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The
Question of Being: 2015 I've been asked more than a few times, “Is this the only piece of work you did in 2015?” and I have to respond with an answer in two parts - “No, it's one of a number of pieces I've been working on but it's the only piece I actually finished and dated 2015!” and the other half is - “Well I dated this piece 2015 but I actually started it in my head decades ago.” Most people are bemused by this response but this is the way I work. The next inevitable question is “what is it all about?” so I should maybe give some explanation. However, after many unsuccessful attempts at the full story behind it (maybe there isn't one) - I've decided to put up this shortened version for now! Okay, I know what I'm trying to say in this image – so actually the image is itself my “best attempt” at trying to say it – but I'll see if I can translate it into words! In a nutshell, it's just a visual of my simplified, pared-down interpretation and representation of the tangled structures that are currently vying for power on our little planet....as I understand it. Incidentally, the image contains over 1,000 question mark(s) and shapes (?) forwards or reverse, whole or in part. Now based on my simple, not-too-scientific interpretation of the history of evolution – greatly compressed up to the arrival of us humans – here's what I've personally chosen to consider as the most plausible steps (and I stress again non-scientific) as to how we got here!
So Earth is formed from the accretion of space-dust 4-5 billion years
ago. “Somehow” water, then single-cell life in the form of microorganisms
emerged. Eventually fungi and early plantlife began to flourish. The
earliest marine life started to emerge onto land followed by the thriving
of any number of branches of animal life. Big jump next - not sure
about this (but nobody seems too sure) as there are so many different
sciences studying the history of bipeds, primates and 15 - 20 different
types of early human, but along whichever branch it was in that long
progression of lifeforms it produced us - the first homo sapiens,
sometime around 200,000 years ago. It seems we then ambled along pretty
much unchanged, except for a few physical refinements until around
12,000 years ago. The Question of Being Now
if we go back in time again, somewhere along the way, over the last
few million years (sources differ but suggest two to five million)
our forebears became “sentient” beings – and that was the “starting
gun” – the beginning of primative thought and an ability to “project”,
resulting in the most basic questions of how better to survive in
this physical world: what to eat, how to make a better shelter or
keep warm, keep safe from predators etc. As this knowledge accumulated
it would naturally be passed down to their offspring by teaching and
copying but also intrinsically through the genes of the most successful
individuals. Is it possible though that there was some newly
evolving and parallel survival mechanism? The only word I can find
to answer this is instinct which would emerge intermittently
in random individuals. Also whilst taking time to share the practical tools of survival, subtler skills would be evolving, such as communication techniques and experiments with primitive language which was becoming equally important. They would have begun creating spaces of time for group meetings and making decisions, which no doubt led to early forms of community leisure and even entertainment. The elders and leaders finding extra time to discuss and swap ideas on newly emerging concepts such as defence from or trading with other groups, possibly running into far more sophisticated subjects such as values and beauty. Utimately this would lead to the “rights and wrongs” acceptable in their social groupings, then rules, possibly even some kind of embryonic version of morality: and just maybe some individuals were beginning to contemplate issues that are still unanswerable today. Where
did I come from? But
what happens when we look for answers to these questions? - we get
a range of ideas from the sublime to the ridiculous. At one end, humanity
as a whole tends to nurture large, collective answers to the challenges
of staying alive, protecting and enhancing our existence (I'll come
to wars later). At the other end individual responses can sometimes
be seen merely as silly or irresponsible and sometime they can be
pure selfishness from those just seeking power and inflence. But whatever
conclusions we may arrive at they have all come from the many and
disparate spheres of endeavour emanating from the human mind. I could
write a complete chapter here, but briefly, all I will say is that
these two seemingly opposite motives can easily be viewed the other
way round – try it! Secondly, it is only imagery and a crude depiction based on my personal experiences and observations of the world I currently live in – and it will not/cannot be the same as any other person's interpretation - alive, dead or who sees this in the future. But you may just find it interesting to compare with your own views: and that's all it can be.
Thirdly, I cannot continue my explanation before stating that I personally,
absolutely believe that nobody could have an answer to “The Question
of Being” – simply because life is totally unique in time and space
to each and everyone who lives: therefore there cannot be a single
'answer' for being. And even more obviously - 'being' isn't a question.
However, that said, what I see is that any human being may arrive
at a place in their own lifetime where they find purpose, contentment,
fulfilment - call it what you will – from their singular, personal
journey and activities through life. What I don't believe is that
an answer/solution can be formally taught: and that this 'place' arrived
at is in spite of (and not because of) any one formal educator or
other organized body that would claim an “answer” to such a spurious
question. Any institution or organisation that believes it can evangelize,
dictate, corrupt or seduce its subjects 'en masse' towards
an answer or purpose cannot truly be integrated into the 21st century. (This is not an anti-education stance – because I believe our 'education' is simply living LIFE: our lifelong experiences in a life truly “lived”. It includes everything from received education to personal empiric educating experiences of the moment (be they good or bad – and taking the “learning” from the consequences). Ideally as individuals, we should be able to pursue our natural inquisitiveness “dipping in and dipping out of” ideas, teachings and beliefs as and when they arise or when we choose to interrogate them. But once that thing has fulfilled our interest or purpose (we can “dip out” again - as I may do while I'm explaining this idea of mine - at any time I choo...). So maybe this is the crux of it: we should be more open and not identify or be identified by just ONE limited classification or “-ism” - unless of course....we “choose” to become a signed-up member of ONE “-ism”! Origin of the Specious? This is basically the corollary of the question – answered with a question. My conjecture is that somewhere over the long, long evolution of our genus – since becoming “sentient” homo sapiens - we have mutated from the single hunter-gatherer into these complex groupings, organizing and building societies and institutions: all on what are “good and needful ideas of the time” for survival – and using the best of current knowledge or in the best of faith (that's the general, non-religious faith). But then, instead of dying off after a useful life some of these “good and needful ideas of the time” have been put onto life support (not “dipped out” of). More sinister is the fact that some of these 'bodies' created historically have grown into a type of collective super-genus – and some have grown so powerful and ingrained in our systems that we have become dominated by them, enslaved: feeding and nurturing them! Then within this established “systemic evolution” some have grown into national and even global predators leading to the next and most frightening stage - their offspring. By their inheritance and longevity some of them gain the authority to dictate, seduce, corrupt or evangelize to their subjects 'en masse' inculcating their 'Purpose, Belief or even Enlightenment' and insidiously they grow into these metaphysical, specious embodiments of their own particular truth! The Question of Being: Origin of the Specious?
So when we as individuals - and most people at some point in their
lives do - start poking around for plausible answers to what seems
this innocuous little - “Question of Being” - we should beware: we
could just be signalling (as obviously as an alarm bell) our vulnerability
and possible acquiescence to these predators which are just waiting
to snap us up and devour us? And what is even more devastating about
these super-genus monsters is that if we don't give them enough nurture
and attention – or worse, we abandon them - they can become enraged
and jealous, some begin to fight each other for survival and of course
that means it's US that does the fighting...and they are more
than happy to see us fighting their proxy wars! In a nutshell then - I suppose my image is a representation and combination of just some of the different ways that our questioning always materializes from the metaphysical into the physical struggle: all in an attempt to produce the all conquering simple unified answer. For me though, this is the unanswerable question and I can't believe it will ever be explained in human terms. One thing is certain though it is part of the collective human condition to try. I will replace this at some point in the future with a fuller version. 12.03.16
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