The view from a window

The illogic of logic     

Ethical sustainable development theories such as those proposed by Singer involve certain material sacrifices being made by the affluent in terms of how they live their lives and (ultimately) how much they consume. Sustainable economic development involves continued profit increase by a corporation or a country over time. Both theories should take into account sustainable resource management as a part of their calculations, but in reality only the former does.

Some philosophers have argued that economic sustainable development that lacks provision for long term sustainability is simply not sustainable development per se, yet it is precisely this model that the world seems hell bent on following: Oil is running out, land is over-farmed, fish stocks are depleted and the very air that we breathe is being polluted and damaged at a faster and faster rate, due to over foresting and (ever increasing) carbon emissions. On paper this just looks to be illogical! Why would anyone knowingly destroy the planet for the sake of short term profit? Even the economists will have to concede that such “enterprise” is a little short sighted! But short sighted we are, knowingly or unknowingly. (I’m reminded of the father character in Mary Poppins who was unable to see past the end of his own nose, or rather chose not to.)

The situation is so environmentally dire now that some scientists say that we have past a point whereby we are plundering the Earth’s resources at a faster rate than She can regenerate (forgive me for not citing sources), yet still we continue to do. Consumerism has become like a psychosis for large portions of the global populous, the effects of which are being felt now in terms of debt, famine, war etc. (some of which you have touched upon) and which will be felt in years to come by the environmental legacy inherited by future generations. The obvious question is why?

Intuitive answers to this question tend to look merely at the symptoms of the problem, for example, describing us as ‘selfish’, ‘competitive’, ‘greedy’ etc, but the root cause (I believe) is disconnection: We are in fact so disconnected from our spiritual centre that we have almost entirely lost the will to care. People individually aren’t stupid, so it doesn’t follow that collectively they should be, yet how we are behaving is inconsistent with the behaviour one would expect of a sentient being capable of rational thought. Put simply, we are acting irrationally!

Our behaviour (at least collectively) is more akin to a parasite than a sentient mammal! We take without giving anything back and without any real thought for the consequences of our actions. This is the danger of free will. All of the other animals are busy doing what they have been instinctually programmed to do, whilst we on the other hand have had our ‘instinct radar’ disconnected. We are on our own (so to speak) in a (seemingly) infinite universe and we are hopelessly lost and floundering.

In short, our natural desire to be led, coupled with the desire to have purpose and meaning in our lives is what drives consumerism. It is the reason people smoke, drink, fornicate, dedicate endless hours to the pursuit of wealth, shopping and idle pursuits in general – We need to feel connected to something and without being grounded in our spiritual centre, we are compelled to latch on to anything and everything that we can.

The Quran is full of references that allude to the fact Allah (SWT) wants us to willingly switch our radars back on, in order that He might guide us back onto the straight path, but He is not willing do it for us. That is the test and we have no one to blame but ourselves, for we chose it willingly. I will then summarise my main premises before concluding this thought process…

1.                          Human beings (though not all) are consuming the world’s resources at an alarming and excessive rate, despite the following:

i)                    An understanding (at least on a basic level) of what they are doing and the consequences thereof.

ii)                  Having the choice to continue or to cease doing this (free will).

2.                          Humans naturally seek to identify with particular trends, cultures, ideologies etc and form (quite naturally) communities with shared philosophies, ideals and goals.

3.                          Humans want to be happy, but increasingly seem to be failing to achieve this goal or at least sustain it for long periods of time.

4.                          Our ‘laissez-faire’ attitude towards environmental and ethical dilemmas is indicative of many peoples apathetic attitude to non-immediate local, national and global issues, and gratifying instead their own short-term objectives.  (Look at how fewer people voted in the last general election than voted in the Big Brother final.)

5.                          The Quran tells us that people were ‘designed’ for ‘…naught but to worship God’ and that ‘Allah will not change the state of a people until they first change themselves.’

To conclude, if you accept premise one then you accept that what we are doing, we are doing willingly. Moreover you must also therefore accept responsibility for what you do. Morality aside, there is an awareness of the consequences of your actions and so an intention.

If you accept premise two, then you agree that humans naturally tend to herd together (for whatever reason) and so are often quite easily led and influenced.

To accept premise three is to accept that our motivation for action is often driven by a desire to be happy (whatever that may mean), but that our choice of endeavours typically lead to only transitory pleasures and comforts at best. Ultimately death will rob you of even these anyway.

Apathy and a lack of real empathy for others suffering is indicative in our short-term and predominantly self-motivated pursuits. We often favour instant gratification over more involved solutions, if we bother to get involved at all. To accept this is to accept premise four.

If we can accept these premises then we are forced to concede that:

·         We knowingly contribute to the destruction of the planet and the misery of those less fortunate than ourselves, despite being aware of what we do and the consequences thereof.  

·         We are easily led into the downward spiral of unethical consumerism, though we are led willingly.

·         Despite the short-term gratification that such a materialistic lifestyle may bring us periodically, it is (on the whole) generally unsatisfying. It is also certainly transitory.

So what are we really saying?

 ‘We know that what we do is damaging, selfish and unsatisfying and we accept that we continue to do it willingly.’ 

This is not an unsupported conclusion and it is the reason that I personally turned my back on philosophy and logic as a solution to my own and the world’s problems.

If we know that what we do is illogical (I hesitate to use the word wrong), but we still do it willingly, then what use is logic and reason on such a person?

One would expect to make such a statement about a mental patient, not a large portion of the civilised world!

We don’t need to be told that what we are doing is improper (still not going to use the word wrong), we already know that! We need to be made to care! 

Premise five offers not only an answer to the purpose of our existence, but solutions to the four other premises. It is in submission to our Creator (SWT) that we will find right guidance, peace, happiness and a desire to live in a balanced and infinitely more beneficial way. This though is not a solution that can be appreciated philosophically or logically. It is an experiential endeavour, not an intellectual one. Just as one cannot understand the concept of wetness simply by observing a puddle of water, Man cannot know what is missing from his life if he has no experience of that which is missing. Intellect and reason only work on people who are capable and willing to be reasonable… If you are not such a person, then it’s time to get wet!

Obscured by clouds – the power behind analogy 

There are many Quranic verses which allude to the fact that men of understanding should turn not only to the holy book for signs “ayat”, but also ‘contemplate the heavens and earth.’ It is interesting to note that in Arabic, the words for the verses of the Quran and God’s signs in nature are identical. It is therefore in both the natural world and the Divine word that men of understanding and true perception will see clearly the beauty, order, majesty and truth of God’s creation.

 But for those communities who historically have lived in and respected the sacredness of their environment (for example the Native Americans), such a statement is inherently obvious. Their place in the universe is known from the earliest age: they are a part of the creation and so their relationship with their environment is entirely different and unique. The West has traditionally viewed the world as a commodity to possess and exploit, whereas a more natural community find this ideology entirely abhorrent and utterly absurd. For example, there is no concept of ownership of land, for how can a created part own another created part? All of creation can surely only be ‘owned’ by its creator!  

Aside from this glaring difference between what I will call the natural communities and the artificial, is the reverence and wonderment which they pay to the rest of creation. The Western approach to life is more often than not to view it as problem to be solved, either materially, scientifically or both. Conversely, the natural community traditionally view life as a spiritual mystery to live and the natural world as something to symbiotically live in and at the same time, learn from. It is this last point that I wish to discuss today.

Some of the most beautiful examples, lessons and stories of morality, patience, wisdom, mortality, compassion etc. can be found analogously or directly in nature. Is this a coincidence? Most certainly not. Allah (SWT) asks us to look in the holy Quran for guidance and knowledge, but so to does He ask us to look to the natural world. Western approaches to perception of nature tend to run to the dissection of the parts, all too often losing sight of the parts in relation to the whole. To understand an effect, we tend to look to its most immediate cause. Imagine dropping a stone into a pond. Each ripple is the cause of the next, but to take any two ripples in isolation is to lose both the context and the perspective. But it is in such analogies and observances that the contemplative soul can learn from nature itself. Indeed there are lessons in almost every aspect of the natural world if we could just sometimes appreciate it through the eyes of a poet, rather than always analyse it through the lens of a scientist.

One such analogy occurred to me as I was looking at the moon yesterday. Clouds had begun to gather and were being blown in its direction.  Very quickly the moon was partially and then completely concealed. My first inclination was to look away now that the moon was no longer visible, but I noticed that the clouds were still moving and would eventually shift clear of the moon. Though there was a great deal of cloud, the wind made their eventual dispersal inevitable. I realised that the problems of my life were mirrored in this occurrence: The moon is my soul which is always reflecting the light of the divine, yet always is partially or completely obscured by the clouds of my desires, thoughts and habitual tendencies. But just as the clouds are certain to pass by, so to will these things that distract me and prevent me from recognising my true nature. All that needs to be done is to remain calm and patient and know that somewhere underneath all of the cloud cover, the moon is still shining.  Let the wind take care of the rest. But what is the wind?  Unseen, but in its effects…Formless, yet shaping… Soundless, but the bringer of noise… What does the wind represent? If only I knew! If only my own life  weren’t so obscured by clouds.