Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
I have recently become acquainted with something called Manufacturing Consent which was written by a well-known philosopher, Noam Chomsky.
In his work, one of Chomsky’s main points state that ordinary people are creative, however, they put a lot of time and effort into perfecting systems that were placed by those who want to manipulate the general population. This has greatly influenced a lot of people’s thinking and often resulted in people’s free will being called into question.
Is there really such a thing as free will? If not, are we then to believe that our entire lives are based on predetermined systems of control and that our actions – let alone those of notable people – are rendered meaningless? As young adults who are about to step out into the world, that is a scary thought.
I distinctly remember learning for the first time that everything in the universe is made out of atoms. As a child, this did not seem too amazing but as my knowledge evolved, I learnt that human beings, animals and plants alike are made up of the very same atoms that existed in every living being since the beginning of time.
Now THAT is amazing.
In the upcoming movie (and novel) Paper Towns by John Green, he says, and I quote: “What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.” But as amazing as the book and the author both are, they stand corrected.
Clearly we are more than just the atoms of humans. Our bodies consist of the atoms that once existed in every living thing. We are made of the same atoms that are in coral, forests, fruits and even bugs. We are one, in the most literal sense, and that, to me, is remarkable because it has not required any time or effort on our part.
There’s no predetermined system that we are aware of. There’s just people, animals, plants and the atoms that are comprised in them. Now that is a peaceful thought.
