In terms of quality of life, we modern humans are staring into an abyss, regarding what the future will bring. A host of concerns—from governmental failure to economic instability, mental illness, social isolation, substance abuse, family dysfunction, international conflict, and habitat destruction—are already threatening to overwhelm us. How is it possible that we, the most intelligent beings on earth, find ourselves in such a disquieting situation? The increasing degree to which modern humans suffer from the complexities and stresses of our institutionalized society is a red flag that we are ignoring. Could it be that what we see as problems really constitute the mounting evidence of the incompatibility of the modern way of life with the way Homo sapiens evolved to live? Chet Shupe believes so.
In Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature, he addresses the human condition from the perspective that the above “problems” have no resolution, because they are symptoms of the real problem that has remained hidden for thousands of years. Our real problem is the mistaken belief that humans possess no inborn wisdom. Our belief that we exist without the innate sensibilities needed to maintain order, causes us to rely on centralized systems of control, to impose an artificial order. Consequently, we have, in effect, outlawed the wisdom of human nature, causing us to live an artificial life, in which we suffer. Being forced to live in denial of our inborn wisdom is the fountainhead of human misery.
Yes, this artificial order enables us to enjoy the benefits of living in mass societies. But legally imposed order fails us in two essential ways. First, it prevents us from being true to ourselves—our inborn wisdom—even in our personal relationships. Secondly, as subjects of institutions, we have no choice, other than to serve the state, by complying with prescribed law, thus are not free to serve life, by complying with our innate wisdom.
Shupe argues that recovery will never result from people behaving better, having better intentions, or creating better laws. Evolution created each species to regulate itself, according to the wisdom of the instincts shared by all members of the species. For Homo sapiens, that means living in spiritual freedom, not under a set of manmade laws and mores. The hidden problem for modern humans is that we abandoned our instincts, cutting ourselves off from the wisdom of evolution. We went our own way, substituting artificial laws for the laws of life, and somehow we wonder, now, why we are not happy.
The institutionally imposed laws that we created, in error, certainly appear convincing, enough, when inscribed on stone tablets. But imposing them destroys the natural social order, among humans. When living in a “reality” created by prescribed laws, life becomes strange—so strange that we cannot emotionally engage in it. When forced to depend on our intellect to survive, rather than trust the feelings evolution gave us, we suffer. We then cope with the suffering by worshiping the very empires that subjugate us, by promising us a brighter future, one that will alleviate the suffering! This further tightens the grip, through which governments attain absolute dominion over each of our lives.
Governments control us—and control even our leaders—through monetary and legal systems, which render every human personally responsible for his or her own wellbeing. But from the human spirit’s perspective, we are here to serve life—not self! In the social order overseen by the human spirit, we don’t have to take care of ourselves. Our sisters and brothers take care of us, not because they have to, but because they love doing so! It is in this organic, interdependent way of life, that human beings find contentment and happiness.
In Shupe’s mind, the question is not how to solve the world’s problems. The question is: How do we embrace a way of life in which we are free to be true to our inborn wisdom? Then, given time, the world’s problems would resolve themselves. In other words, Nature will heal itself, if we let it. Our role, in that process, is to do what evolution “designed” us to do: Take pleasure by being true to the wisdom Nature gave us. We are born with all the wisdom we need to take care of life. All we need is the opportunity—the freedom to be true to how we feel.
Left to its own devices, life automatically organizes itself, so that countless species can live in sufficient harmony for life to flourish on this planet. To understand the beauty of our natural way of life, we must first recognize why feelings exist. Feelings are the core feature of existence, for all animate beings. In mankind’s case, they reveal the wisdom of human nature. Our inborn wisdom rewards us with feelings of pleasure, whenever we do things that serve life, and punishes us with pain, whenever we behave in ways that do not serve life. In this way, feelings constitute the “map of Life” on earth—in effect, an inborn GPS for every animate being. From the pain of hunger or fatigue, we know it’s time to take pleasure in eating or sleeping—two activities essential to our species’ wellbeing. With the pain of loneliness, our “GPS” tells us that we need to live in interdependence with sisters and brothers, in a way of life in which we mutually take pleasure, by putting our sisters’ and brothers’ needs above our own. This is the signal activity that contributes to our species’ wellbeing.
As institutional subjects of the modern world, however, we depend on money, for survival, not on social groups whose members are bonded by their need for one another. This explains why the loneliness of social isolation is endemic in our world—not the contentment of love and belonging. And because the personal accountability that is de rigueur in monetary systems forces each of us to place our own needs above those of the people around us, we are not free to contribute to our species’ wellbeing, in our personal relationships. Little wonder that our species is in trouble.
Shupe says there can never be a prescribed solution to the world’s problems. Life, itself, is a problem. We’re not here to eliminate hardships. We’re here to celebrate life, by cooperating with others, to overcome life’s problems. With nothing to overcome, there would be nothing to celebrate. Sisterhoods and brotherhoods are our natural home, and the foundation for the natural social order, among humans. Only interdependent relationships can free us to live in the moment, thus celebrate our existence, by helping each other manage life’s future uncertainties, as they come to light.
But is it even possible to again trust our lives to the human spirit, after thousands of years of living in a state of spiritual distrust—one so profound that we employ legal systems, armies, and weapons of mass destruction to protect us from one another? There is no answer to that question, because, common sense tells us that the future is unknowable.
Spiritual freedom, if it does occur, will not result from better plans, but from a spiritual awakening—a reawakening to the needs of our own souls. Our spirits will then lead us to spiritual homes, the kind in which we accept one another for what Nature made us, instead of what an artificially imposed order says we are supposed to be. Shupe authored Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature—How Civilization Destroys Happiness, in the hope that it will bring about a reawakening to the needs of our souls. It is available on Amazon.