by bobcousins » Thu 06 Oct 2005, 21:36:56
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('keladry', 'N')ature is a balance.
Hmmm, not really. Nature is a complex, dynamic system. It naturally has cycles of boom and bust. Look at cyanobacteria. They ruled the earth for millions of years. Unfortunately they polluted the atmosphere with their waste. This was handy for life that breathed oxygen though.
It is a romantic human notion of nature as being balanced or harmonious. In reality it is a chaotic system. Both the Earth, and life on it, moves through periods of stability and wild variation. So a lifeform apparently running rampant and changing the planet to its detriment is really perfectly natural, in that it is within the parameters of the system.
The only odd thing about it is that the species involved has sufficient awareness to realise what it is doing (sometimes).
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t's hard to put this all into words, but something is not right here. This goes beyond Peak Oil. Why are we like this? If we came from nature, then why are we so unnatural?
I would contend that we are not, it is just that we think we are. I really don't see a qualitative difference between us and other species, it's a question of degree. In particular, our ability to think in the abstract and a sense of self. Other animals shows signs of this ability, but nowhere near as much. In this, dolphins are smarter than chimps. Even birds can count.
In order to solve problems more effectively, you need to place yourself in the picture. This requires you to create an entity representing the self, "me", which can then be manipulated as an abstract entity with other entities. For example, what will "me" eat for dinner tomorrow?
This ability develops during childhood. A side effect of this is that "me" becomes the primary motive and everything else as secondary objects. I think that is what leads us to an apparent disconnect with (the rest of) nature. It gives us the impression that we are the centre of the universe and that everything else revolves around us.
Science has shown that complex and completely unpredictable behaviours can arise from systems with very simple rules. This can be a source of enlightment or emptiness, it is up to you. Some may think there is something spiritual/mystical/metaphysical going on, but none of these are needed to explain it. In fact, research suggests that people have a part of the brain which creates a spiritual feeling. I suspect that this is an adaption to insulate us from the horror of a meaningless universe, once we gained the ability to comprehend death.
The humble bacteria seeks a food source, grows and multiplies. We do exactly the same thing, just a lot more effectively and with a lot more noise and
paraphernalia. What happens when we exhaust the food supply? Ask the cyanobacteria.