Sunday, December 6, 2009

Perchance to Dream

To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

With these words does Hamlet ponder the consequences of suicide and death in his famous sololeque. Hundreds of hours of possible mind wresting thought and desperation condensed into a few words. That is what makes a writer great, and surely, there is no greater writer than that old English bard, William Shakespear.

Many have used this quote as a springboard into a discussion about dreams, an utterly erroneous interpretation, since dreams are the last thing on Hamlet's mind as he speaks. Hamlet speaks of a more permanent sleep, that of death. The dreams he is referring to, are nightmares that may turn into permanent reality if he does end his life. You can almost smell the fear as he utters: "ay, there's the rub."

Fear of death and its possible aftermath has been at the root of the belief in a Hell, as well as the inspiration for most horror movies. It's not so hard to believe that in death, every twisted nightmare our tortured mind created while asleep, exists out there somewhere and we get to experience it, especially if we are wrought by guilt for injustices we have done during our lifetimes. As a matter of fact, it is this fear of eternal torture and its idyllic opposite, Paradise - a place of rewards for the worthy, that are at the root of every religion that ever crossed the face of this planet. Preying at two of the most basic emotions of man, fear and hope, religious institutions have survived and thrived throughout the millenia.

But can any of it be true? Where does our poor soul go after the body has ceased all its functions? Is there such a thing as a soul? Does our consciousness continue in some form or is our last breath the end of all thought and being? So many questions, so few answers. Medical science cannot answer any question that goes beyond that last breath. Religion attempts to provide its own explanations, but without hard, scientific proof, these explanations appear like bedtime stories to the discerning mind. Surprisingly enough, one of the hardest of sciences comes to the rescue with some of the strangest hypotheses to ever come out of a scientist's mouth. I am referring of course, to Physics and our latest discoveries of how reality works. Where our world was solid and real, we are now forced to consider string theories, multiverses, parallel planes, frequencies instead of solid matter, and a universe where God does play dice.

And where does all that take us, my dear Hamlet? Anywhere we want to go, I suppose. If something exists in the realm of probabilities, no matter how small, then it is likely to exist somewhere within the expanded realm of the multiverses. The phrase "anything is possible" therefore, takes on new significance and our minds need to expand in tandem with the universe to encompass all points of view.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Death: Where Knowledge Stops

Death is perhaps one of the most taboo subjects of conversation in "polite society" in most cultures. There is good reason for this. There are no "experts" on the subject of death. We have no scientific knowledge beyond the medical evidence of the cessation of function of the human body, which constitutes the act of dying. Nothing in available science can prove or disprove religious, philosophical and parapsychological claims of a continuation of human existence in some form beyond the final moment of existence on this earth.

I am not alone in the belief that all religions are founded on the desperate need of every human being to explain this terrible prospect of non-existence looming inevitably in our future. The hopelessness of the situation is such that it might explain the creation and existence of the so-called "religious genes" I discussed in a previous blog - a safety valve, perhaps that redirects the attention of the human being away from the finality of death to a soft cushion of beliefs in eternal life, resurrection, reincarnation, heaven or whatnot. We need to believe in something or risk insanity as we contemplate nothingness.

Man is the only creature on earth to our current knowledge that has the ability to think beyond his life, to a time when he will not exist any more, at least in the form he has today. The prospect is daunting and I'm sure everyone has spent a few sleepess nights trying to come to terms with the idea. This is the point where most men and women turn to religion for comfort and solace. A few brave souls who declare themselves to be "atheists" focus on the present and purport to believe that "it all ends here". It's such a dismal outlook that frankly, I believe that if everyone adopted this attitude, suicide rates would go through the roof. Perhaps it was no accident that as soon as the atheist communist regime in the Soviet Union ended, people rushed to reopen the churches and returned to religion full strength.

It is no accident that I'm writing this article today. A couple of weeks ago, the most precious person in the world to me - my mother - died. It's very hard to take philosophically the death of a loved one. For once, my meandering mind froze on its tracks and emotions ruled my world. Those of you who have read my articles in the past may have already surmised that I'm neither religious nor atheist. I try to balance myself in a family whose beliefs run from deep religiousness to complete atheism and I can usually understand their points of view. Yet, this was one occasion where my whole being was begging to turn to religion, to God, for hope, in a place where knowledge stopped.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Dermocratic Socialism vs. Democratic Capitalism

Ranging from mutualism (an anarchist school of thought) to market socialism (a blend of communism and capitalism), Socialism as an economic system, combined with the political system of Democracy is probably the most misunderstood form of government and economy in existence. There are good reasons for that. For one, there are many theories on how exactly a socialistic economy should be run. This lack of consensus, in combination with the totalitarian practices of the Soviet Union during its Communist experiment have thrown a dark cloud over the word "socialism" and turned many democratic states to seek their desired freedom in the economic system of Capitalism. On the other hand, recent extreme behaviors of unfettered greed have given rise to thoughts that capitalism of and by itself is not a panacea, rather it holds its own dangers.

It's not my goal in this article to define economic and political terms. Such definitions belong in an encyclopedia, and the reader may easily find the references he or she needs. Instead, I would like to present my personal point of view vis-a-vis the two systems.

There is one word in common for both systems and that word is "Democratic". Democracy, as a political system, guarantees that all matters of the State, including its Economy are decided upon in accordance with the will of its citizens. The question is: can the citizens of a State be manipulated to prefer one system over another by special interests? The answer is "of course"! Powerful special interest groups or even other countries can and have many times in the past manipulated populations and governments to lean one way or the other. In this case, the word "Democratic" becomes irrelevant, since the voters have been "tampered with" and are therefore unable to determine or express their true will.

In a true Democratic government (the way the Ancient Athenians may have wanted it to be) each citizen would be free, educated enough and therefore able to know his own interests and to be able to select freely the candidate that expressed these interests most closely. If the citizens felt that an unregulated economy served them better, then their elected government would lean toward a more capitalistic system. If, on the other hand, the citizens felt that the economy was "too free" and they were being taken advantage of, they would be quick to impose rules and regulations, thereby creating a more socialistic environment for their society. In this sense, neither system is good or bad. They are simply tools to make life better for the people.

So why is there such vehemence nowadays pertaining to which system will reign supreme? The answer is simple. People are not free, adequately informed or uninfluenced enough to be able to determine their own interests. Special interest groups of both schools of thought control the Media and each tries to paint the other in the darkest of colors. In consequence, the citizen is confused and ends up voting for the interests of the powerful and not for his own interests. The economy ends up being a power game and the term "Democracy" goes out the window.

So much for understanding the whys and hows. In the present global situation, what should we do? Well, my opinion is that first of all, we should promote Democracy. Democracy should be promoted not only for Third World countries that have never known this system of governing, but for First World countries that have forgotten the meaning of the word as well. Secondly, everyone should realize that when we talk about economic systems we are talking simply about tools that exist only as long as they can make our lives better, not about ethics or political ideologies. Living within a capitalistic system does not make you more free than living in a socialistic systen or visa versus. Living in a Democracy makes you more free than living in a dictatorship or an oligarchy. As for the preferred economic system? Well... whatever works for the majority!