By Kate Domaille
Kate Domaille is a part-time university lecturer specialising in British and European Cinema. She is also a Humanists UK Accredited Celebrant, practising for more than 12 years in Hampshire, Dorset and parts of Wiltshire.
I’ve just joined Dorset Humanists. I’m technically a little bit of an outsider as I live in Hampshire, but I often perform ceremonies (weddings and namings… even a few funerals) over the border in Dorset. On doing so, I introduced myself and sent a few examples of articles I’d written as part of South Hampshire Humanists to the Chair, and he seized upon the chance to challenge me to write here. Only thing is, he gave me a very big question: Why do we exist?
This question is at the heart of the world’s great religions – often answered in relation to a deity – that we have been placed on this earth to do God’s bidding, or to worship him, or to show we are worthy of a place in another Kingdom beyond our lives on earth. Buddhism stands out as giving a purpose to humans of "enlightenment". I rather liked that, that we are here to understand our world, to be active agents in it, with responsibility to leave it in good order for future generations. It seems more centred on us as beings, rather than as ciphers rehearsing for life in another world. And, probably, it had the most in common with my understanding of humanism, which is to live life as best we can, without hindrance to others, protecting our environment and sharing joy.
Perhaps. I’ve always thought the question is not why do we exist as I’ll take existence as a given, comprised of skin, bone, and cells and then nurtured and socialised into our full lives, but rather how have we come to exist? And, of vital interest, what do we do with our existence whilst here?
I’m no scientist, but I am capable of understanding evolution, and, for me, science has developed to give us extraordinary insights into our ancestral beginnings. It’s a big story that has been added to, and will continue to be added to, as humans try to understand life, the universe and everything. The story of the big bang is a tremendous one – one which humanity ultimately emerges from – first as molecules and matter and over time from fish to amphibians, reptiles to mammals, apes to humans. I follow the science to try and understand that journey.
What do we do with our existence whilst here? Human beings have formed themselves into units of other humans, thus suggesting we thrive best in connection with each other: relationships, families, neighbours, communities, societies. At our best, and history affirms this, we are able to learn from each other, share knowledge, respect and care for each other. We only have to look at the enormous advances in medicine, education and technology over the past 150 years to have evidence for working together as an important human endeavour. The counterpoint is coming, of course. At our worst, there is division, competition, conflict and war. To live together well requires enormous reserves of human qualities: knowledge, care, empathy and understanding. These qualities aren’t inherent or innate in spite of what we sometimes observe in the world around us – some people appear to be inherently good and others bad. As social beings, the conditions that afford empathy and care are drawn from feelings of security and value. Where those feelings aren’t apparent, insecurity, anger and violence emerge. To ensure the balance is maintained in favour of nurturing the best of humans, support for families, schools and community organisations is a vital societal mission. Whilst we all start life in small units, over time most of us make connections across vast terrains. We are not just ourselves but citizens of the world. We each and all have responsibility to each other.
The news headlines in August have shown us some of the worst aspects of human behaviour – in outbursts of violence, racism and rioting on the streets of Britain. They’ve also shown us the very best: communities coming together to protect and help each other. To reassure us all of the value of our existence, we need to retain a high level of consciousness of our responsibilities to each other. Together, we are incredibly powerful to make a good and positive world.
The scientist and President of Humanists UK Adam Rutherford wrote: “This is what we do. We write and read, and we science and create and talk. We pass on knowledge and consider each other’s minds. We try to be better than our primal urges, and we think about the options ahead, and make plans and choices about how to proceed. We struggle for existence and try to ease the struggles of others.”(From The Little Book of Humanism: Universal lessons on finding purpose, meaning and joy (2020) edited by Andrew Copson and Alice Roberts). Rutherford reminds us of our need to be watchful that the impact we make in a world of diminishing resources shows respect for where we’ve all come from, working to leave behind the foundations for the next generations to carry on with the purpose to live good lives, to foster harmony, happiness and joy as best we can. This is why we exist.
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