The Unknown
We humans fear the unknown. I’ve often wondered why that is. I think it’s because the unknown makes us vulnerable. Think about deer or other wildlife: they’re always on high alert sniffing, looking around, sensing their surroundings. Why do they do this? Because their survival depends on it. If there’s a hunter in a tree stand and the deer doesn’t know it, its life could be over. It’s vulnerable. So, it’s always on the lookout. Humans aren’t much different. The unknown makes us just as vulnerable. We don’t know there’s black ice on the road and we have an accident. There is countless examples like this. So what do we do to avoid being so vulnerable? We try to know things and explain them. When we know something, we feel we can control it or at least we believe we can. Think about being sick and not knowing what’s wrong. Once we know whats wrong, we feel a sense of power over it and we can change our diet, exercise, or seek treatment. Or consider ancient tribes and how superstitious they were. What’s the reason for believing in gods or demons behind natural phenomena? Because those unknown forces made them vulnerable. By naming or explaining them, they made the unknown more “known” and thus it gave them a sense of control. For example, if they thought an angry god caused a drought, they might offer a sacrifice or scapegoat someone to appease the god. These rituals, gave them a sense of control and helped ease their fear of the unknown. What’s the greatest unknown in life? Probably death or more like what comes after it. Does anyone really know what happens after death? I don’t think so. We’ve created countless beliefs and superstitions about it; heaven and hell, judgment, reincarnation. All ways to try and make us feel less vulnerable and give us a sense of control. Science has explained away some old superstitions. We now know what lightning is, and we’re no longer afraid of it as divine punishment. But science so far can’t tell us what happens after death, and we remain in some ways, superstitious. The answer to living with the unknown, I believe, isn’t to try to know everything, but to live with respect and awe for it. If there is a positive side of superstition it may be enchantment we can create our own enchantment of the world and view the myths of the world in a positive sense and let them shape us. Instead of rejecting them as senseless superstitions we can cultivate an affection for them, not in a literal fundamentalists sense but in a mysterious metaphorical sense. At the same time, we can appreciate science and all the things it has done and accomplished. The problem, I think, comes when we try to build a meaningful life from a reductionist worldview that science offers. Science helps us see the parts but meaning often comes from seeing the whole. It’s like a painting or mountian top view; when we step back we see the beauty. But when we look at things through a microscope, we see only the parts. The beauty isn't in the parts but in taking in the whole painting the whole view, which is what I believe myth and religion can do.