Preface
● Everything derives from logic. Everything we see around us, everything we smell, touch, taste, and hear has all come about by the logical forces of ‘nature’. If we were to close our minds to this single reality (as people do when they feel the need to believe in a supreme being or ‘god’), we would never have made the technological advances that we have. The phenomenon that we call ‘religion’ was borne of an uncertain awareness that is unique to our species and is an inevitable consequence of the evolutionary expansion of our minds, which has also given us the gift of intelligence. Yet in the modern world, we increasingly rely on the disciplines of ‘science’ to determine the realities of existence. The science of ‘physics’ clearly demonstrates how logic dictates every aspect of every event in our universe involving all matter and all antimatter. It tells us that everything follows the same laws. ‘chemistry’ meantime takes it a step further by clearly proving to us that the force of logic dictates the outcome of every one of millions of possible chemical reactions. However, despite the science of ‘biology’, many people find it difficult to comprehend that all organic material (which was originally born out of the ‘chemical world’) follows exactly the same set of rules. Furthermore, nearly everything that we have created within our vast civilizations has only been realized through our relatively recent (but increasingly astute) understanding of the way that logic behaves.
● Although, as a thinking species, most human beings believe in the concept of ‘free will’ (which to all intents and purposes exists as there are an almost unimaginable number of combinations of decisions that we can make), we are from the Earth and are ultimately inseparable from it. There are trillions upon trillions of atomic particles that make up our planet and everything on it, and the size, shape, position, smell, color, and texture of every physical object is as it is thanks to an extremely complex series of logical events. From the moment that the Earth was formed, its history, like that of every other celestial body, has conformed to the process of logic. The endless number of Earthly events began as seemingly ‘random’ but totally logical geographical changes. Moreover, the birth of our planet set in motion an ever more complex series of atmospheric reactions which have been elaborated upon by the presence of life; an irresistible force that is bound only by the laws of nature.
● The atoms that are tied up in the Earth and its structure are the cause of every particle of every mineral both within the Earth and on its surface. They make up every single geological feature on the planet, forming the trillions of rocks and stones in every mountain range, canyon, and cliff, creating every grain of sand in every desert and on every beach, as well as every particle of dust in the air that we breathe. Our entire physical world depends on the unique behavior of different atoms which together form the Earth’s many elements, most of which are continually present in the ‘life-sustaining’ atmosphere that surrounds us. Furthermore, an innumerable quantity of atoms have bonded as molecules of water that together form every single river, lake, sea, and ocean of the world as well as the many trillions of ice crystals that cover the surface of the Earth’s polar regions. Indeed, atoms are the basic components of every molecule that has ever existed, and the current (and constantly changing) position of each one has arisen from a myriad of logical events and consequences.
● This reasoning doesn’t stop at inanimate and inorganic particles ~ what about life? As a physical entity that has evolved from the geological and atmospheric dynamics of our planet, the fragile reflection of reality that we refer to as the ‘web of life’ is the reason for our very existence. From the apparently ‘haphazard’ movements of each individual bacterium to the position of every blade of grass that’s ever grown, all aspects of life in every ecosystem ultimately adhere to exactly the same logical forces of nature that shape our entire universe. Prokaryotes, protists, fungi, and plants are no different from the immense animal kingdom whose survival relies upon their own. Every coelenterate, mollusc, crustacean, and fish, every insect, amphibian, reptile, and bird, as well as every order of mammal, has evolved through the same laws of physical existence.
● Why does the flower smell? To attract the insect which, over millions of years of evolution, has become an essential part of its reproductive cycle. Flora, as we know it, first grew on Earth an estimated 450 million years ago (the first bacterial algae probably arose from what we call a ‘primeval soup’ some 3800 million years ago). That’s a lot of time in which to evolve and proliferate into the some 400,000 different plant species that we presently believe to have existed on the planet. Well over a million species of animal (of which over 80% are insects) ultimately depend upon the continuing growth of plants, whilst the most prolific of ‘higher’ plant species (the ‘angiosperms’ or flowering plants) have flourished by exploiting both the elements and the animal kingdom to aid their propagation. Indeed every different species of life has developed particular characteristics that best suit its chances of survival. Moreover, it all takes place as part of an ever-evolving biogenetic process that will continue as long as life itself exists.
● Emerging from the most advanced family of primates, we, Homo sapiens sapiens, are a unique species of animal and the only one able to ‘create’ what we as individuals can ‘imagine’. Only we possess a mind capable of mentally transcending the laws that govern physical reality, allowing us to build complex cultures that are shaped around the concepts of love, compassion, friendship, and cooperation as well as hate, vengeance, domination, and war. The human race is alone in its appreciation of music, poetry, and the visual arts, and only we concern ourselves with the ‘trivialities’ of politics, national identity, and competitive sport. More importantly, in terms of the survival and the continuing success of our species, only we can project our thoughts into the distant future, formulate plans, achieve definite goals, and improve our long-term interests. Yet even our inexhaustible pursuit of happiness is a logical consequence of our essential ‘being’. To take the concept further would be to imagine the reason for every human action that has ever taken place. Once again it is all based on the myriad of logical events that occur within our natural surroundings ~ right down to our behavioral patterns when we interact and the decisions that we make. Whilst many people’s decisions may not always seem sound to others, the actual process of decision making (both conscious and unconscious) will affect an outcome ~ the very existence of which, by definition, must be logical whether it be forced, biased, or even seemingly indiscriminate in its making.
● The totally logical forces of nature that make up our vast physical Universe, besides being fundamentally tied to the existence of every living creature, play an intrinsic part in the reason behind every human action. Indeed every conscious thought, every belief (be it correct or not), every emotion, and every dream has occurred through a logical process. To disregard this statement as incorrect or inaccurate is to look at things with a mind that is not completely open. Think about it!… Even everything that outwardly seems to be ‘illogical’ must have come about through a logical process ~ although it may not appear to have done until you step back and see it in the context of a wider picture. By observing life with an open mind, you will realize that every single process has come about by a logical means; and therefore every event, past, present, and future, is ultimately the manifestation of logic. Everything and every occurrence is part of a chain of events that stretch back to the ‘Big Bang’ and beyond! Just as a mighty river splits into thousands of tributaries, so the things and thoughts that surround us are as trillions of ‘tributaries’ that originally sprang from one event ~ the beginning of time.
● The ‘beginning of time’ in our dimension came from the Big Bang, but that wasn’t the beginning of the Universe. For thousands of years, ‘civilized’ man believed that the Earth was the center of all creation. This popularly held ‘geocentric’ view of the Universe was first suggested by Greek astronomer Ptolemy in around 130 CE and was accepted as fact until Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus proposed in 1543 that the Universe was ‘heliocentric’ (that is to say that everything revolves around the Sun). Copernicus did not publish his book until shortly before his death, most probably through fear of reprisal and being branded a heretic by the ‘Roman Catholic Church’. As with any radical discovery that challenges authority, those in a position of power (in this case that of the Catholic Church) felt that its ‘divine’ right of authority was threatened and did not accept Copernicus’s findings and lift the ban on his book until 1835 (some 300 years later). In the 16th century, when Galileo Galilei proved that Copernicus was indeed correct and that the Earth orbited the Sun, he was also demonized by the church and died whilst under permanent house arrest. It was not until (believe it or not) 1993 that the Catholic Church finally recognized Galileo’s work and posthumously retracted his sentence. By 1914, however, American astronomer Harlow Shapley had already discovered that the Sun was not at the center of our galaxy but at the edge of the ‘Milky Way’, which was also proved to be much larger than was previously thought. This along with Edwin Hubble’s discovery, in 1921 of many more galaxies millions of light years away totally changed our perception of existence. Once placing ourselves at the center of all creation, we now accept how extremely insignificant our position is within the cosmos. It is not unreasonable therefore to assume that once again we are somewhat pompous in our view that the Big Bang was the beginning of all creation. It would be more logical to see the ‘Big Bang’ explosion as just another non-unique event somewhere in time that just happened to be at the end of another dimension and the beginning of ours.
● The human brain represents the pinnacle of nature’s evolutionary complexities, and as a species, we have developed an uncontrollable desire to push back the boundaries of knowledge and broaden our minds as we continually strive towards the concept of living ‘perfection’. Indeed, so compelling is the need to advance our understanding of existence that every nation on Earth places greater importance on the concept of ‘Discovery’ than it does on the welfare of life itself. In the hi-tech ‘Western world’ of the 21st century, an inordinate amount of resources are plowed into mankind’s thirst for knowledge, yet to date, even the most advanced scientific technology cannot consistently and accurately predict weather patterns beyond a matter of days. However, whilst religious faith provides an alternative reality for billions of people around the world, only the accumulation of scientific data advances our intellectual development. Like religion, science carries with it the prospect of eternal happiness, which appears to go hand in hand with the hope that, one day, humanity will achieve the complete understanding of literally everything!
● ‘The Book‘ details a uniquely human ‘perception of existence’ ~ one that is based exclusively around the concept of logic. It is a device that hopefully has the capacity to open your mind to see the wider picture of everything that there is to understand. If you accept the basic premise that the forces of nature (and therefore everything that exists) is entirely logical you will, after starting to read ‘The Book‘, find that your mind more readily accepts the natural realities of existence which just so happen to contradict the world’s many religious beliefs!
