Diego Vazquez Gomez Bertelli

Dr. Anson Koch-Rein

HUM 2101-07

October 6th, 2019

A Projection of Order: Universal Individualism

Questioning is at the heart of the human condition. The acquisition of knowledge and

recognition of patterns is essential to one’s survival, and as one assigns order and meaning to

random happenings, the world begins to make sense, but it doesn’t. Or at least not to the level of

human comprehension. Cultures around the world have all outsourced to some supernatural or

divine narrative which answers the questions beyond humanity’s comprehension or science. At

the heart of quantum mechanics is the philosophical and physical debate on whether the universe

is truly random or predetermined by unmeasurable forces. Throughout the history of humanity,

scientists, philosophers, prophets, and artists have all dedicated their livelihoods to studying the

self in relation to the universe. The very concept of “cosmos,” a term which refers to the universe

as an ordered and unified whole, is a projection of the human experience in order to translate

existence into human comprehension. It translates humanity’s innate and overwhelming

existentialism into art and religion and philosophy. These translations take massive, chaotic

topics and organize them through human experience into interpretations which validate the self’s

experience in relation to the cosmos. Religion is a massive example of cosmology in action, a

social construct to address humanity’s need for answers where even the most delicate of sciences

falter. Religion acts as a framework in which individuals may locate themselves and find a sense

of belonging in relation to the universe as well as validating humanity’s role in the universe and

providing a sense of purpose.

 The First Testament of the Bible, one of the most iconic religious texts in history as well

as the basis for Judaism and Christianity, begins with the Book of Genesis. In the first chapter of

Genesis, the text establishes God as the creator and narrates as God manifests the cosmos and

more specifically, Earth. The creation story details a course of five days over which God creates

heaven and earth, light and darkness, land and sea, and all the creatures of the air, water, and

earth. On the sixth day, God brings forth the first humans, saying “let us make man in our own

image, after our own likeness: and let them have dominion… over all the earth.” (Genesis 1.26)

It is interesting how much God favors humanity in this text, specifically creating them as heirs of

His image. It is a beautiful thought, but only in the sense that humanity so needs validation for

their existence that they wrote a cosmological argument in which they were literally created to

rule the earth. This need for validation stems from humanity’s burden of awareness, the blessing

and curse of their intelligence which allows them to recognize their very existence but gives

them no means of understanding it. The Book of Genesis even references it in its second and

third chapter, the infamous story of Adam and Eve. In the story, God creates the first man,

Adam, and the first woman, Eve, and sets them in the beautiful Garden of Eden. God also sets up

a framework in which man and woman have free will, but they are not allowed to eat from a tree

called the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2.17) which God warns them will

ensure their death. The origin of existentialism comes when a snake convinces Eve that the day

they eat from the forbidden tree is the day they “shall be as gods” (Genesis 3.5) in their knowing.

When Eve and Adam eat from the fruit, “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that

they were naked.” (Genesis 3.7) Adam and Eve then hurriedly sew fig leaves to cover their

modest areas, feeling a sense of shame which they had not felt before they ate. The Book of

Genesis so thinks humanity is so much like God that they are burdened with God-like knowledge
which suddenly distinguishes them from the blissfully naked animals also in the garden. This is a

universal recognition of humanity’s intense cognitive experience, the results of which are works

such as The Book of Genesis, which offer explanations concerning metaphysical forces since

nothing physically known to humankind suffices.

These origin stories offer a framework and fill the void of human ignorance with

supernatural narrative and allow individuals to place themselves within the grand scheme of

things. As well as a cosmological map, religion also offers a philosophy of living, a set of

directions on how to navigate the cosmos during and after life. Philosophy is defined as “the

rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.”

(Dictionary.com) And that is exactly what the practice of any religion entails. It is as rational a

justification for existence as humanity can muster, which is necessary because without an answer

to the gaping questions left in an individual’s understanding, the same individual may dismiss

themselves as purposeless and cling to the laws known to humankind. However, having

something to believe in, whether it be a religious affiliation or a personal philosophy, fuels

human action with purpose. Having the frame of reference allows an individual to track their

progress and allow them to at least explore the what and why of their doing. The idea of sinning

is a religious experience in the sense that it is merely a human action put through the lens of

organized religion. Even astrology may inform someone that they may have issues

communicating today, and while the individual may apply rational judgement to say that the text

they are reading has no grounds in reality, the individual may also take the information and

immediately understand reality through it. The communication issues may become rather

noticeable to the individual based on what they were told and because they have trained

themselves to believe. This is a tremendous phenomenon because suddenly religion becomes a

highly effective and almost invasively intimate motivator for the self, and action spurs from the

self’s body fueled with superhuman intention. The individual who has subscribed to religion now

has a deep understanding of where they are going or where certain actions will take them.

Whether it be nirvana or reincarnation or heaven or hell, the self feels responsible for it’s place in

the cosmos and takes action with a sense of knowing. Religion is the perfect antidote to

existentialism because it works to integrate cosmological justification into everything that

happens and exists according to the self.

The self’s experience is easy to prioritize because without it, everything would be an

objective and monotonous existence. The self’s experience allows for conversation, empathy, art,

exploration. Subjectivity is the very principle of romance. The idea that the self has power and

purpose is practically laughable when put into the context of infinite universe. But a belief that

God loves and knows the subjective is ridiculously validating for an individual and makes them

feel as if they have dignity. Of course, this dignity is inarguable because no matter how little

space one may take up, they still take it, but the existence of the dignity itself is incredibly

romantic and all-the-more impactful when one may consider the universe and still proclaim

themselves as important. It is this sense of romance which links humanity, this sense of

overcoming a circumstance and achieving something. This sense of change, which may be

random or predetermined, suddenly feels owned by what very well may be a consequence of

change: humanity. And that little paradox is where religion lies. In an infinitely miniscule pocket

of possibility. But the fact that entire cultures were based and founded in this possibility itself

proves the power of humanity—fulfilling its own prophecy.

It is practically impossible to determine where humanity would be without religion. It has

been a force which empowers creation and absolves the overwhelming fear of naturalism.
Without religion, humanity would not have created the same empires or fought the same wars,

all of epic proportion, when viewed through the lens of humanity. But is the bee hive really all

that different from the Roman empire? Why is one capitalized and the other understood to be the

primal, everyday work of animals? Do bees believe in God? Do bees labor to compensate for

their deep existential insecurities? Establishing themselves as God’s children so they may believe

they have purpose and rest easy in their hexagonal apartment complex? All that is known is the

human experience. Just as if a bee was writing this paper, all that would be known is the bee

experience. Religion is one of humanity’s greatest art forms. It is an organized work which

addresses great fears and allows for great hopes, as well as the only known cure for mortality. In

this great piece of theatre, humanity casts itself as the lead on the stage of the world, and they

know their parts and find security following the scripts of the Bible, the Qu ‘ran, the Dao. But

the most undeniable truth is that God did not create humanity in “His own image.” (Genesis

1.27) Humanity created God in theirs.

 Works Cited

Genesis. King James Version.

"Philosophy." Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/philosophy.