人兽之辩

很多人，如果一生中真能做到“衣冠禽兽”，已经很不错了。

譬如狗对主人的忠诚，是很多人做不到的。平时狗会陪伴主人左右，危险时，我们都听说过狗奋不顾身救主人的故事；有时主人死后，驯养一生的狗会哀伤废食，最终饿死。 动物的本性是生存，这种超越自然本性的行为，确实可贵。 反过来，如果对一个人赋之无条件的恩情，不一定能换来无条件的忠诚。 忘恩负义的事太多了。难怪很多人喜欢宠物，因为宠物不会叫人伤心难过。

譬如集体生活的狼，从捕猎到育仔，都是团队一体的，真像集体公社。捕到猎物，整群分享，小崽也是整群共养，不分彼此。但无论是在中国，前苏联，还是以色列，乌托邦被证明是办不下去的。人与生俱来的私欲，是必不可少，又很难抑制的。人类大多数团队只是个体私欲暂时的联盟，“为公”是手段，不是目的。而狼群的“群”，既是手段，又是目的。所以狼群比人群更有效率。

下一次有人说你“狼心狗肺”，要说“谢谢”。

农夫的蛇和南郭的狼是对动物的污蔑，把蛇，狼换成人，寓言就成了活生生的历史了，屡演不止。

譬如企鹅，终生只有一个伴侣。鸟类中一夫一妻很多。除了生存，动物的另一本性是繁衍，即使很多伴侣，也是为了繁衍。但人似乎有着第三本性：追求感官刺激， 永远追求更强，更新的刺激。女人对男人最大的误解是，胸其实不在于大小，而在于新旧。这就是为什么，休·格兰特家有美娇娘，仍然要花钱尝野味。有人说，女人不管多漂亮诱人，总能找到一个已经厌倦了她的男人，这不无道理。性，有钱者可以买，有貌者可以诱，有计者可以骗， 唯有力者只能抢了，他们不是“兽性大发”，只不过是“人欲横流”。

有人说，动物是残忍的: 如狮子猎捕刚出生的斑马，丧子的母马是多痛苦。但这丛林规则，在现代全球化的竞争中尤为突出。如果不在政府机构，就会体会到这一点：希望自己的公司蒸蒸日上，抢夺市场，巴不得竞争者工厂倒闭，公司破产，员工解雇，老板跳楼。但很多家庭因此陷入困境，他们的孩子嗷嗷待哺，失业的父母也是非常痛苦的。这种弱肉强食的法则在人类社会中也能体现得透彻淋漓。很多动物貌似凶残，如狮，虎，但“虎毒不食子”，就连用来吓唬小孩的狼，也曾有过抚养“狼孩”的慈心。但人类历史中，古今中外，父子相戮，手足相残的事比比皆是，这类人真可谓“禽兽不如”。

仁义道德虽然是人得意的发明，但其根源在于自然。如果我们能返璞归真，顺应自然，做到“人面兽心”，那人类社会会和谐安宁得多。

Meaning of life (Part One)

It can be paraphrased by two questions: “why do we exist” and “how should we exist”. Call them the strong and weak anthropic questions, if you will.

First, the strong anthropic question: Why do we exist?

Science may have set out to find the answer, but the scientific method is never designed to reveal the motivation behind any physical phenomenon. While most cosmologists are confident in describing the universe a few seconds after the Big Bang and thereafter, no Friedmann models try to answer why there was even a Big Bang. When we successfully establish the unified theory of physics in the near future, it probably won’t tell us what “breathes fire” into those equations, as commented by the impressive Stephen Hawking. Science is designed to answer “how we exist” but not “why we exist”.

Wherever science fails to respond, religion thrives. Explaining the purpose of life has always been the first and last frontier of any religion.

The Abrahamic God is said to be perfect. Yet humans were created in order to serve Elohim or Yahweh, to love the Lord, and to worship Allah. The fact that human actions are required upon Him means that He needs something and is not complete. The definition of “perfect” is “lacking nothing essential to the whole; complete of its nature or kind”. If we take the Scriptures literally, the motivation for Creation is confusing at best.

The Vedic and Puranic cosmology of Hinduism is probably the most scientifically comparable in all ancient civilizations. While the Hebrew universe lasts 6000 years, and the Chinese cosmos, a few tens of thousands more, the Hindu scriptures revealed a stunning scale of 4 billion years. Its creation-destruction cycle of Yuga corresponds to the theory of Big Bang, Expansion-Contraction and Big Crunch. The ultimate goal in a Hindu’s life is to achieve moksha from samsāra so that the ātmā, could unite itself with Brahman. Some Hindus believe that ātmā and Brahman are indistinguishable, and the detachment is caused by māyā. The existence of humans and its purpose is nothing more than a cosmic game of the divine. The forward path to overcome māyā and samsāra resembles that of a pawn in chess to reach the end zone so that it can be promoted.

Inheriting the tradition of kárma and samsāra, the dharmic protégé Buddha didn’t offer anything new to explain the meaning of life. In fact, Buddha refused to answer the question to the origin of the universe and life, because he thought it was irrelevant to a Buddhist’s quest: nirvana, a slight different form of moksha.

In Taoism, Tao, like Om, neither being nor non-being, gives birth to everything. Its indescribable mysticism in creation eludes its purpose. Although it stands out from the rest childish creation stories in ancient China, it offers no real insight as why there was even one.

So far, no single theory can satisfy the strong anthropic question. Therefore, I seek comfort in three working theories about the purpose of our existence:

1) There is no purpose. Life on this remote corner of the universe is a pure accident explainable by the Uncertainty Principle. God does play dices after all.

2) Humans were created to fulfill some unrevealed purpose, but the watchmaker walked away. Gott ist tot. The physical laws may still function, but the absolute morality no longer applies.

3) “God is a mean kid over an anthill with a magnifying glass”. The concept of cosmic game could potentially explain everything. Yet it renders the meaning of life meaningless. We are nothing but puppets to satisfy some sadistic perversion.