A Search for Significance

Our need for significance is evident in myth and religion. It echoes throughout our literature and is the ultimate goal of scientific inquiries. From early gods to the latest scientific theories, our search for a place and purpose has shaped our social and scientific paradigms and produced answers ranging from simple stories to complex equations. Our search for significance is a succession of changing perspectives that has shaped our history and determines our future. From science, we learn that we are the product of evolution, self-replicating matter with a complex evolved brain. From religion, we learn that we are beings created by a god, and must reconcile our awareness with death if life is to have meaning. Our early history reflects our search for significance and the search has been ongoing for hundreds of thousands of years, but instead of a final answer, we have many answers. The search is evident in early calendars, in ancient gods, in elaborate preparations for death, and in numerous myths and religions. Myth and religion use a preexisting superior sentience to explain the beginning of time and human self-awareness. In contrast, contemporary scientific theories posit evolved physical forms as a complimentary prerequisite for the emergence of awareness and man’s intelligence. If we accept the religious approach, faith leads us to the conclusion that the universe was created for man, that we are responsible directly to the creator, and must prove ourselves worthy by following the creator’s directives. If we accept the scientific approach, logic leads us to the conclusion that we are a complex mix of ordinary matter using evolved sensory organs and complex neurological networks to interpret our surroundings and must follow nature’s mandates to insure our survival. Whichever approach we choose, we continue to look for answers that will give us significance.