Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Desire and Lacking in Humans and God

Bear with me on this one.  I like it and think it's worth my time and worth posting.  The interesting thing about this entry is that it is heavily influenced by Lacanian psychoanalysis which I have been reading again the last few days.  (All the stuff relating to desire, lacking, and subjectivity.)  The first part is pretty sketchy but I try to make some good points.  If you get bored of the first part scroll down to the numbered points and read from there.
The reason human beings can complete every single simple task in our lives is because evolutionarily we respond to certain needs.  Acts such as moving the Christmas tree out to the trash or opening a door are made possible by the foundation of creation and capabilities.  We create things to use, and even though a dog may be stronger and faster, he cannot use technology which may someday negate his evolutionary advantage.  His hard-earned speed and strength come from a history which is being made into a forgotten prehistory.  Whereas environment has created him, human ingenuity is now creating us.  Cars are operable because you use your hands and feet to control the vehicle.  However, the adherence of all drivers to a moral code controlling each and every one of us is the distinctly human creation which keeps streets safe.  There are two types of control here, and if we put ourselves into the minds of dogs we may gain something.  For the, cars are pure enjoyment.  All the movements of the car seem to them to be completely arbitrary and different.  A dog's favorite thing to do is put his head out of the window, where it is not the visual clarity provided by the movement but the experience of the air pushing into his face.  He longs for the "new" which creates a state of static euphoria.  This is reserved for the specific experience of having his head out of the window.  When called he pulls his head out from the window and I close it.
"What is the point of all this rambling?"
Well, thematically this is about the difference between human and animal consciousness, where humans can be faulty, and what we may learn from the animals.
If we take the example of, say, the Garden of Eden we may be able to say something about man's relationship with God.  In Genesis, God is seen as an all-powerful creator who made man apart from the rest on a day dedicated to man.  (Sunday being apart as well...for God...or God created it for himself.)  God's power is namely as a Creator, and, just like humans, is not in control of the actions chosen by his children.  In our modern American society, our creations (technology) are growing faster and faster leading to less and less control.  The standard of living may be seen as the main ideology which contributes to the ideal of endless growth.  It has been proven in psychological studies the rich people are more often depressed than the meek and humble.  The myth of material objects is Nietzschean in its characterization: humans create needs such as God.  We seem to think that we can know things which are created out of need. There is a fundamental lacking present in this line of thinking.  Need is extremely shifty and thousand-faced which is why it never amounts to a conclusion.  Maybe we can feel like God in the one-sidedness of the nature of creation.  Here is the central point: we can only really know God through his flaws and imperfections.  The authors of the Bible have identified the flaws in themselves as imperfections in Nature, which was that inability of God to know everything.  (This may be the reason why God "doesn't care about you because he controls everything.")  God's most important and perfect act is flawed, so how can we believe we are on the right track?
"But what does this say about the nature of creation?"
1) How fast is creation?
2) Does it know itself?
3) Is it inspired by something greater than oneself?
4) How does one become creative or is one made creative?

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