Peace: We Belong Here

It should be obvious by now that a full understanding of systemic reality is necessary if we are to find an answer to the most pressing issues humanity faces today.

I speak of systemic reality because it is a fact that the human race is a system because the universe is a system. General Systems Theory and Organizational Theories are academic disciplines that have been developed out of this reality. As with any other academic discipline they may only be partial in their coverage.

Let’s begin with a few indisputable facts. We know that humanity is a bona fide part of the ecosystem of this planet. There is no question that human life began on this planet. We are a terrestrial species. No one would suggest that the first humans were an expeditionary force from a distant galaxy. Not that this would matter. As long as a component is working interdependently with other components to promote the maintenance of a system it is a part of that system.

Based on what we know of natural systems, i.e. that they always work, one would expect that humanity would never do anything to jeopardize the maintenance of the world in which we live, in the same way that every other species on the planet does not jeopardize the maintenance of this planet.

Here we are faced with another fact. We have become a threat to our ecosystem. We have damaged the ozone layer. We have pushed thousands of species into extinction because of our misuse of the environment, e.g. over-grazing, over-fishing, and other forms of over-exploitation of the species. No other species does that. This world is a picture of cooperative coexistence among all the other species that share this space with us.

So, what is it about us that makes us different from the other species? Why are we behaving more as if we were a creation of the human mind than a creation of the global DNA on which everything that happens in world depends?

The answer is simple. Every other species knows exactly how to respond to the stimuli in its environment. We call that instinct. Their behavior is hardwired by their DNA. To speak colloquially, DNA tells them what to do. To some extent DNA also tells us what to do. We have as many organ systems as DNA has prescribed. We have no more limbs than DNA determines. But when it comes to how we act culturally our behavior is not prescribed or proscribed by our DNA. Consequently, we are the only species that is able to act as if it is another species. We are the only species that is able to pretend.

In the area of problem solving, we are not the only species that solves problems. Biologists have observed instances where specimens among other animals have come up with creative solutions to unique situations. But we are the only species that is capable of creating a problem in order to craft a solution. The benefits of this capability are obvious in the results of experimental science. It is great to be able to pretend we are what we really are not.

But there are also some serious drawbacks that we have not taken into account.