Introduction
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.
James Madison, The Federalist No. 51
This quote illuminates the path to freedom. No matter how sophisticated a set of laws or principles may be, if those wielding them are corrupt, their society will be corrupt. Therefore, it is internal awareness and virtue, which could loosely be termed ‘consciousness,’ that is ultimately the highest aspiration of mankind. A free society is everyone’s responsibility.
The following essays constitute the most important passages of the entire Humano Ludens project. They outline what it means to know, and to love, or what it means to be ‘conscious.’ If you read nothing else, read these.
Part I – To Know
It is knowledge we want, the better and better understanding of magnificent Nature with its powerful laws that forces our soul to love, admire and submit. That is religion! My religion! How can you call it a weak and godless one?
Olga Jacoby, Words in Pain
What is understanding, and what does it mean to love? Laws, doctrines, and religions do not constitute true understanding. Strict adherence to laws, doctrines, and religions is not love. The aforementioned institutions may serve as guides towards love and understanding. True love and understanding, however, is a conscious endeavor, and can only be achieved internally. To illustrate this point, let us consider the following thought experiments:
The Database
Do calculators understand math?
Imagine that there exists a database, which perfectly passes the Turing test (Meaning its responses are indistinguishable from that of a human). Whatever subject it is asked about, it can spit out the correct response, drawing from its enormous reserves of data. It can even generate romantic responses, asking about someone’s day, and telling them it loves them.
Does this database understand anything, and does it love?
Color
How much knowledge about color can be imparted to the blind?
Imagine that a person is rendered completely colorblind from birth, and is then taught everything there is to know about color throughout their lifetime. They can describe the processes by which light enters the retina and is transformed into color, and they have memorized color theory in its entirety.
If such a person were to be cured of their colorblindness, and were to see color for the first time, would they learn anything new?
About The Thought Experiments
The thought experiments above are abridged, adapted versions of “The Chinese Room,” by John Searle, and “Mary’s Room,” by Frank Jackson. To delve deeper into the topics of knowledge and consciousness, read the original thought experiments, and contemplate their implications.
Part I Conclusion
Experience is fundamental to knowledge. If our experience contradicts our beliefs, we should see this as an opportunity to grow in our understanding. Failing to understand our beliefs, yet rigidly following them anyway, is merely blind obedience. As we obtain understanding, a further question arises. What are we to do with our knowledge? What are we to create, to strive for?
In the introduction to this series, it was stated that, along with internal awareness, ‘virtue’ is the highest aspiration of mankind. Together, internal awareness and virtue constitute ‘consciousness.’ Virtue in this context will be defined as the capacity to love, and it will be the focus of the next part in this series.
Part II – To Love
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Definitions
If we are to define virtue as the capacity to love, we must provide a definition for love. The word ‘love’ is notoriously loose in the English language, encompassing many kinds of affections. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 provides a beautiful illustration of the love this article is referring to.
Why should the capacity to love be the highest aspiration of mankind? Consider the definition in Corinthians, but reversed. Then you have something that is:
Impatient, unkind, jealous, boastful, arrogant. Dishonoring others, self-seeking, easily angered, and keeps a meticulous record of wrongs. Delighting in evil and shunning truth. It harms, it is mistrustful, it worries, and it crumbles under pressure.
If the paramount importance of love is not abundantly clear after seeing its inverse, there is not much else that can be said.
Knowledge and Love
Where does internal awareness, or understanding, come into the picture? To be patient and kind requires an awareness of those things. That is not to say a definition, but a true understanding. Recall the example of the database in the first part of this series. Even if the database could generate the kindest, and most patient responses possible, it does not love. Love requires an internal awareness of the actions being performed.
A ‘conscious’ entity is one which exhibits an internal awareness, which constitutes an understanding of love, and virtue, defined as the capacity to love. If our highest aim is consciousness, then our highest aim is to understand love, and to grow in our capacity to love.
The Most Important Thing
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Excerpt from 1 John 4:16
What is nature, with its powerful laws that force our soul to love, admire and submit? What does it mean to be godless? To be godless is to be without love. Pay attention to what is being said here. This is not a statement against the irreligious. It is a statement about what it really means to be loving, the essence of true spirituality, and arguably the point of every true religion.
Remember, strict adherence to laws, doctrines, and religions is not love. Love is a conscious effort. How, then, are we to love? Following the definition in 1 Corinthians is a start. How, then, are we to embody the qualities in that definition? The Buddha provided insight into this question:
Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness’ — then you should enter & remain in them.
Buddha, Kalama Sutta, translated by Thanissaro
Refer once again to the first part of this series, on knowledge, and then re-read this passage by Buddha if you still do not understand.
Many religious and spiritual practices provide moral codes, which are meant to serve as guides along the path to consciousness. Some of these include the Bible’s Ten Commandments, Buddha’s Eightfold Path, and the Yamas and Niyamas.
Ultimately, however, spirituality boils down to a very simple foundation:
Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’
Matthew 22:37–40
Understand what it means to love God, and to love your neighbor, and you understand the most important thing.