In Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials series every human has an animal daemon. The humans and their daemons are deeply bonded and experience each other’s feelings. For nefarious reasons the evil Magisterium creates a device capable of severing the bond between a human and their daemon. The procedure leaves the formerly connected humans and their daemons severely traumatized.
We may do our best to deny it but we citizens of the modern world are similarly traumatized by a distressing separation from each other, nature, and the rest of the cosmos. Ironically we are so inured to its effects that we take it for granted as normal and often fail to realize the toll it is taking on our physical and mental wellbeing. For several thousand years western civilization has operated under the impression that people and things exist independently. The effects of the perceived separation are increasingly severe as our institutions and technology serve to further disconnect us from nature and each other. The trauma this has caused and continues to cause is rarely recognized as such because it is so deeply entrenched in our culture as to be almost invisible. Almost but not quite.
The degree to which the majority of us experience some level of anxiety or depression is an indication of the extent of the effects of the trauma inherent in our assumed separation. Believing we are separate, independent individuals is, if we really examine it seriously, a terrifying prospect. It leaves everything up to the individual. We must each make our own way including meeting our survival needs and those of our loved ones. Life and death are up to us. Financial security is up to us. Natural disasters are beyond the control of independent individuals. All of the factors that affect our physical and mental wellbeing must be managed by each of us independently. Also we must compete with one another for the things we think we need to be happy. The overwhelming pressure leads us to strive for continuous improvement and to avoid mistakes at all costs.
This situation, to the degree it is recognized either consciously or subconsciously, is traumatizing and seldom understood as the consequence of a faulty view regarding the nature of existence.
In actual fact nothing can exist independently. Contrary to common beliefs all things exist interdependently. The fact of interdependent existence is easily observable in the interdependent relationships found when we look at things with the eye of an ecologist. The existence of the various elements in an ecosystem depend on and support each other in order to exist. Each smaller ecosystem exists interdependency within a larger ecosystem ending up in the all encompassing ecosystem we call the biosphere.
Once recognized and understood as the actual nature of existence the interdependent view of reality is capable of reuniting us with one another, nature, and the cosmos. It can heal the traumatizing wound of apparent separation because it reveals it to have been nothing more than a convincing but mistaken assumption all along.
Knowing the truth of interdependent existence can inspire the confidence needed to tackle the important job of reshaping society in ways that honour this understanding of the deeply interwoven nature of existence. It begins with each of us living according to the implications of being interdependent, as opposed to independent, individuals.
In this view individuals attempt to be as self-sufficient as possible. This is an insecure and fearful way to live. It leaves it up to each independent individual to look out for themselves and their loved ones. Disaster lurks just around the corner. Life is unpredictable and often lonely. As seemingly independent beings people are vulnerable to all manor of misfortune. To survive they strive to look out for number one, be suspicious of others, and exercise power over others.
To meet their need for secure access to resources they favour personal or in-group accumulation of scarce resources. This tends to lead to greed. The need for safety is enforced by strict rules and strong boundaries leading to division, mistrust, and conflict. It is believed that without the rule of some ultimate authority humankind will descend into some kind of dog-eat-dog approach to meeting their needs.
And so it is with all attempts to meet the survival needs of humans who believe themselves to be independently existing individuals.
Based on the way living things exist in nature the interdependent worldview fosters a society of individuals who openly depend on each other and sustainable practices in seeking to meet their needs. There is a feeling of togetherness, mutual respect, and a willingness to cooperate with others. Individuals understand their essential dependence on each other and a healthy environment and the role they play in keeping it healthy.
Schopenhauer’s claim that suffering was caused by desire and that the will to live can drive us to do things that result in suffering was not wrong. What was erroneous was the assumption that we are doomed to live this way. It is not the will to live itself that is the cause of suffering. It is the ways in which we attempt to meet our survival needs that can result in suffering. And the ways we attempt to meet our needs depends on whether we see ourselves as independent or interdependent beings.
Living as if we are independent individuals guarantees unnecessary suffering because the ways we go about meeting our needs will be based on a faulty assumption about the nature of existence.
Conversely, living a life based on an understanding of the interdependent nature of existence will ensure that we engage in ways of meeting our needs that are in line with the values inherent in that understanding.
Judging by the state of the world today with its violent conflicts, climate change, gross economic disparity, and social injustice, Schopenhauer’s Error is still being committed by too many of us. This is especially true of corporate leaders and politicians responsible for making decisions that continue to perpetuate the problematic effects of the belief in independently existing living things.