Understanding our fragility and vulnerability as human beings increases my empathy for humanity. The story of Thor is a metaphor for our inability to stop time, and one thing all human beings (and all forms of life) have in common is that time wrestles with us all. Economist and social theorist Jeremy Rifkin explains how our understanding of human fragility and vulnerability is essential for empathy:
Around eight years of age a child learns about birth and death … that they have a one and only life, that life is fragile and vulnerable, and one day they are going to die. That’s the beginning of an existential trip, because when a child learns about birth and death and they have a one and only life, they realize how fragile and vulnerable life is. It’s very tough being alive on this planet, whether you’re a human being, or a fox navigating the forest.
So when a child learns that life is vulnerable and fragile and that every moment is precious and that they have their own unique history, it allows the child then to experience another’s plight in the same way, that [other] person, or other being—it could be another creature—has a one and only life, it’s tough to be alive, and the odds are not always good. So if you think about the times that we’ve empathized with each other—our fellow creatures—it’s always because we’ve felt their struggle … and we show solidarity with our compassion.
Empathy is the opposite of utopia. There is no empathy in heaven … There isn’t any empathy in heaven because there’s no mortality. There is no empathy in utopia because there is no suffering. Empathy is grounded in the acknowledgement of death and the celebration of life and rooting for each other to flourish and be. It’s based on our frailties and our imperfections, so when we talk about building an empathic civilization, we’re not talking about utopia, we’re talking about the ability of human beings to show solidarity not only with each other, but our fellow creatures who have a one and only life on this little planet.4
In addition to the biblical story of the Garden of Eden and Jeremy Rifkin’s scientific perspective, many philosophical and religious traditions also recognize that human beings are oddballs—freaks of the universe who can brilliantly change so many aspects of nature, yet remain powerless to change the laws of nature. People may try to repress this awareness by pretending they will never grow old and die, but deep in our unconscious mind, we realize death eventually comes for us all, whether we are male or female, European or Asian, rich or poor. Realizing that death is a part of our shared humanity, philosopher Marcus Aurelius said death made the Macedonian king Alexander the Great and his lowly stable boy equal in the end, by reducing them both to atoms.5 As the Bible says, “For dust you are and to dust you will return.”6
However, this book is not about death. It is about the mystery and beauty of life. Many people perceive the inevitability of time, old age, and death as a source of darkness, but later in this book we will uncover abundant sources of light hidden in this darkness. In the first chapter I explained why human beings are the most unusual predators in the world. In this chapter I discuss why human beings are the most unusual creatures on the planet. And later in this book I will reveal why human beings are the most unusual form of dust, capable of choosing to drown in darkness or bathe in light. Understanding our unusual human condition has made me proud to be human, allowed me to walk the hidden road to peace, and strengthened my empathy for humanity and all life.
My other books explore human nature in ways that empower us to solve our national and global problems. But in this book we will explore the nature of reality itself. We will explore the nature of existence and the universe. My other books focus on the understanding and tools we need to create peace between human beings. But only by exploring the nature of the universe, which I call the cosmic ocean, can we learn to make peace with our delicate ecosystem, the unchangeable laws of nature, and even death. Human survival in our fragile future will depend not only on our ability to create peace between human beings. It will also depend on our ability to make peace with the problem of human existence.
Why Humans Ask Why
In the previous Erich Fromm quote, he said animals live in harmony with nature. What did he mean? His statement seems absurd at first glance, because animals in nature suffer from hunger, thirst, fear, pain, physical injuries, old age, and death just as we do. Many of them also experience the terror of being hunted, which is certainly not a harmonious feeling.
Furthermore, scientific evidence shows that many animals can form deep emotional bonds with other creatures. Since elephants can bond deeply with members of their herd, how can an elephant experience harmony with nature while seeing its family members die from drought? And since animals fear being eaten alive, how can a panicking zebra experience harmony with nature while being killed by hyenas?
Although animals in the wild are vulnerable to many of the same forms of suffering experienced by human beings, what Fromm meant is that these animals live in harmony with a certain part of nature. They live in harmony with the purpose and meaning of their existence. As I mentioned earlier, human beings must seek purpose and meaning as other animals search for food and water. If human beings are unable to find purpose and meaning in their lives, they can suffer enormously, even if they have food, safety, good health, and freedom. Because other species live in harmony with the purpose and meaning of their existence, we have never seen an animal in the wild experience a midlife crisis, the need to explore religion, or the desire to scientifically explain the origin of the universe.
All organisms except human beings live in harmony with another part of nature—the mystery of life and death. As far as we know, only human beings are troubled by the following mysterious questions: Why are we here? Where did the universe come from? Where did life come from? Is there a God? What is death? Is there life after death? What is the meaning of life? These questions are central to human existence, and both religious people and atheists feel a need to answer these questions, often in different ways. People can attempt to answer these questions through religion, science, philosophy, a fanatical ideology, or some other means.
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is a metaphor for our heightened human awareness. In the story of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve live in paradise where there is no old age or death. In the garden they experience harmony, happiness, and innocence, but when they achieve heightened human awareness by eating the tree’s forbidden fruit, their harmony with existence becomes disrupted and they are evicted from paradise. All adults have had an experience, or series of experiences, that disrupted the harmony of their childhood, causing them to feel evicted from the happiness of their youth.
Before my father attacked me in my sleep when I was four, I remember being such a happy child. I remember my kind and gentle father carrying me on his shoulders when we went to the store and being a protective force in my life. Back then the world seemed magical, beautiful, and full of wonder. But when my father made me fear for my life, the happiness and innocence of my childhood became disrupted. The traumatic experience of being attacked by my father gave me a new awareness that evicted me from the metaphorical paradise of my happy childhood.
Many different kinds of experiences can disrupt the happiness of our childhood. When Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden they were not vulnerable to old age or death. Today science has revealed that very young children are not aware of the inevitability of old age and death. Becoming aware of these laws of nature can disrupt the harmony and innocence of our youth. Puberty can also disrupt our harmony.
When I was in the army, a sergeant I worked with told me, “When I was a child I used to be so happy. I didn’t seem to worry about anything. I was so carefree, and every day seemed like an adventure. But becoming aware of sex during puberty messed it all up. During