Some Understandings, Belief, Reality - RHB  2012

1. Past observation supports the concepts that the universe is orderly; events are causal; and humans are capable of understanding that order.  It seems impossible to prove these assertions, but they form a convenient basis to explain the world in which we find ourselves and thus many people accept them as fact.
2. Evidence found on earth supports the theory that biological structures have coagulated and developed in an evolutionary fashion to achieve increasingly complex organisms with major sensory and computational capabilities.  Human beings are part of that evolution.
3.  It seems likely that similar evolutionary processes may have occurred in other places in the universe, perhaps under different environments, leading to rather different outcomes. However there is currently no evidence of this.
4. Living plants and animals (including humans) have a variety of sensory detectors that are connected to information processing centres. Theses processing centres are capable of initiating action in muscles or cells and of fusing data to create new information.
5. Plants and animals have multiple control circuits to maintain the survival of these plants and animals. For example there are circuits that continuously acquire gases from the surrounding environment to process these in a way that ensures cell health and growth. There are other circuits directly wired from sensors to cause action, such as a sudden sensory signal (e.g. excessive heat or cold) which will cause an involuntary reaction (a limb jumping away from the source of the signal).
6. Plants, bacteria, single-cell creatures and most insects seem to lack a concentrated area developed for information processing. Their actions are driven by simple direct response to signals from the sensory detectors.
7. On the other hand, most reptiles, fish, birds and animals (including humans) have a region of cellular structure that is capable of relatively complex information processing. This cellular structure is called the ‘brain’.
8. There is evidence that animals which have evolved in the past million years or so have more complex brains, capable of experiencing comfort and pleasure by moderating the attitude and activities of that animal. Human beings have taken this approach to a very high level and by very slight movements (such as wrinkling the lips into a smile) can transmit a signal of pleasure, capable of being understood and enjoyed by other human beings – and perhaps other animals.
9. There is evidence that many millions of years ago animals of the same species developed techniques to communicate with each other – frequently this was by audio transmission, but it also included the use of many other senses, such as touch and sight. Over millennia most animals have refined and enhanced their communication; permitting much more refined transmission of ideas and desires. Human beings have developed this to a very high degree, largely by the invention of a variety of languages and also by expression and touch. Humans working and living together in a common task can develop close relationships; these can form part of the emotion of love.
10. Many animals have learnt that they can survive and prosper more effectively by cooperation with their own species.  This has certainly been the case with humans.  However there are situations where animals (including humans) find themselves seeking the same objective, leading to competition.  This triggers what is known in humans as the emotions of jealousy, envy, hatred and aggression, which can start fighting and war.
11. The majority of reptiles, fish, birds and animals reproduce in a bisexual mating process. This is driven by control circuits linking certain senses to sections of the brain that feed a response of pleasure to the reptile, fish, bird or animal.  In all animals this has been described as the emotion of lust, it can also be combined with a strong feeling of affection between the two animals and in humans is part of the emotion of love.
12. Many thousands of years ago all human societies recognised that policies needed to be developed to govern and control the interactions between people. The policies varied widely, but eventually led to the formation of nation states, with established governments and systems of laws.
13. The study of human interaction and interpersonal relationships falls within the discipline that humans call philosophy and ethics. The careful and loving way in which humans support each other and help those in need, has been called ‘humanism’, even though similar responses can sometimes be observed in other animals.
14. By observation, examination and speculation, humans created hypotheses to explain how their physical world operated. By critical testing over thousands of years many of these hypotheses have been strengthened to the point that they are known as theories. In some cases the theories have been embellished to be called “Laws of Nature”, even though none can be proven to be absolute. This process is now called science or scientific method.
15. The sharing of physical resources and the exchange of labour or knowledge has been systematised by the development of money. Locally and globally this has led on to human activities known as commerce, within a broader field of economics.
16. In the early years of human existence many groups felt isolated and concerned that life was so short. In most parts of the world different concepts were formulated assuming that there was some higher being, or beings, that had created the universe.  Furthermore many societies considered that their own lives would continue after the death of their physical body. Many ideas were held of some spiritual world beyond the physical; in some cases the spirit world was thought to envelop and even interact with our physical existence. These concepts were held to be above and beyond logical explanation and hence required no proof, but depended entirely on some form of Faith. These concepts have generally come to be called Religion. Many of these religions still continue in the present day world.  Unfortunately conflicting beliefs have led to competition, hatred and wars.
17. Any phenomena in that cannot be ascribed some cause (see the assumption in item 1) is sometimes described as a miracle and hence claimed as a demonstration of some particular religious idea, or even some spiritual influence.
18. To some people the highest purpose of human life is to embrace a Faith and pursue one's endeavours on earth to support that faith as the primary purpose for living. This may involve ethical behaviour towards other humans, but as mentioned above it can lead to competition and warlike behaviour between groups.
19. Fortunately to most people, social, logical and ethical interaction with other humans and sustaining the Earth's environment is enjoyable and sufficient reason for living. This is the humanist approach and in a well lived life there is acceptance of a broad range of views held by other people.

RHB – 27/10/2012

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