscious rationality for individual, and, perhaps, even, collective behaviour.

Are you satisfied with this summary? Obviously, many aspects are only touched upon, which have been elaborated in the series of essays; In Search of Reality. Our main purpose, here, is to explore the ideas of transience, and, to illuminate their importance as a corner-stone of our existence. We have tried to dispel the notion, that the ideas of transience and relativity lead, necessarily, into a morass of meaninglessness and confusion. On the contrary, we hope to show, that they form the basis for a sound reality perception with the potential for a global appeal, and, we hope to show, that such a relativistic perception of reality will, eventually, exceed, by far, the influence and importance of any specific religious or scientific point of view.

Certainly, it is true, that our biological instincts do not favour a truly complete acceptance of relativistic attitudes for our routine behaviour, but, then, we have seen, that this is not even desirable. Relativistic concepts are important to shape our ideas about the nature of life, as well as about the essence of man and his societies, because it will become clear, in the near future, that these concepts give us a solid foundation for becoming more cooperative and less combative. This transition in attitudes will be facilitated and accelerated by the increasingly high price to be paid for large-scale belligerence. If we can develop widely acceptable ideas about our own existence, we may be able to subdue, gradually, the ferocious fanaticism of our egocentric instincts, and, we may, eventually, be able to extend the bonds of ethical concerns beyond the boundaries of a nation or an ethnic grouping.

The transience of our existence, as well as the concepts of relativity, may turn-out to be a durable, cultural currency with a significant value for mankind. The fleeting passage of us, individually, as actualised members of the human gene-pool, may turn-out to be a natural corner-stone with a remarkably stabilising influence upon the turmoil of man's existence.

We are still so pre-occupied with our personal salvation, and, our national leaders are, still, almost exclusively, concerned with the interests and well-being of the people under their jurisdiction. This blind pre-occupation with a near-exclusive ego- or socio-centric orientation, has to give way to a mellower outlook with a broader scope of vision.

Let us look, for a moment, at the consequences of this pre-occupation with an ego-centric or socio-centric well-being. There is a remarkable parallel, here, between an individual human being and the leadership of a nation. Just as one individual can be neurotically or obsessively self-centered, only concerned with one's own self, so is the leadership of a nation, often, narrowly concerned with the well-being of a particular social entity. However, the self-centeredness of an egocentric individual finds readily disapproval from the social environment, while the national leadership is self-centered with the concerns of one particular social entity. Since the sphere of approval is determined by the social environment, there will be few dissenting voices, and, if there are dissenting voices, they will not be listened to. In essence, this situation is just as egocentric as the individual who thinks only about himself. Because there is no effective world community, as yet, to tell a national leadership how self-centered and neurotic it behaves, we do not see the same degree of criticism that is leveled at the self-centered individual by his alarmed and suspicious social environment.

This shows, at the same time, how narrow and limited our sphere of ethical concerns really is. We are considered to be good, ethical citizens, as long as our behaviour is good for our particular community, and, we care very little, indeed, for anyone who falls outside this community. This is the reason, why the self-centered ego-centricity of a national leadership is glorified as "patriotism", while the self-centered concerns of one individual are, rightfully, scorned as anti-social and selfish.

It is, indeed, unfortunate, and, even, dangerous, if the leadership of a nation plays upon the nationalistic sentiments of its people, encouraging hardened, egocentric attitudes of national self-interest to parade as paragons of virtue. There is an amazing lack of recognition, that such patriotic attitudes are narrow and self-centered. The reason for this lack of recognition lies in the fact, that the sphere of concern does not extend beyond a particular society. This means, that egocentricity by one individual within a social environment is recognised as egocentric behaviour, but, the egocentric behaviour of the community as a whole in relation to other communities is not recognised, because the criteria of ethical behaviour are narrowly centered around the well-being of a specific community or social grouping.

Often, the sphere of concern does not even extend to the nation or society as a whole, and, it is logical, that, those members, who are concerned with the well-being of the whole nation, see themselves as the enlightened patriots and the broad-minded elite of society, because they are able to rise to a level of concern that includes the entire nation. They can not see themselves as "narrow nationalistic ego-centrists", but, they easily think of themselves as highly virtuous and ethical saviours of society, while, in essence, seen from an international point of view, the narrow nationalistic attitude is just as limiting, and just as damaging to the attitudes of cooperation and understanding, as the egocentric individual, who does not care one iota for his fellow citizens.

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Chapter 5

Content

The individual as a leader of the "society" of his personal drives, impulses and instincts.
The apparent normality and prudence of self-centered social leadership.
The frowned-upon, introvert egocentricity of similar attitudes in the individual.
The need to teach leaders tolerance, cooperation and humility.
Leaders may become overwhelmed by pressures and conflicting demands from society.
Narrow-minded factions within a social environment.
The leader, who becomes suspected and rejected because of too broad-minded an approach to governing society.
Relativistic principles and leadership drives are, probably, somewhat at odds with each other.
One cog in a gigantic wheel.
A return to transience.
The possibilities that come with an enlarged sphere of concern.
Maintaining justice, and the ability to curb exploitation and abuse.
Erroneous interpretations of a relativistic reality perception.
Relativistic uncertainties and the loss of moral guidance, when such ideas are applied to a lawless, egocentric and exploitative society.
Ruthless behaviour, even, if technically "within the law".
The requirements of a just society.
The potential fusion of mankind into a global society, and the possibility that it may never happen.
The short time needed to change attitudes and cultural guidelines.
Possible developments towards a more widely acceptable philosophy.
Arguments have to be combated with counter-arguments.
The incredible genetic code.
Joining the ranks of extinct species'.

There are other similarities between the individual who has to manage a variety of contradictory trends and tendencies of his personality, and, the leadership of a society, which has to manage a variety of contradictory forces and trends coming from within the social entity. While a pre-occupation with "the self" is rightly frowned-upon and condemned as "introvert egocentricity" in the single personality, such a pre-occupation in the national leadership seems to be considered "normal" and prudent behaviour.

Let us make no mistake; the leadership of every society is, indeed, pre-occupied with the glory and well-being of the society or nation to which this leadership has been elected, or, over which it has gained power or jurisdiction. The ordinary citizen lives a life of cooperation with, and concern for, his fellow citizens, and, it is logical, that he has to educate the more dominant members of his society or nation in the art of getting along with others. Leaders have to learn to cooperate with each other on an international scale, just as they urge their own citizens to cooperate with each other within society. Ideally, our leaders should show us the way, how to cooperate, and, how to concern ourselves with each other beyond national or ethnic boundaries.

Certainly, the leaderships of nations experience, many times, the need for such a cooperative attitude and a broadened area of concern, but, they are, too often, overwhelmed by the pressures and contradictory trends coming from within their own societies, and, frequently, they arouse the emotions of the people with national fervor as a means to unify society and cling to their positions of power. Many leaders have had the sad experience, that, too broad a sphere of international concern makes them suspect in the eyes of their own electorate.

In addition to the many reasons why national leaders are less likely to be concerned with the well-being of people outside their political jurisdiction, the well-developed ego-drive of every leader makes it difficult to understand the principles of a relativistic outlook on the nature of life, and the nature of man in particular. Our leaders are egocentric by nature, and, such an egocentricity is accentuated by the qualities that are required for leadership. Leaders are far less confronted with the need to fit into a larger whole than ordinary citizens, and, it is almost impossible for them to see their role as only one cog in a gigantic mechanism. It is almost impossible for them to see their own existence as a chance-actualisation of an existence possibility; as a minute fragment of the human gene-pool.

The transience of our thoughts, ideas and reality perceptions, the transience of our existence, ambitions, accomplishments and assets; the transience of everything we know, feel or do, is a sobering experience, which dulls the edge of our combativeness. A lessened pre-occupation with personal importance and success, may open the door for an enlarged feeling of concern, but, we have to make sure, that the conditions of social justice and control over opportunistic abuse are maintained, because exploitation and deceit are the most deadly enemies of our collective attitudes of care and concern.

We also have to concern ourselves with the likelyhood, that such an awareness of transience may lead to erroneous conclusions. If there is no absolute reality; if we are here today and gone tomorrow, how can we avoid coming to the conclusion, that we better "live-it-up", taking everything we can get hold-off? Why bother to think about anything else but ourselves? Certainly, in a fragmented community, where the members have lost all trust and respect for each other, and, where the actions of blatant egocentricity pay-off in an accumulation of wealth and power, in such an environment, the appeal of a relativistic reality perception and the concepts of a globally relevant system of ethical concerns and behaviour-patterns, will find no response. The awareness of transience will, then, only be used in an attitude of all-out opportunism, aggravating lawlessness and ruthless strife, as the lingering moral guidelines of a dying Christian heritage are swept-away by a misunderstood relativity of ethical principles.

Whenever the law of the jungle prevails; whenever the glory of power and wealth reflects the choice of combat over the choice of cooperation, (be it with the weapons of "lawful conduct"), the results will, eventually, be a seething cauldron of frustration, hatred and violence. It is, therefore, imperative, that the leadership of every society remains aware of the fundamental functions that ensure social cohesion. These factors are, amongst others, the maintenance of a sense of justice and equality of opportunity amongst the members, as well as the attitudes of honesty, transparence and trust.

If we look at our modern societies with these insights in mind, we see a long litany of ills and wrongs, and, this applies to the affluent free-enterprise societies, as well as societies that have flourished reasonably well with a centrally planned economy. However, if we look at many of the small and under-developed nations, the situation is even more dismal, because many of them exist in a philosophical stone-age of ruthless power-struggles, the oppression or persecution of opponents, blatant corruption and stultifying ignorance.

The road ahead seems, indeed, to be long and difficult, before the human species is able to fuse into a more or less harmonious and viable entity, and, it is certainly possible, that such a deliberate fusion of political and cultural integration will never take place. The transience of our personal existence, as well as the near-total helplessness of our individual efforts and abilities, lead, easily to an attitude of resignation and withdrawal. However, if we realise that it takes only a few generations to change, completely, the cultural content of a society, as well as the attitudes of people, we see untold possibilities for swift and radical change.

How long will it take for the peoples of the world to see themselves in the light of an evolutionary reality perception, conscious of the limitations of themselves and their leaders, and, how long will it take, before they are able to see, and discuss, the many aspects of each event or decision with insight and intelligence? How long will it take people to abandon the dangerous and elitist illusion, that their God has singled them out for great and wonderful deeds, mostly of an aggressive nature, and, how long will it take people to realise, that the unquestioned acceptance of social dogmas and Party policies, leads to an unnecessary dullness of the mind, as well as a mistaken fear for the individualisation of the human being, where the objective of ideological purity becomes a convenient shield for ruthless and egocentric leaders to act-out their instincts for power and domination.

How long will it take the people of the world to realise, that a leadership which has become afraid of the persuasiveness of dissent, is unable, and unwilling, to purge itself from incipient decay? If persuasive arguments can not be refuted by even more persuasive counter-arguments, let these arguments prevail, and, let them seek their possibilities of existence.

Everything exists only for a while, even, the human species and its gene-pool; this incredible code for the sequential organisation of chemical and physical events, which is, in the final analysis, the foundation for all human potentials. Everything is transient, regardless, what we collectively do or decide. We may hasten our demise, precipitously, by a furious, emotional, all-out conflict with nuclear or chemical weapons, or, we may prolong our existence over many millions of years with unfathomed possibilities for the creation of desirable realities. However, at some time in the future, the human genetic code will cease to exist, and the human species will join those that have become extinct.

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Chapter 6

Content

The dangers and injustices of trying to "purify" a specific segment of human existence.
The undigested wealth of scientific and biological information.
The blind push and pull of our instinctive drives.
It seems so difficult for most people to see beyond the apparent realities of today.
The passage of time.
An abstraction, based upon the perception of change.
Our contemporary existence, seen as a blend of the recent past, the immediate future, and the present.
Varying rates of change.
Behaving nearly automatically.
A dark room, and the ability to perceive time by our physiological rythms.
Losing the perception of the flow-rate of time.
The dream-less sleep and the anaesthetic.
Hallucinations and sensory deprivation, or extreme isolation.
The subjective flow-rate of time.
When time passes slowly, or fast.
A slow rate of flow for the perception of time; when many things are happening in a short time, or, when enduring a chronically unpleasant tension.
A fast rate of flow; the comfortable routine.
Adapting to chronic tensions, followed by an apparent quickening of the flow-rate of time.
Appreciating the transience of a pleasant situation.
The awareness of the certainty of death.
Nature's search for viability, and the evolution of conscious awareness.
The power to manipulate.
The power to anticipate, and the price of being aware of death and the probability of having to suffer in the future.
Religious beliefs, seen as an attempt to cope with the occurrence of death and suffering.
The difficulty of grasping the concept of total non-existence.
Physiological and psychological, intellectual and emotional difficulties with the concept of non-existence.
The quest for security.
Every reality perception will, eventually, be challenged.
Sacredness; an attitude to create stable reality perceptions.
The ever-present discrepancies in experience and belief in every individualised society.
The challenge mounted by the scientific reality-perception, in spite of the weakening of this challenge by confusing presentations and frightening technological developments.
The inextricable inter-twining of fundamental reality perceptions and the existence of an intact human being.
Giving a quality of existence to the concepts of non-existence.
Living existence, and its dependence upon the factor of "organisation".
Organisation; the essence of a functioning, living organism, as well as the functioning of a piece of man-made machinery.
A continuous flow of energy through the living organism and the man-made machine.
The drastic consequences of the failure of a single component.
The juxta-position of inert chunks of material by the creative human hand or mind.
The build-up of living organisation takes place through guided biochemical sequences with labile compounds.
The disintegration of these labile compounds after death; entropy.

We have mentioned the concept of the sphere of concern, and, we have seen, how difficult it is for us to enlarge our concerns much beyond our immediate family and friends. We still have difficulties acknowledgeing, that we all belong to a single human species, and, we do not have to search far in history to see disastrous attempts to "purify" a specific segment of the human race. We still judge each other with absolute standards and absolute reality perceptions, and, we have not digested, as yet, the wealth of physiological and biological information that is now available for study.

To a large extent, we still obey, blindly, the push and pull of our biological heritage, adding, here and there, a touch of a cultural guidance to our behaviour, but, most of the time, we are lost, when we approach the questions of why, how and what we are. Most of us find it difficult to think beyond the apparent reality of today, and, we find it frightening to find uncertainties.

It is in the passage of time, that we appreciate, most clearly, the nature of transience, and, of course, the awareness of transience would not be possible without the perception of time. In the flow of time, we notice the inexorable progression towards death, and, the certainty of this event is one of the major incentives to reflect, but, it is also the cause of our deepest anxieties.

What is time? Time is an abstraction, based upon the perception of change. Without change, we would not be able to appreciate the phenomenon of time. We have discussed, before, the concept, that the human being exists in a sphere of reality, where the present, the recent past and the immediate future are interwoven in a sense of "now". The reason why this is the case, lies in the fact, that our behaviour is based upon a constant referral of present stimuli or sense-impressions to our memory-banks for classification. In addition, we anticipate, continuously, what the results will be of our decisions, as well as the usual outcome of on-going events, and, we see, therefore, how the past, the present and the future fuse into a reality perception of contemporary reality. It becomes, then, easier to see, why we experience the present as a series of changes. Sometimes, these changes take place so quickly, that we can detect them only with special instruments; at other times, they are so slow, that we have to enlarge the time-span of our observations enormously, before we can become aware of them.

As a result of the ability to perceive changes, we can also abstract the concept of time, but, as a rule, we behave so automatically and so instinctively in relation to our environment, that we recognise and anticipate, constantly, the myriad of changes that are taking place, without being consciously aware of the concept of time, nor, are we aware of the fact, that our behaviour takes the occurrence of continuous change into account.

Without change, we would not know time, because, even, if we imagine ourselves to be in a completely dark room, isolated from any possibility to perceive changes, we can still measure the passage of time in the rythmical changes of our respirations or heart-beat. We only lose the feeling of time, when we are not aware anymore of the existence of ourselves as a thinking individual. This phenomenon becomes clear to us, after we wake-up from a dream-less sleep, or an anaesthetic, because, we have, then, no idea how much time has passed.

There are states of the mind where we lose contact with reality, such as during hallucinations. Then, we are also unable to sense the passage of time accurately; at least, such is the conclusion of those around us, while we, in a state of hallucination, may feel highly alert with an excellent sense of time. Extreme isolation, either, self-imposed, or, when imposed by others during imprisonment, will also lead to difficulties appreciating the flow of time.

Subjectively, the apparent flow-rate of time is very much related to the rate of change we experience. If the rate of change is quick; if we encounter, rapidly, a series of new experiences, time seems to pass rather slowly. At least, in retrospect, we appreciate the fact, that a lot has happened in what seems to be a relatively short period of time, while we experience time to fly-by, quickly, whenever we exist in a regular and comfortable routine.

Of course, the routine may be boring, and, we may be unhappy with the status-quo. The long duration of a boring routine is an expression of the awareness of an unpleasant tension, which we would like to change as soon as possible. Then, time goes by slowly, because we are looking forward to the moment that our comfortable, pleasant equilibrium will be restored, but, if we exist in a comfortable routine, the days, the months, even, the years seem to pass quickly. The perception of a chronic, unpleasant tension we are unable to change, makes us aware of the slow passage of time, until we can direct our attention away from such a chronic tension. However, most of us adapt, one way or another, to these chronic, unpleasant tensions, and, as soon as we relax our impatient focus of attention upon the moment of relief, the flow-rate of times quickens considerably.

In the same way, we may appreciate the transience of a pleasant situation, because we know, that everything changes at some time in the future, and, the most fundamental awareness we have, is the fact, that all our functions, including our awarenesses and the appreciation of being alive, will, some day, end in death. Some day, we will have to leave everything. Even, our personality will cease to exist, and, the nagging uncertainty about what is going to come, as well as a fear for the severe stress we may have to endure, before we have gone through the process of death, may sharpen, dramatically, the appreciation of the fact, that we are still alive and well.

In the search for viability, the forces of evolution started to experiment with flexible patterns of behaviour, and, the human life-form has explored the possibilities of a conscious awareness and deliberate manipulation of the environment. The success of this evolutionary experiment in power and mastery has been dramatic, but, this conscious ability to manipulate the forces around us, is also responsible for the fact, that we know about the certainty of death, and, that we are subject to the fear of having to suffer in the future. The pre-occupation of the human being with the certainty of death, is a major incentive for the elaboration of religious belief structures.

Every religious belief deals with the problem of death, and forms a more or less coherent mental imagery about the nature of death, as well as the fate of the individual after death. None of the religious beliefs accepts a total non-existence of the individual after death has taken place, and, there are many psychological and physiological reasons, why the concept of total non-existence is unattractive, illogical, as well as nearly impossible to grasp.

The reasons, why the acceptance of a non-existence in death is, not only, emotionally highly unsatisfactory, but, intellectually and physiologically difficult, have been outlined before, and, we will only emphasise, here, how the religious belief structures, as well as the many forms of religious behaviour, are always an expression of our drive for security; if not physical security, then, emotional or psychological, or, even, intellectual security. The mental imagery of death, as well as our concepts about the fate of the individual after death, are efforts of the living organism to cope with the stress of disease, suffering and death, and we have to interpret these religious phenomena and behaviour-patterns as a most logical, even unavoidable manifestation of a vigorous vitality.

However, all reality perceptions are constantly challenged by changing circumstances and intellectual scrutiny, in spite of the fact, that many interpretations of a religious reality become sacred. This process, where a belief becomes sacred, results from a conscious or subconscious desire to shield a valuable belief structure from too rapid a change, or, too intense a scrutiny. Yet, in a society that has become somewhat individualised, there will always be questions, because there will always be discrepancies between the official imagery of reality, and, the experiences or observations of many individuals within this social environment. We know, now, that all religious reality perceptions face a challenge from the scientific reality images, in spite of the fact, that this challenge is, often, dissipated by the confusion and contradictions that are inherent within the imagery of modern science and technology.

Awarenesses of all kinds, in particular, those fundamental feelings of identity and existence, seem to be so intertwined with the existence of a living, intact human being, that the concept of a residual awareness, a soul, or an immortal principle of human essence, has a difficult time to survive under close scrutiny. At the same time, our ever-recurring attempts to grasp the existence of non-existence runs into difficulties, because we give, inevitably, existence to all our mental images, and, the visualisation of a state of non-existence, becomes, therefore, a physiological impossibility. Only indirectly are we able to give ourselves an idea of non-existence. We realise, increasingly, how many entitities which we have given conceptual existence, depend for their existence on the presence of a specific relationship between building-blocks. These same parts or building-blocks in a different configuration or relationship, do not constitute the same entity, nor does it even begin to resemble the entity which we have given a separate conceptual existence.

We have learned to see, that the specific characteristics of a living organism depend upon the spatial organisation and relationships of complex chemical compounds, rather than upon the characteristics of these compounds themselves. This is the reason, why the difference between living and non-living matter is not the result of a specific, essential feature or characteristic, which was thought, in the past, to be responsible for the properties of living organisms. We know, now, that we can explain the functions of living organisms on the basis of the dynamic interrelationships between chemical compounds, which allow a continuous flow of energy through the organism, which is necessary to sustain the organisation of life.

As an analogy, we see, that man has learned to create many machines, whose functions are entirely determined by the relationships of their parts and the availability of a continuous flow of suitable energy. The separate or, even, conglomerate existence of these parts, without a specific and precisely organised relationships or configuration, does not even resemble the existence of a specific device. Even the failure of one component to function properly in relation to its neighbouring parts, may be sufficient to halt, completely, all the functions of this piece of machinery, and the machine is "dead". The flow of energy through its systems comes to a halt. Only the natural disintegration, or entropy, of the living organism is not mirrored in most of man's machinery, since we are dealing in man-made devices with large chunks of stable, inorganic matter, which have been placed, creatively, in a deliberate juxta-position by the human mind.

Life, and all living organisms, have evolved from the random experiments of biochemical evolution. Here, the process of putting together the pieces of the living machinery depends on the sequential organisation of a series of biochemical events, and, the living cell does not have the advantage of a creative human hand, putting stable chunks of inert material into the required spatial and functional relationships.

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Chapter 7

Content

Entropy; the decay of biochemical compounds.
An argument in favour of the natural evolution of living existence.
The ability to change; a characteristic that applies to the organisation of all existence.
No complete resistance to change anywhere.
Matter; seen as an orbital form of energy.
Living matter has to be able to exist temporarily.
Life could not exist without the succession of countless generations.
My existence has been made possible by the struggle and death of millions of generations before me.
The haphazard configuration of mental images.
All the components of my personality structure and physical existence will be used time and again.
The sobering thought that, even, my most essential feelings are shared, and have been shared, by millions of others.
The idea, that our essence is indistinguishable from each other.
The variability of particulars.
The uniqueness of a particular configuration, and the uniqueness of each grain of sand.
The question of relevance when considering differences.
A handful of sand thrown onto the pavement.
The ability to create a reality-image, showing the limited importance of the instinct for self-preservation as a basis for perceiving reality.
Symbiotic viability in a state of trust, justice and equality.
A less egocentric way of perceving reality should allow a widened acceptability of such a reality perception.
The need for trust, security and careful instruction.
Actualised human existence possibilities, exploring feelings, attitudes and notions.
A repeating cycle, or a steady change?
A kaleidoscopic variety of "images of convenience".
Modulating and communicating a variety of views.
The wisdom and dexterity of future reality perceptions.
Swift changes in the flow-rate of time.
Individual existence as a momentary torch-bearer of conscious awareness.
Individual and collective modes of existence.
The tentative emergence of social harmonies.
A poisonous atmosphere of mutual distrust.
Tentative polymerisations of the social experiment.
The protoplasmic and the social primordium.
The limited scale of the social experiment.
The tools of supra-individual guidelines.
Nature's abandonment of strict genetic encoding.
The experiment with behavioural flexibility.
The instrument of the deliberate choice.
Reality perceptions depend on the mechanisms of behavioural flexibility.
The evolutionary gamble and its by-products.
The price of anxiety, and the knowledge of death.
A harvest of beauty, truth and compassion.
Blunting our instincts of self-preservation in exchange for an enhanced sense of cooperation and interdependence.
Mankind, grown old, may show some loss of bold vitality, but, also, a greater ability to avoid the pitfalls of stress and confrontation.
Reflecting intensely on the aspects of transient existence and relative importance.

Entropy of the living organism, or, the decay of biochemical compounds after death, is one of the strongest arguments in favour of the mechanisms of natural evolution, since the arbitrary creation of a living structure, analogous to the creation of a man-made machine, might be expected to leave similar "debris" around, just as a man-made machine that has "died" and has been abandoned.

The ability to change from moment to moment under the influence of pressure- and tension-gradients, is a specific characteristic of living organisms and biochemical materials in general, but, this definition applies, in essence, to all matter, since no orbital form of energy is eternally stable, especially, when we look at the range of conditions on a galactic scale.

We have come to appreciate the fact, that it is necessary for all living organisations to exist only temporarily, because the process of genetic encoding, as well as the search for existence possibilities, is only possible over a prolonged period of time, assisted by a large series of successive generations. Without this succession of countless generations, there would not be life and certainly no human life. Without the death of many millions of generations of human beings, I, nor you, nor anyone else could be alive today, and, there would not be any awareness or appreciation for the facts of life and death.

If the deaths and struggles of so many millions of people have made my existence possible, why, then, should I deplore or resent the fact, that I will die, too? Some day, this particular configuration, not only of chemical compounds, atoms and molecules, but also, this particular, haphazard configuration of thoughts, attitudes and emotions that happens to be me; some day, this configuration will be broken. Yet, just as each individual component of a living organism may be transformed or incorporated into many different forms of existence, so are my thoughts, emotions and attitudes, as well as those of everyone else, mirrored, re-created and re-combined in countless human personalities that are all a little different from each other.

After my particular configuration has been broken, I will have ceased to exist, but, all the different components that constituted my particular personality will survive or be recreated in someone else. Is this not a sobering thought? None of my deepest emotions, feelings, thoughts or attitudes are uniquely mine, and, they have, almost certainly, been present in countless other human beings before I was even born. Even my most abstract, my innermost feeling of identity, represents a characteristic we all share, and, the individual variability of this feeling of identity, is, probably, so minimal, that it would be difficult to distinguish an essential difference between one person and another.

Sure, the degree to which each one of us can verbalise or communicate this identity-feeling, may vary dramatically, but, this is not really different from the fact, that some people can express their musical or athletic capabilities much better than others. If my personality, my identity, my living structure is nothing more than the haphazard genetic and cultural actualisation of a particular human possibility of existence, why, then, should I worry so much over my death or the impending non-existence of this particular configuration?

True, this particular configuration has probably never been, or will never again be duplicated exactly in the same manner, just like two grains of sand will never be quite identical, regardless, how vast the beach is, but the differences between one grain of sand and another may be completely irrelevant, and, these differences may, eventually, become indistinguishable. If all the components of my particular configuration are essentially shared by all human beings, what, then, is so important or so precious about my particular configuration? I could take a handful of sand and throw it onto the pavement of a road. I could stand back and marvel at this particular configuration of grains of sand, and, I could say to myself; "You will never be able to create, exactly, this same configuration again", but, then, what is the significance of this particular configuration?

Sure, as part of my biological heritage, I am also endowed with the instinct of self-preservation, and, my whole being will resist stress, destruction and death, in particular, if it would come soon or unexpected. However, by seeing reality in a broad perspective, I can create a reality-image for myself, (and, hopefully for others as well), which recognises the common grounds of our egocentric drives, and, we may be able to acknowledge, that our strife and combativeness are based upon an instinct we all share.

A clear awareness of such a reality perception would temper our instincts of self-preservation and combativeness to a level, where reasoned cooperation becomes possible and a state of interdependence in justice and equality would give us an extra-ordinary measure of symbiotic viability. Obviously, a reality-image that is less centered around the creator of this reality perception, and, a reality perception that recognises the commonality of its biological drives and instincts, has a much better chance to find a harmonious acceptance by other people, because it will be less hostile and less frightening to another individual, who may begin to recognise the general validity of such a way of looking at reality.

A reality-image that blots-out the significance of our personal existence and negates our instincts of self-preservation, is emotionally and intellectually difficult, unless there is a great deal of trust amongst people, and, we have argued before, that there is a great need for a clear and systematic instruction in the behavioural attitudes and practices that lie behind these concepts of trust and relativity. We have also explained, why each individual has to experience a sense of essential security, as well as a satisfied sense of justice, before such a philosophy of relativistic reality perceptions can be understood and accepted on a large scale.

With the passage of time, we all change, each one of us, and, we all face death and dissolution, some day. Some day, our particular personality and bodily structure will fall-apart, and another minute fragment of the possibilities of human existence will have found its limitations. However, millions of other actualised possibilities of human existence will have sprung-up and are busily exploring their possibilities of existence, just like we did, when we were younger.

We all act and react so much the same. The ideas that will be explored by these newly actualised possibilities of human existence, their feelings, attitudes and emotions will be very similar to our own. Probably, many of these personalities will be essentially indistinguishable from our own, but, who knows into what direction their attitudes and attention will be funneled? Everything changes, including the guidelines and belief structures of a community or social environment. However, these fluctuations and changes may also repeat themselves, again and again, and, perhaps, the overall behaviour of the human species changes little over the entire span of its evolution.

As we learn to telescope our fields of vision, quickly varying the scope and shifting, continuously, the focus of our attention, the familiar and trusted reality-images from the present will change into complex and initially somewhat frightening and unfamiliar appearances. Yet, such a flexibility in seeing reality will be an essential instrument for our efforts to solve the dilemmas of good and evil, right and wrong; life and death. We will learn to live without absolute certainties, and, we may, even, learn to dispense, all-together, with the concept of a particular reality of truth, as we substitute, with increasing virtuosity, a variety of kaleidoscopic images, which are, in essence, pictures of convenience and convention.

We will be able to change, quickly, various aspects of our reality perceptions, and, we will be modulating and communicating our views in a wide variety of modes. Eventually, the rapidly shifting but sure-footed manipulation of a wide repertoir of mental images, will make our contemporary concerns and disputes appear like a play of squabbling children, bickering and arguing, fighting and destroying each other, in complete ignorance of more pressing problems at hand, reflecting a blind obedience to a primitive, biological heritage.

In the future, we will handle the emotional consequences of our own sense of transience much easier, with far greater insights and a lessened concern for our particular existence, but it will remain difficult, as well as somewhat futile, to try to anticipate the future attitudes and concerns of people. We are concerned, now, with the origins of an awareness of transience and relativity. We are also increasingly aware of swift changes in conditions and circumstances, as we are allowed to carry, momentarily, the torch of conscious awareness in our individualised existence.

We are just beginning to learn to extra-polate the insights of individual existence to our collective and social existence, grasping, almost blindly and haphazardly, for guidelines in order to find the most constructive and fruitful way to organise ourselves socially. Time and again, we see the first tentative configurations of a living, supra-individual organism decay as a result of the resurgence of a poisonous atmosphere of mutual distrust and corruption.

The bonds of life form, fall-apart, and re-form, just as the early tentative polymerisations must have explored a myriad of possibilities of existence in the protoplasmic primordium. However, the "social primordium" can only experiment on a limited scale, and, there is no chance that all the social possibilities of existence can be explored effectively by a blind evolutionary search. The scope of the natural social experiment in the human species is too small. There is no time to test all the catastrophic possibilities of failed existence and destruction, and, the consequences of the many blind and evolutionary dead-end experiments would weaken the human species fatally. We will have to create, not only, our machinery and tools in an act of understanding the mechanisms of nature, but, we will have to create, also, the tools of collective or social guidelines, which feed upon the faculties of individualised understanding and mutual trust.

Nature abandoned, to some extent, the mechanisms of strict genetic encoding as an investment in the security and viability of its actualised members, when it explored behavioural variability, a long time ago, with the evolution of the behaviourally flexible species'. This development took place, because the transience of circumstances was so rapid, that genetic adaptation became too slow a method for the large and complex organism to follow, smoothly, back and forth, into the fluctuating ecological possibilities of existence.

Individualised behavioural variability on the basis of learning, the personalised classification of sense impressions, and, eventually, a willed, deliberate choice of behaviour was chosen as an instrument of viability for the human species. It was chosen by the forces of natural selection, because it allowed the most rapid form of adaptation to changing circumstances, and, the security of the locked-in genetic key was superseded, at least, to some extent, by the vulnerable vagaries of a cultural transmission. However, without such a daring move of nature and the boisterous but dangerous short-cut of natural evolution, symbolic awareness, language communication and belief structures would not have been possible, nor, would these abilities have become necessary. We would not exist, nor would reality exist; nor the awareness of time and transience.

Are awareness and understanding, therefore, the result of an evolutionary gamble and the by-product of a search for viability, which occurred long before the emergence of man took place? Did the forces of nature abandon, to some extent, the secure confines of a doubly-wound helix of biochemical configurations in order to explore a spiral of myriad existence possibilities with a rapid transience? Are we existing, and anticipating the inevitability of our death and the transience of all existence, then, entirely as a result of nature's impatience with genetic adaptations? Do we pay with insight and anxiety the price for the possibility of quick adaptative and innovative responses? Do we have to anticipate and know death, because, a long time ago, nature by-passed the slow but sure way of genetic modifications and adaptations?

Indeed, human awareness, thought, reality-experiences, as well as the verbalised world of our emotional experiences, are the result of a change in the direction of natural evolution, when genetic adaptations had become too slow to allow an efficient search for possibilities of existence by the larger and more slowly reproducing animal organisms. We pay the price of anxiety for the knowledge of good, evil and death, but, we also reap the experiences of beauty, truth and compassion.

Understanding the relativity of our conceptual imagery may, indeed, blunt our instincts of preservation in exchange for an enhanced sense of mutual cooperation and increased interdependence, and, this trend may lead to a certain reduction in the ability to withstand severe stress.

Mankind, grown old, may not have the same elan vital to extricate itself with a bold, daring and supreme effort from a seemingly hopeless situation, but, then, wise old mankind may also have learned to avoid the pitfalls of stress and confrontation, which we, at this time, seem so eager to explore.

Like an old personality, secure to a certain degree, wise in outlook and modest in its needs, old mankind may be tempered and relaxed, as it reflects, intensely, on its transient existence and relative significance.

.......

Summary

1. Everything changes; the transience of all observable existence.
   A focus upon the transience of life and our own existence.
   The transience of our experiences and reality perceptions.
   Reality, as a blend of the past, the present and the immediate future.
   The classifying processes of the brain and the mind.
   Recognition and awareness.
   I, as the center of my sphere of reality.
   The past and the future are functions of our existence in the present.
   Life, seen as possibilities of existence.
   Actualisation of living existence; by guidance and happenstance.
   The human individual, seen as a chance-actualisation of a member of the human gene-pool, as well as a haphazard series of contacts and cultural influences.
   The identity feeling as a manifestation of our instinct of self-preservation.
   Sharing the same instincts and identity feelings with all human beings.
   The instinct of self-preservation in its behavioural, non-verbalised form is a basic characteristic of all living existence.
   The species-wide human ability to be aware of the sense of identity; a tool to develop wide-ranging communications, cutting across cultural barriers.
   The possiblity to use the experience and awareness of transience as a relativistic principle, reducing the importance of our existence and beliefs.
   The possibility to create a deliberate and all-encompassing reality with relevance for everyone.
   The possibility to harmonise the instincts of self-preservation and social existence; the just and efficient communities of the future.
   Necessity, as the motivating force to develop social coherence.
   The need to have a conceptual blue-print available for the time when this necessity will make itself felt.
   If harmony is possible on a small social scale, it is also possible on a global scale.
   A dull-witted pre-occupation with instinctive behaviour-patterns.
   Does intelligent behaviour really exist?
   Viability has to be found in a comprehensive grasp over reality, rather than continued strife and combat.
   The transient reality perception, free from absolute, non-transient, divinely revealed, eternal truths.
   The need to abandon the hope of obtaining eternal life in an eternally existing, absolute truth.
   Does the religious believer "suppress" a sense of transience?
   Arguments against this view.
   
   
   
2. The religious believer conquers the problem of death with his faith in the existence of an immortal soul.
   Transitoriness is rejected, and the process of death is seen as an illusion, or, as a transition to a different form of existence.
   This belief structure is a direct result of the instinct of self-preservation.
   A ferocious and fanatic emphasis on personal, egocentric salvation.
   An answer to the experiences of injustice and suffering.
   Difficulties accepting such imagery, especially, when one is emotionally neutral and existentially comfortable.
   The inevitability of being judged; anticipating, to some extent, God's Judgements.
   A crutch for egocentric and anxious people.
   The vanishing intellectual foundations for religious beliefs.
   Increasing difficulties, when trying to reconcile the imagery of the sciences and the religions.
   A pass-port to egocentric survival, as well as an instrument of prejudice and clannishness.
   A social symbol of self-esteem and conservatism.
   The danger of a nuclear doomsday because of an all-out attack on Satan by fanatic Christians.
   The dangers of fanatic behaviour.
   A glorification of the awareness of transience.
   The basis for relativistic reality perceptions.
   A return to transient phenomena; musical harmonies and music-making.
   The transience of interpretations and judgements.
   The vagueness of meaning.
   Doubts about our sense of identity.
   
   
   
3. Is there a need for super-abstractive thought?
   The morass of ever-increasing uncertainty.
   Concentrating on practical realities.
   Carpe diem; refrain from useless philosophising.
   Let those with a strong faith or absolute beliefs be happy in their certainties.
   Can we adopt absolute truths without being completely convinced?
   The severe price we may have to pay for unquestioned beliefs.
   The problem of doubt and the emergence of questions.
   A blind rage for the Glory of God?
   Sharing uncertainties, rather than the certainty, that we will never share the same absolute truths or dogmatic Faith.
   Questions.
   Are we able to avoid the paralysis of constant questioning?
   The difficulties and apparent sterility of relativistic thought.
   The view from an ivory tower.
   Acknowledgeing our instincts, emotions and drives.
   The jump, and the glass of water.
   The relative validity of all imagery; scientific or religious.
   A tool to bring us together.
   We all can understand the basic principles of relativistic thought.
   A careful and broad-minded attitude resulting from a scrutiny of beliefs.
   The need to guard against deceitful intellectual sophistry.
   Understanding ourselves, as well as our natural surroundings.
   
   
   
4. A short summary of the foundations of relativistic thought.
   The limited validity of such a summary.
   Transience of all existence.
   Existence, seen as the actualisation of a possiblity to exist; in the living world, as well as the world of inorganic existence.
   All reality represents a conceptual reality, based upon images that are recalled with the help of symbolic representations.
   The sharpening of conceptual meaning through frequent dialogue.
   Evolutionary images that are based on the sciences, and the possibility to grasp events and items of existence in concepts of regularity and cohesion.
   No absolute truths; scientifically, nor religiously.
   Reality perceptions have to take into account the anatomical and physiological constants of human existence.
   Reality perceptions depend upon the human genetic code and the cultural currency.
   Living existence, seen as an actualised possibility.
   The genetic code, guiding organic-chemical sequences within a suitable environment in order to accomplish the actualisation of a possibility to exist.
   The common denominators of our biological heritage.
   A basis for cooperation, and a choice of necessity.
   The utilitarian and biological aspects of all reality perceptions.
   The relativity of individual uniqueness.
   The certainty of death, seen as an evolutionary necessity.
   Further elaboration in the series; In Search of Reality.
   No morass of meaningless existence.
   The confidence, that such a relativistic reality perception will, eventually, find a far wider acceptance than any specific scientific or religious point of view.
   The need for practical certainties.
   The high price of belligerence.
   The limits of ethical concerns.
   A pre-occupation with personal salvation and well-being.
   The socio-centric orientation of a nationalistic leadership.
   The remarkable parallels between a self-centered individual, and an equally self-centered society.
   An absence of effective criticisms for the self-centered society.
   The absence of an effective world community of nations.
   Dangerous nationalistic sentiments.
   Why patriotic citizens see themselves as virtuous and ethical people.
   Narrow horizons.
   
   
   
5. The individual as a leader of the "society" of his personal drives, impulses and instincts.
   The apparent normality and prudence of self-centered social leadership.
   The frowned-upon, introvert egocentricity of similar attitudes in the individual.
   The need to teach leaders tolerance, cooperation and humility.
   Leaders may become overwhelmed by pressures and conflicting demands from society.
   Narrow-minded factions within a social environment.
   The leader, who becomes suspected and rejected because of too broad-minded an approach to governing society.
   Relativistic principles and leadership drives are, probably, somewhat at odds with each other.
   One cog in a gigantic wheel.
   A return to transience.
   The possibilities that come with an enlarged sphere of concern.
   Maintaining justice, and the ability to curb exploitation and abuse.
   Erroneous interpretations of a relativistic reality perception.
   Relativistic uncertainties and the loss of moral guidance, when such ideas are applied to a lawless, egocentric and exploitative society.
   Ruthless behaviour, even, if technically "within the law".
   The requirements of a just society.
   The potential fusion of mankind into a global society, and the possibility that it may never happen.
   The short time needed to change attitudes and cultural guidelines.
   Possible developments towards a more widely acceptable philosophy.
   Arguments have to be combated with counter-arguments.
   The incredible genetic code.
   Joining the ranks of extinct species'.
   
   
6. The dangers and injustices of trying to "purify" a specific segment of human existence.
   The undigested wealth of scientific and biological information.
   The blind push and pull of our instinctive drives.
   It seems so difficult for most people to see beyond the apparent realities of today.
   The passage of time.
   An abstraction, based upon the perception of change.
   Our contemporary existence, seen as a blend of the recent past, the immedate future, and the present.
   Varying rates of change.
   Behaving nearly automatically.
   A dark room, and the ability to perceive time by our physiological rythms.
   Losing the perception of the flow-rate of time.
   The dream-less sleep and the anaesthetic.
   Hallucinations and sensory deprivation, or extreme isolation.
   The subjective flow-rate of time.
   When time passes slowly, or fast.
   A slow rate of flow for the perception of time; when many things are happening in a short time, or, when enduring a chronically unpleasant tension.
   A fast rate of flow; the comfortable routine.
   Adapting to chronic tensions, followed by an apparent quickening of the flow-rate of time.
   Appreciating the transience of a pleasant situation.
   The awareness of the certainty of death.
   Nature's search for viability, and the evolution of conscious awareness.
   The power to manipulate.
   The power to anticipate, and the price of being aware of death and the probability of having to suffer in the future.
   Religious beliefs, seen as an attempt to cope with the occurrence of death and suffering.
   The difficulty of grasping the concept of total non-existence.
   Physiological and psychological, intellectual and emotional difficulties with the concept of non-existence.
   The quest for security.
   Every reality perception will, eventually, be challenged.
   Sacredness; an attitude to create stable reality perceptions.
   The ever-present discrepancies in experience and belief in every individualised society.
   The challenge mounted by the scientific reality-perception, in spite of the weakening of this challenge by confusing presentations and frightening technological developments.
   The inextricable inter-twining of fundamental reality perceptions and the existence of an intact human being.
   Giving a quality of existence to the concepts of non-existence.
   Living existence, and its dependence upon the factor of "organisation".
   Organisation; the essence of a functioning, living organism, as well as the functioning of a piece of man-made machinery.
   A continuous flow of energy through the living organism and the man-made machine.
   The drastic consequences of the failure of a single component.
   The juxta-position of inert chunks of material by the creative human hand or mind.
   The build-up of living organisation takes place through guided biochemical sequences with labile compounds.
   The disintegration of these labile compounds after death; entropy.
   
   
   
7. Entropy; the decay of biochemical compounds.
   An argument in favour of the natural evolution of living existence.
   The ability to change; a characteristic that applies to the organisation of all existence.
   No complete resistance to change anywhere.
   Matter; seen as an orbital form of energy.
   Living matter has to be able to exist temporarily.
   Life could not exist without the succession of countless generations.
   My existence has been made possible by the struggle and death of millions of generations before me.
   The haphazard configuration of mental images.
   All the components of my personality structure and physical existence will be used time and again.
   The sobering thought that, even, my most essential feelings are shared, and have been shared, by millions of others.
   The idea, that our essence is indistinguishable from each other.
   The variability of particulars.
   The uniqueness of a particular configuration, and the uniqueness of each grain of sand.
   The question of relevance when considering differences.
   A handful of sand thrown onto the pavement.
   The ability to create a reality-image, showing the limited importance of the instinct for self-preservation as a basis for perceiving reality.
   Symbiotic viability in a state of trust, justice and equality.
   A less egocentric way of perceving reality should allow a widened acceptability of such a reality perception.
   The need for trust, security and careful instruction.
   Actualised human existence possibilities, exploring feelings, attitudes and notions.
   A repeating cycle, or a steady change?
   A kaleidoscopic variety of "images of convenience".
   Modulating and communicating a variety of views.
   The wisdom and dexterity of future reality perceptions.
   Swift changes in the flow-rate of time.
   Individual existence as a momentary torch-bearer of conscious awareness.
   Individual and collective modes of existence.
   The tentative emergence of social harmonies.
   A poisonous atmosphere of mutual distrust.
   Tentative polymerisations of the social experiment.
   The protoplasmic and the social primordium.
   The limited scale of the social experiment.
   The tools of supra-individual guidelines.
   Nature's abandonment of strict genetic encoding.
   The experiment with behavioural flexibility.
   The instrument of the deliberate choice.
   Reality perceptions depend on the mechanisms of behavioural flexibility.
   The evolutionary gamble and its by-products.
   The price of anxiety, and the knowledge of death.
   A harvest of beauty, truth and compassion.
   Blunting our instincts of self-preservation in exchange for an enhanced sense of cooperation and interdependence.
   Mankind, grown old, may show some loss of bold vitality, but, also, a greater ability to avoid the pitfalls of stress and confrontation.
   Reflecting intensely on the aspects of transient existence and relative importance.

.......