Eras of the human By Tomás Núñez, ThD

Eras of the human

By Tomás Núñez, ThD

Historical syntheses are often arbitrary. Ours is, too. But they respond to our need for guiding frameworks that help us understand ourselves and our history. Let us then do a kind of blind reading, capturing only the relevant points. I see three great stages, actual eras, that mark the relationship between human beings and nature.

The first is the era of the spirit. It is the era that shaped the original and ancestral cultures. Human beings felt moved by forces that acted in the cosmos and themselves, numinous and all-encompassing realities that provided them protection and security. It was the shamanic experience, that is to say (Classes of traditional beliefs and practices) of the spirit that traversed all things, created a mystical union with all beings, and made the human being feel that he belonged to a greater whole. Great symbols, rites, and myths gave body to this essential experience. It was then that images of the Divine were projected. These images, while still being images, were also energetic centers of life and nature with which human beings had to confront and listen to their calls. All the other vicissitudes of the human condition were also present, but the spiritual gave meaning to all the other instances. This era marked our collective unconscious until today.

The second is the era of matter. Human beings discovered the physical force of matter and nature. They began to see in them no longer an image of the Divine but an object for their use. Neolithic agriculture ten thousand years ago reveals the presence of this era. The founding fathers of the scientific method gave it a theoretical framework, saying that nature has no consciousness, therefore we can treat it as we wish. They went deeper until they reached the atomic and subatomic world, a power man can use to destroy and build. The spiritual and psychic forces of the previous era were regarded as magic and superstition and were combated as such. Concentration on this experience introduced profanity. God is thought of without the world, which gave rise to a world without God. Through the energy wrested from matter, the domination of nature and the unlimited exploitation of its riches were achieved. We have already exceeded the limits of the Earth’s tolerance and have the means to eradicate ourselves. But a new sense of responsibility and the demand for an ethic of care have also emerged.

We are now entering the era of life. Life unites matter and spirit. It represents a possibility for matter when it moves away from equilibrium in a highly complex context. Then life breaks in. To blossom, life requires a web of interdependencies between the physical and the chemical, the biosphere and the hydrosphere, the atmosphere and the geosphere. Everything is linked to life as a precondition or an environment. Therefore, life occupies a central place. Among all beings, human beings have the mission of being the gardener and caretaker of life. His duty is to protect Gaia’s life, preserve biodiversity, and guarantee the future for himself and all. This is the challenge of global warming.

The era of life is threatened. It is urgent to maintain the conditions of its continuity and coevolution. Life, and not growth, should be a tremendous planetary and national project. Not to perceive this shift is to deceive ourselves. Biblical wisdom opportunely calls us: “I offer you life or death. Choose life, so that you and your descendants may live” (Dt 30:19).