RSSAlpha and Omega
Some look at death and turn the other way. Quite often, when a being looks at death, he considers immediately the death of himself or maybe some relative. But maybe we should consider a greater death that none of us want to confront. The death of a species and the death of civilization.
We have to confront these things. We have to confront that civilizations can die. Maybe they live on through history, but they do have lifespans and they do die too. Sometimes their death is progressive in the sense that evolution of philosophy has lead to higher levels of knowledge and capability and room must be made for the new by removal of antiquity.
Can civilizations die too early? Maybe. Are their cataclysmic events that man cannot prevent regardless of if he tries? When are we going to start to answer these questions. I am not speaking as a doomsdayer or in reference to biblical messages. I am speaking as a human being on planet earth who enjoys life and civilization, and if we don’t blow ourselves up with our own atomic weaponry, I am simply concerned that their could be elements outside of our own wars that could bring about our demise.
Knowledge is only as workable as it can be used. If there were a chance that a comet or planet could somehow drift into our system and cause significant changes in climate on all of the planets in this system and orbital changes, would this be something that mankind is prepared for?
I want to be real here. If our philosophies are only built in our world to help us cope better with conditions that cannot be avoided, then I don’t want them. But I don’t believe that is true. I believe that our philosophies exist in order for us to pose problems that have hitherto not been proposed in order to protect the furthering and advancement of mankind and our civilization.
6 Comments, Comment or Ping
TROUBLMan
Many people confront the possible death of civilization. But often times, the problem lies in the way we explain and explore this possible death.
For instance, religious leaders often detail the end of the world. Though the problem with their exploration lies in the abstract rhetoric they use to illustrate such possible calamity. Because their explanations come from their specific religious text, they usually have no flexibility, nor do they illuminates the issues that we face today. If the bible mentioned tangible threats like global warming than maybe religious leaders lead more people to approach these threats more critically.
Others who confront the possibility, are simply irrelevant to the mass public. It’s sad to say but environmentalist will always have a hard time breaking through to people when they’re battling so many other message in popular culture. Most people are concerned more with sports scores than on their possible extinction.
[Reply]
TROUBLMan
There’s no such thing as too early, when it comes to civilization dying. Civilization works right on time. It changes as we make it change. Realize, unexpected events which we don’t affect (like a comet hitting the earth) have been set in motion long before they impact us. These things are past our knowledge as human beings. For one, our conception of time is limited. Second, our position in space and lack of knowledge does not allow us to observe and affect all the events they will lead to our demise.
[Reply]
Alwayswrite reply on December 7, 2008 8:44 pm:
I agree. There is no such thing as too early. And we as humans just don’t know enough about the space we are in. If it so happens an event that we didn’t predict forces human extinction, it will be a lack of knowledge. We just don’t have the tools to control the skies. We barely can predict the motion of the planets in our solar system. The rest of space? No.
The way I feel is we’ll cause our own catastrophe prior to any extraterrestrial circumstance. The planet can only take so much…
[Reply]
Alex
I make mention of this because supposedly our Sun has a twin which is actually orbiting it right now. It is what they call a brown dwarf, but it has a strong magnetic pull and its heat is warming up our solar system. Ancient history tells us that the planet Phaeton, which is now splattered across as our asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, actually collided with one of the planets surrounding this brown dwarf thousand of years ago and it is making it re-entrance into our system again. Not sure about the validity of the evidence, but it is something to think about.
[Reply]
Nina Parks reply on December 9, 2008 1:09 pm:
hmmm… On one hand it would explain the title waves and abnormally hot weather that we’ve been experiencing. San Francisco just started to get cold. And I half agree with this statement.
” I believe that our philosophies exist in order for us to pose problems that have hitherto not been proposed in order to protect the furthering and advancement of mankind and our civilization.”
I believe that the philosophies have been created and each one evolved over time because these are the problems that we encounter when a civilization starts to buckle, whether it be from natural disaster or man’s own lack of self control.
All man’s philosophies are relevant to perspective and where one stands on the sphere. I mean it’s all a possibility according to the Mayan Calendar in the year 2012 the planets will all align and make the beginning of a new cycle.
Like Sam Cooke said ” Change is gonna come.”
[Reply]
"A Mom"
I don’t know much about this subject, but it is very interesting. These are some of the things we learned in school.
[Reply]
Reply to “Alpha and Omega”
SEE ALSO
♦ TROUBLMan - Brave New World
November 11, 2008
♦ Alex Merricks - The Right Questions
April 23, 2008
♦ Alex Merricks - Right to Ignorance
April 24, 2008
♦ TROUBLMan - “Ignent”
May 1, 2008
♦ Alwayswrite - All Wrong
May 21, 2008