When you compare a human to an ant in an ant colony you quickly find that we are not so different. Ants communicate with pheromones and are defined by the role they play in the colony. Together, they forage, seek out ennemies and constantly adapt to an ever changing environment. They prioritize their investment in the future by their unwavering care in the pupae, the larva and the chrysalides by caring for them and by defending their habitat. Their intentions are made clear by their everyday actions and although they may seem robotic and void of individuality, they do feel emotions and wonder if they are doing the right thing. They go rogue, realize when they are lost or about to die. Aside from phoeromones, they use tactile sense to assess each other and make sure everyone is falling in line and have the power to exile each other due to poor mental health.
We humans do not escape such rigid programming and although we can understand our own musings on the world we live in, there is simply no proof that ants are not doing the exact same thing. The main difference is that ants, instead of revering their queen as the name queen may suggest, consider her to be an integral part of themselves. It is in that sense that the notion of individuality is greatly attenuated. We are full of awe when it comes to notions like god which we feel is the very tapestry that binds us together but ever since the recent expansion of technological faculties, many of us are going back to a much more instinctual sense of oneness.
Some vigorously disagree with this concept that humans are just mere animals with extraordinary means to achieve their ends and I truly respect that. However, if I was to look at our fragile blue orb from afar, this would probably confirm that consciousness is just another trick of the mind. Case in point, I would be seeing an extraordinary celestial being before my eyes: Earth and I would wonder why we are still looking so far away for extraterrestrial life. It has been right in front of us this whole time, maybe we were too close.
Lying and doing so so abundantly is a big part of the social game of individual identity. We wonder when we are lying to each other and when we find out someone was lying, we speculate as to their intentions. That is assuming that person knows their own intention in the complex social web we have created for ourselves and which keeps us so busy. How does righteousness coexist with relativity? That is a real catch 22. How do we distinguish a hero from a villain given we may know how muddled our own intentions may be. There are simply too many factors to take into account when considering one’s own endgame for the majority of these factors not to be processed subconsciously by our brain. So how to we find out our single endgame? We don’t, like I said before, humans can separate their own final objectives no more than an ant within his or her colony.
I strive to think beyond if I like or dislike the content of a conversation with a peer but instead to consider what it can bring me or not. This is to determine if I should continue or end a conversation. So many people fail to understand how altruism for the sake of altruism is quite impossible if you consider that our life experiences culminate inside a single brain. I don’t want to deny the value of theology and cosmic understanding but for the sake of this particular conversation about determinism, lets set them aside for a moment. The vast majority of people can relate to individualism and one way or another. It is after all, how all this flesh can coexist with all this circuitry. Knowing this, who do you want to be? How do you want to feel, meaning what kind of emotional baseline do you want to have? How badly do you need to feel purposeful? Finally, what is being a troll going to achieve? For me, giving more value to non-verbal language is something that has the potential to boost or maintain my sense of purpose. It is a form of communication that forces me out of the cyberspace into the material world and in which it becomes harder to lie. Life is too short to buy into people’s diversions. Making the most of my time here could have something to do with skipping past the facade and to socialize in an old school way while not forsaking this brand new world.
Everything comes at a cost, everything comprises a level of risk but with this approach, I feel like I can combat the ravages of loneliness. Although altruism is not separate from survival instinct it is still well worth investigating. You may say that my philosophy is dated and that someone could have said the same things back in the 50s but honestly, you can’t deny that science fiction is littered with horror stories. I have no intention on radically reducing my exposure to technology and by constantly wondering why humans built cities where to live together, I am shielding myself from a lot of sensationalist rubbish. I was binge watching Mr. Robot yesterday, thrilled to the utmost about this sense that Eliott, like a super-hero, was central to the fate of the world to the triumph of the underdog. In this 3rd season he is wondering what it means to be the underdog and so, I catch myself wondering the same thing. People reach for stardom but most would get burned by it immediately like Icarus aspired by gravity at an exponential speed, away from his surviving father Daedalus left alone in a sky where he doesn’t belong. They would want to be Eliott because they feel as though if the fate of the world was riding on their shoulders, their life would have more meaning.
It is rare to find someone who is at peace with playing an insignificant role in the colony. This is where I feel humans have much to learn from ants. We know all about time efficiency so why do we have such a hard time embodying it. So many counter-productive arguments, witch hunts, finger pointing, slut shaming and so on when we could instead look at ourselves to see if we are doing our best to leave this place as good or better than we found it. Humans would prefer throwing themselves in their work rather than taking responsibility for the way they choose to communicate with each other. It helps them remain focussed in a chaotic world and who could blame them? I heard somewhere that you don’t have to worry about having negative thoughts, they will come on their own. Focus instead on the positive side.