"Deus Ex Machina"
Before I delve into the politics and economics, I want to clarify what I mean by "Deus Ex Machina". It would be easy for readers to get the impression that I see society as some kind of robotic machine that creates a god, floating on the clouds and dispensing mystical thunderbolts. This is definitely not what I mean! I consider this machine as a biological entity with the "god" being a separate consciousness that is derived from society but has no physical embodiment. It is a function of group thinking, and I suspect that all groups with more than 100 members tend to suffer from it. Let me show you what I mean by analogy to the human body.
In the beginning there were single celled organisms. Each was a living entity in its own right, but these living entities did not relate closely to other single-celled organisms. We can imagine this as being similar to human society before language developed, before complex communication was possible.
Thanks to the process of evolution, the single-celled organisms changed their behaviour. Instead of dividing and separating into separate creatures, they clumped together to form colonies. This didn't happen as a planned, well thought out strategy. The single-celled creatures were not capable of such things. In reality it happened as an accidental response to the environment the single-celled creatures found themselves in. It seemed to work, and these multi-cellular organisms thrived. This is analogous to the period of human history where language first developed and communities formed.
The process of evolution continued. Multi-celled organisms developed into ever more sophisticated creatures where certain cells were tasked with specific functions within a much larger organism. Each single-cell continued to be a living organism in its own right, but with no understanding of its position within the creature it was a part of, and no awareness of the existence of such a creature. This is where evolution currently stands, and it is analogous to the evolution of human society, which reached its apogee perhaps around the time of the Egyptians. Complex societies formed where individuals might have very specific functions within a society that was sufficiently complex that no individual could fully grasp how the totality of society functioned.
It should be realised that evolution is not driven by the individual cells that make up the human body. These individual cells are unaware that evolution is happening, or that they are part of some larger mechanism. Are we aware that we are part of the creation of human history? The cells are not aiming towards a particular, worthwhile goal - and neither are we.
Those cells that are part of the brain may be part of the thought process of the human individual, but they are unaware of the thoughts of that individual. Similarly, those individuals in human society that have power and influence over the whole, are actually unaware that they are trapped within a larger mechanism and that their thoughts are just a small fraction of the thinking of the whole organism we call "society".
Naturally the human body is built up not merely of cells, but of separate key functions that relate to each other. Changing one of these key functions could prove fatal to the whole organism. Sometimes the importance of certain body parts is not immediately obvious. On the other hand, individual cells may die, but they act in parallel with many other cells and can readily be replaced.
In human society, political revolutions are analogous to performing multiple organ transplants. The trauma of the operation is liable to be fatal to the patient. For such radical surgery to have a chance of success, the patient must first be put on life support. But there may also be a temptation to do nothing at all to alter the running of society. Any change could prove detrimental. But by failing to grasp the reality that history is something that is being forced upon us as individuals by the thinking of "society" we fail to become truly free. We are slaves to "society" however that society is defined. The thinking of "society” as a whole may be leading us slowly towards disaster, without us even being aware of it. No single individual is actually in charge, although it may seem like there is. It may seem that there is a conspiracy to control us, especially when the outcome of government thinking seems out of tune with our own thinking - but there is no conspiracy. We, and our governments, are trapped by the thinking of "society" as a whole.
In my next post, I intend to apply this "Deus ex Machina" model to the behaviour of a large corporation, so that it should become more obvious how trapped we are within the organisational structures we create. Subsequently I will expand the concept to the societies we have created.
In the beginning there were single celled organisms. Each was a living entity in its own right, but these living entities did not relate closely to other single-celled organisms. We can imagine this as being similar to human society before language developed, before complex communication was possible.
Thanks to the process of evolution, the single-celled organisms changed their behaviour. Instead of dividing and separating into separate creatures, they clumped together to form colonies. This didn't happen as a planned, well thought out strategy. The single-celled creatures were not capable of such things. In reality it happened as an accidental response to the environment the single-celled creatures found themselves in. It seemed to work, and these multi-cellular organisms thrived. This is analogous to the period of human history where language first developed and communities formed.
The process of evolution continued. Multi-celled organisms developed into ever more sophisticated creatures where certain cells were tasked with specific functions within a much larger organism. Each single-cell continued to be a living organism in its own right, but with no understanding of its position within the creature it was a part of, and no awareness of the existence of such a creature. This is where evolution currently stands, and it is analogous to the evolution of human society, which reached its apogee perhaps around the time of the Egyptians. Complex societies formed where individuals might have very specific functions within a society that was sufficiently complex that no individual could fully grasp how the totality of society functioned.
It should be realised that evolution is not driven by the individual cells that make up the human body. These individual cells are unaware that evolution is happening, or that they are part of some larger mechanism. Are we aware that we are part of the creation of human history? The cells are not aiming towards a particular, worthwhile goal - and neither are we.
Those cells that are part of the brain may be part of the thought process of the human individual, but they are unaware of the thoughts of that individual. Similarly, those individuals in human society that have power and influence over the whole, are actually unaware that they are trapped within a larger mechanism and that their thoughts are just a small fraction of the thinking of the whole organism we call "society".
Naturally the human body is built up not merely of cells, but of separate key functions that relate to each other. Changing one of these key functions could prove fatal to the whole organism. Sometimes the importance of certain body parts is not immediately obvious. On the other hand, individual cells may die, but they act in parallel with many other cells and can readily be replaced.
In human society, political revolutions are analogous to performing multiple organ transplants. The trauma of the operation is liable to be fatal to the patient. For such radical surgery to have a chance of success, the patient must first be put on life support. But there may also be a temptation to do nothing at all to alter the running of society. Any change could prove detrimental. But by failing to grasp the reality that history is something that is being forced upon us as individuals by the thinking of "society" we fail to become truly free. We are slaves to "society" however that society is defined. The thinking of "society” as a whole may be leading us slowly towards disaster, without us even being aware of it. No single individual is actually in charge, although it may seem like there is. It may seem that there is a conspiracy to control us, especially when the outcome of government thinking seems out of tune with our own thinking - but there is no conspiracy. We, and our governments, are trapped by the thinking of "society" as a whole.
In my next post, I intend to apply this "Deus ex Machina" model to the behaviour of a large corporation, so that it should become more obvious how trapped we are within the organisational structures we create. Subsequently I will expand the concept to the societies we have created.
Labels: deus ex machina, evolution, revolution, society
posted by Schadenfreude at
14:50
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