So, from a biological point of view, photosynthesis involves light energy from the sun being converted into chemical energy in plants. When animals eat plants the chemical energy is converted into heat and movement. Note that the sun is also the source of the heat that causes water to evaporate and to create the clouds that form part of the ongoing water cycle.
The amount of matter on planet earth stays the same but every day a certain amount of the heat and light energy from the sun arrives and an equivalent amount goes back into space. The correct balance of input and output is vital. Without it the planet would get hotter or cooler. Note that global warming is due to changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere which prevent some of the heat loss and thus the balance in the global system.
I have a problem understanding energy. Presumably it came into being at the big bang. From ‘no energy’ to ‘all the energy there is’ in a brief flash. But that raises the ‘first cause’ issue. Using language we are able to ask “What existed before the beginning of things?” We (or at least the more scientific amongst us) are not inclined to theorize about things that have no beginning or end. The infinite and the eternal are as yet beyond human understanding except perhaps when a person is in a state of ‘flow’ (ref Csikszentmihalyi) which is non-egoic and outwith time and space. (ref http://www.scribd.com/doc/57468719/Muse-Flows-in-the-Zone-below-the-tip-of-the-iceberg)
So we can ask: “When did energy begin?” and “Why does it not run out of steam?” and “What keeps it churning?” I am not aware of answers to those questions so I will leave them hanging and play with the idea of “perpetual churn being the inanimate and purposeless agent of change”.
Change: can be either towards more complexity (creation) or towards less (destruction). Nothing lasts forever. The only constant thing is change due to perpetual churn.
Destruction: a tendency towards disorder and simplicity. The impermanence of all created things. Change and decay in all around I see. Things fall apart, the centre will not hold. The decline and fall of the xxx empire. Entropy.
Creation: a tendency towards order and complexity. Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow. After the big bang there was only hydrogen and helium but these changed to form the other more complex elements. Planet earth was chemically quite simple before self-replicating macromolecules gave rise to what was to be life. And, more recently, the parochial stone age became the global computer age.
So, is the glass half full or half empty? Evolutionary psychology suggests that humans have a negativity bias which makes them pessimistic and neurotic and thus more likely to survive than the minority that are optimistic and laid back – but - today I choose to look on the bright side.
For a long time there was the creation and destruction of stars and galaxies; and this process continues. On the edge of the Milky Way galaxy there is a solar system that includes a sun with nine planets. About 3.6 billion years ago on one of the planets (they call it earth) conditions were right for the creation of self-replicating macro-molecules. Cosmic evolution gave way to biological evolution which in time gave rise to cultural evolution.
At some stage in the development of this complex process the lifeless, inanimate agents of change gave rise to animate ones, to living things. The agent of change was still essentially the perpetual churn but there is a tendency to think that consciousness appeared and the process began to be more animate. Provocative words but to what do they point?
Animate agents are capable of reacting to changes in their internal or external environments. The less complex animate agents do things but are not aware of what is going on. Behaviours are intuitive and instinctive. Such agents are not really conscious. There is no free-will – they are robots.
Complex animate agents are sometimes aware that they are reacting and responding to internal and external stimuli; they might therefore be thought of as conscious. But there are many reactions that rest in the unconscious.
When language enters the scene there is the possibility of self-consciousness. The self thinks of itself as the agent of change and there is a busy psyche industry aimed at promoting robust selves.
But, those who practice mindfulness know that there is no abiding self – it is a misconception. The mind has a mind of its own. The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing about. The perpetual churn keeps stirring the broth. And it does so perpetually at all levels on the cosmic zoom ie from quantum to cosmos.
The perpetual churn is the Oneness that creates and destroys the ten thousand things which have variations on themes. Natural selection prefers some variations and change evolves. The churn led from before nothing 13.7 billion years ago through cosmic, biological and cultural stages. Today the churn has generated entities that are conscious of their consciousness. Without purpose or plan inanimate agents have given rise to animate ones. Myth and magic have been good enough to facilitate human evolution so far. But we are not in control of our ‘selves’ or of the planet – we have not used our increasing complexity to create caring and sustainable cultural forms. We are wrecking spaceship earth.
So what is to be done? Encourage more mindfulness, especially amongst those that make, implement, monitor and evaluate policies and plans. The shakers and movers that are the good and great must be encouraged and assisted to (a) develop a world view that is multidisciplinary, holistic and consilient and (b) learn to lead and manage with a light touch. They can be mindful of the ‘Tao teh Ching’ which notes that “of the best leaders when they are gone, the people say we did it ourselves.”
“Sitting quietly doing nothing
Spring comes and the grass grow by itself”
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