05/01/2015
This story, “The Meaning of Human Existence,” http://www.brucebyersconsulting.com/the-meaning-of-human-existence-a-continuing-conversation-with-e-o-wilson/ takes its title from the latest book by E.O. Wilson, the famous Harvard evolutionary biologist. It’s a combination of a book review, scientific memoir, and essay about evolution and human social behavior, and it leaps from the biology of intertidal anemones to religion and nuclear weapons. I admit it is ambitious in reaching for far-flung connections, but I fall back on the lines from Robert Browning, “Ah but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” that I parodied in a recent blog on the relationship between humans and dogs. I guess I’m reaching for a “heaven” where we humans understand the meaning of our own existence, and use it to guide us into our unknown future.
The Meaning of Human Existence: A Continuing Conversation with E.O.Wilson