A Guide for the Perplexed

What are we building towards? Enlightenment? I’m not exactly sure, but I have faith that there is something beyond our scope of experience based on my favorite book “A Guide for the Perplexed” by E.F. Shumacher.

This book is set up as a logical proof, explaining that there is so much that we, as humans, don’t understand fully. He explains the following hierarchy of consciousness:

-Start with an inanimate object, for example, a rock

-One level higher is something alive, like a plant

-One level higher is something conscious, like a dog

-One level higher is something self-aware, like a human

It’s illogical to assume that there is nothing higher than human. Furthermore, there is a “principle of adequateness”, which allows us to understand the world beyond its physical properties. Take for example a book: something conscious like a dog sees it as a physical object, but self-aware humans see the higher-order meaning of it. There must be a lot that we understand just as physical phenomenon (ex: the wind, gravity, etc.) that may have a higher meaning.

This book opened my eyes to the possibility that there is so much beyond our ability to understand and encouraged me to question everything around me. I’ve applied that philosophy to my views of the physical world, as well as open-mindedness to all people.