Back on fireflies (EN#16)
Sitting in front of my garden at dusk, I notice these flashes from the depths of the undergrowth, the spectacle of lights offered by fireflies.
Whatever the mechanisms at the origin of this actualization of energy, I interpret them as pulsations of the universe. These light points distributed in the garden are lit and extinguished in a synchronized ballet. Is it not the characteristic of life, to manifest an actualization of energy in a more or less long pulsation creating an impression of existence before melting again in the great All? It seems that in many forms of life this pulsation has no other properties than to be … while some attribute themselves, through a narrative discourse, the feeling of a particular existence leading to subjective joys and torments (it sounds Shakespearian!).
It must be my age that causes this relative distance from my Ego and that brings me occasionally to this “I am” remaining without follow-up during meditation sessions. The “I am” with continuation (good or bad, enlightened or stupid, etc.), on his side, was as much source of sufferings as of ecstasies when the Ego undergoes defeats or victories … defeats or victories resulting from the story he told himself. If I become this or that … life will be so extraordinary. Luckily, life has made me many times a gift for this or that … without ever becoming as extraordinary as I imagined it. Would not I have lived this or that, would I still be in the illusion that it had failed me? Mourning is easier when one realizes through experience that ecstasy is not there.
I would not be surprised to learn that for many[1] fireflies have no importance, that they deserve no more than a simple knowledge of their existence[2], and still … What is important, in fact? What we humans determine what is. And at the rate at which we destroy the planet and the other species, it seems that we have decided that what is important is us. But, like the dog biting its tail, our quest is swallowing it.
But I do not despise humans, species, by the way, which I must admit being part of. Have not I spent my long career as a psychotherapist (45 years old soon) trying to understand “us”?
Since like fireflies we are mere pulsations of the universe[3], what distinguishes us so much? The complexity, simply, that of our neural organization in particular. Does this give us access to another form of existence? Yes and no; the energy being actualized in a sophisticated organization, yes[4], but always respecting the principle of the rules of homeostasis[5].
Let’s start again from the beginning, in absolute terms we are neither better nor worse than fireflies. We are pulsations of the universe, it’s already not so bad. I concede without any problem that our energy pulsations are manifested through systems much more complex than those of fireflies. I would be very surprised to learn that fireflies experience feelings and consciously reflect on new adaptive solutions. But does complexity change the nature of things?
Several years ago, as I was walking, the following thought came to me: in fact, what we are doing mainly at the mental level is managing our emotional states – trying to get out of an uncomfortable subjective state, seeking to create, maintain or increase a pleasant subjective state. How can this be so important in a person’s life? The answer came later, our affects are the thermometer of our level of satisfaction and our satisfaction is related to our level of adaptation.
Our feelings and our emotions have a function, they are not primarily matter to poetry and romanticism. As in all that emerges from biology, survival, improvement of adaptation, reproduction necessarily await us at the turn of the road. And our emotions tell us how far we are getting there.
These ideas obviously did not come from nothingness. I have been immensely influenced by thinkers and scientists (well understood or not) like Spinoza, Jaak Panksepp, Antonio Damasio, Daniel J Siegel, Marc Lewis, Edward O Wilson, etc.
But you will tell me, our energy pulsations appear more complex than a simple dichotomy between disagreeable and agreeable subjective states. It is the tremendous illusion that language allows and its consequent need for coherence. There is little dispute that human cortical development is what differentiates us from other mammals. And this has allowed, among other things, language, reasoning, reflection and self-awareness. The emotional will now have to fit into a narrative framework requiring consistency. And since this coherence is virtual (language construction) we are witnessing the creation of a multiplicity of personal and social universes that will be more or less in harmony with our physical, psychological and social needs. As:
It is God who created the Universe – I must deprive myself of food otherwise I would be fat and ugly, which will lead to my rejection – All is power struggle; it is better to be the person who owns it – The human species is the culmination of creation and has the right to look up at any other form of life, plant or animal – I am superior (or inferior) to others – Preserving our culture is an indisputable value.
Etc.
Once we have adopted a universe, there will be this strong propensity to defend it forcefully, as if it had become as vital to our survival as eating or drinking. Are you not surprised to see how vehemently people want to be right in discussions that in fact have no real impact on reality? Our need for coherence that can be applied to a multitude of virtual universes created by our ability to language brings me coherence to the fact that we perceive ourselves so differently from fireflies (😊)!
[1] Humans of course, who or what else!
[2] No, I do not intend to start a firefly defense group!
[3] You would have a hard time convincing me to the contrary.
[4] Even if some humans make us doubt it every day 😞.
[5] See the recent work of Antonio Damasio, one of my favorite thinkers, The Strange Order of Things : Life, Feeling, and the Making of Culture. New York: Penguin Random House (2018).
pcousineau 