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Dear Dr. Sohail and Mr. Anis Zuberi
Your debate about evoultion is a breath of fresh air among all the discussion
of religion, the politics and tumoil of the world, and the ever uncertainity
of economy.
One thing is certain, that, Evolution is a phenomena of Nature, whatever that
Nature might be, and which can not be rejected or completely denied. Change is
in the nature of things, and only change itself is permanent. Our knowledge
changes and with it our ideas. Our physique changes and with it our abilities.
This quest to change is also inherent in our own system -- the system of
thought, word and deed. This triad of human existence is also inborn and is a
part of man's nature, for without any one of these three prerequisites one can
not be categorized as human. One can not help but think, and talk or express,
and do or act. The question is why does a human perform these acts?
Now the next question is that if all is evolving then the Nature of Nature
must also be to evolve and change. How does this happen? This phenomenon is
difficult to examine because Nature is both elusive or incomprehesible. This
is so because we, only a part, are endeavouring to observe the whole. This
effort is like the proverbial blind men trying to describe the elephant. Each
taking the animal to be like the part he manages to fall upon.
The debate becomes pertinent if out of it emerges the evolution of humanity
itself. For example if the study of the ' Origin of species' has resulted in
the understanding of the process of mutation and led to the science of genetic
engineering which can be used for the benefit of man then we, humans, have
ourselves evolved further and aided Nature in its endeavour of evolution. It
is, however, to be kept in mind that every coin has two sides. The effect of
the same genetic engineering can be detrimental if it is wrongly used or
intentionally manuplated.
I would like to draw your attention to some passages from my essay ' Evolution
the inevitable phenomenon'.
"Man has been transformed through the ages from being a cave dweller to a
resident of sky scrapers. This has taken place over generations of
evolution.The entire Universe is in a constant flux and is gradually
evolving. What started with the ‘big bang’ – an instantaneous change—has
evolved over the millennia and may eventually be proceeding towards the ‘big
crunch’. The main conflict between religious thought and scientific study
is the concept and propagation of finality. Religious preaching is
based on the ‘word of God’, which is believed to be the ‘First and the
Last’ . Which can not be questioned and of which there is no tangible proof
either. Science on the other hand demands that every theory or hypothesis
be backed by logical, mathematical or experimental proof. However, seen
closely, both the religious and scientific ideas have themselves transformed
or modified over the years in an evolutionary manner. Scientific evolution
by its very nature, as just explained, is clearly visible and documented,
hence more readily understood and accepted. The evolution of religious
thought, on the other hand, is subtle and inherently more subjective to the
mental psyche of the era. Both religious and scientific fields of knowledge
are none the less, derivatives of, and influenced by each other. Whether
they do so consciously and with a full understanding of the other’s
position and contention, or unconsciously, as a subjective reaction to it,
is however, debatable. To elaborate this statement let us take an example
from history.
The early church contented that man is the centre of creation and hence
must also be the centre of the universe, around whom all other creation
should in theory be revolving. So in the ‘Ptolemaic system’ the earth got
placed in the centre and the sun and all other planets were thought to
revolve around it. This was disproved by Galileo’s experimental
confirmation of the ‘Copernican theory’ of the Solar system. Human mind had
to eventually accept the scientifically proven fact of a stationary sun with
planets revolving around it, rather than the reverse, which was the
established belief. The point to note here is not that religion or its
belief was wrong at the time of the inception of the basic idea, but that
all of human awareness and knowledge gradually evolved and took account of
the fact that as more scientific data became available to man the existing
belief could not accommodate it and the old theory could not fully explain
it. Something had to be done to understand and explain the new data. So a
more profound theory was born which was supported by logic and which could
withstand and verify these new facts. Copernican theory was thus far more
acceptable to the age of reason, and with Galileo’s verification of it,
had to be adapted sooner or later -- though not without pain and suffering
both for the scientist and also for the proponents of Status quo. A higher
and more evolved concept is one that is able to adequately explain the
previously available facts along with the new data, either more
comprehensively, or in a new light altogether. This acceptance itself
establishes the evolution of all knowledge based systems, be they
scientific, religious or any other.
Let us now see how scientific theories themselves tend to evolve with the
advancement of knowledge. An epochal event in the scientific field was
Newton’s Laws of motion and gravity. They gave adequate explanations of
the phenomena of nature till the emergence of Einstein’s theory of
relativity, which changed the very idea of time and space itself. The
theory of relativity is but a more evolved concept that explains and
confirms the laws of motion, yet at the same time comprehensively explains
new facts about the behaviour of light, and the nature of space and time and
the influence of gravity. "
The theory of holarchy tries to explain evolutionary behaviour
in terms of holons, the building blocks of higher tiers. It goes
on to show how the evolution of higher level holons enhance the
very essence and nature of the holon itself. This means that where
there is vertical growth there is also lateral advancement; meaning that
with progress along the scale of ascent, comes the increase in capability
to perform and finally to acquire the ability to self-improve. This is a
consequence of the fact that with the growth in knowledge comes the
increase of understanding and awareness and the overall expanse of ‘
self.’ Each individual has a capacity to grow – physically, mentally
and spiritually. A balanced diet and regular exercise promote physical well
being. Reading, learning and mental exercise promote mental development. A
healthy attitude in life promotes a desire to self-improve. If this is done
in a balanced evolutionary manner, durable progress is achievable. To
develop this healthy attitude life requires a harmony in both the physical
and the meta-physical domains of personality. . As evolution progresses
and reaches the stage of self- perpetuation, it becomes self-participating
and self-directing as well. For, if it is not so, the result would be
self-destructing and self-diminishing. Now, the tendency of
self-destruction in an evolving system is a negative or detrimental trait,
and does not serve the very logic of its existence. Humans are
also a part of this self - perpetuating system and are positioned at a very
high level in the whole spectrum of evolution -- whereby they have gained
the capability of being conscious of the system itself. They may not fully
appreciate or understand the purpose of the system of which they are a part,
yet they are aware of it and know that such a structure exists. They probe
and search for its meaning in every thing around them. As said earlier they
do so by the use of their most important and uniquely private tool – the
mind. This mind however, like most things, is a double-edged sword. It
generates both positive and negative thoughts. It is both creative and
destructive. It has the power to both accept or reject. All this in turn,
depends on the basis of the thought itself and ones approach to the
subject. If the basis or origination of thought or conscious analysis is
positivism and open mindedness, it will endow progress and bear constructive
results. But if the idea takes birth in doubt and deceit it will promote
negativity and resistance to progress. Let us take an example. The
splitting of a heavy atom (fission), or joining of two small atoms
(fusion), releases tremendous energy. This release of power can be
utilised either constructively, e.g. to generate electricity; or
destructively, e.g. to make a bomb -- depending on the purpose in mind.
Interestingly enough, however, the process for electrical power generation
is based on the principle of a controlled and balanced nuclear reaction;
whereas a bomb is uncontrolled release of energy. This points to the fact
that progressive processes are usually harnessed, balanced and controlled
activities – or ‘evolutionary in their nature.’ Uncontrolled reactions
can be catastrophic.
All stable
systems in Nature have one thing in common -- they are all balanced and
evolving. A controlled evolutionary change is perhaps more enduring and
longer lasting than a violent revolutionary one. Observe both the
macrocosm and the microcosm. The solar system maintains its stability
because it is balanced and evolving. At the other end of the spectrum of
the Cosmos, the classical atomic structure follows the same principle of
balance and poise. The greater the dawn of awareness, the greater the
attainment of balance and, the more the elevation of poise. Sages, Monks,
Sadhus and perhaps Prophets are a set of people that demonstrate this. They
seem to be that group of individuals who have harnessed the tumult of
material desires and mental agitations and reached the balance of mind, body
and soul in order to acquire the poise of serenity. They are evolved
souls who have reached the next level in holonic hierarchy. They
would surely be a holon level higher than common human
beings. Their next step would then be the holon of Universal Spirit
-- where all souls would perhaps integrate and acquire the oneness with
Nature itself, perhaps, the final stage of the great Holarchy.
Thank you
Ziauddin Ahmed
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