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Babu: A Philosophical Quest
We differ from our ape cousins in one crucial way. We can wonder about our existence. That wonder rests on the same motive forces that we share with all of life - the need to survive and live well, and the fear of pain and death.
For eons, religion has told us stories about our origins and an eternal future. Science types might not engage much. Others turn to new age explanations. And some live in dread, or they live by default or denial, hoping that death just goes away. For Babu, none of these work. He anchors his worldview in the science of his time, which can be philosophically described by Schopenhauer's Will. The Will is cosmic energy that tells us our origins and shows us our future.
For eons, religion has told us stories about our origins and an eternal future. Science types might not engage much. Others turn to new age explanations. And some live in dread, or they live by default or denial, hoping that death just goes away. For Babu, none of these work. He anchors his worldview in the science of his time, which can be philosophically described by Schopenhauer's Will. The Will is cosmic energy that tells us our origins and shows us our future.
75 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2024
About the author
J.D. Steens
3 books51 followersSteens grew up on a family farm in Michigan and is a graduate of Western Michigan University. After college, he was in Nepal for four years as a Peace Corps Volunteer working as an agriculture extension agent. Following Peace Corps, he went to to the University of Maryland, College Park and received a doctorate in political theory. After seven years on the staff of a U.S. Senator in Washington, DC, Steens moved to the the state of Washington and worked as as an environment and natural resource policy advisor for four successive governors.
In retirement, Steens renewed his life-long interest in connecting philosophy with biology and physics. While science sticks to facts and details, philosophy spells out narratives that are often inconsistent with science. Steens' philosophical trilogy ties philosophy, biology and physics (the role of energy) together under the concept of Schopenhauer's Will.
In retirement, Steens renewed his life-long interest in connecting philosophy with biology and physics. While science sticks to facts and details, philosophy spells out narratives that are often inconsistent with science. Steens' philosophical trilogy ties philosophy, biology and physics (the role of energy) together under the concept of Schopenhauer's Will.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
April 19, 2024
Written by an old Peace Corps friend, this aphoristic poem articulates the wisdom acquired by a Westerner who lived for four years in Nepal. The poem is the second volume of a trilogy, the first volume of which was Philosophical Travels with Carl (which I previously reviewed). The poem expresses in oracular style some of the insights that emerged from the meandering dialogues of that earlier volume.
The author is responding to a life dilemma he sketches on the back cover: “You are born, and you are groomed, say, to see the world within a God paradigm. … If you reject it, what then?” Since the author is an environmentalist, and highly influenced by the concept of Darwinian evolution, he reconstitutes a purpose to life in those terms. For example, he talks about spirit in naturalistic terms:
“Spirit is not mystical.
It is not cosmic consciousness.
It is not beyond life.
It is life’s need to be free.”
The poem is dedicated to Washoe, the first chimpanzee to learn sign language, and the narrator also interacts with a Hanuman langur, a monkey native to Nepal. The author’s engagement and identification with the natural world is evident:
“The other includes nature,
now abused and powerless to resist.
Nature winces for a while,
before the Retribution.”
The author is influenced by Schopenhauer’s concept of Will and the Upanishads, Taoism, and Buddhism. He talks about spirituality and morality without recourse to supernatural justifications, but out of a love for nature. My favorite verse, which epitomizes the author’s attitude, is:
“The rooster needs
to crow.
I need
to hear the rooster crow.”
The author is responding to a life dilemma he sketches on the back cover: “You are born, and you are groomed, say, to see the world within a God paradigm. … If you reject it, what then?” Since the author is an environmentalist, and highly influenced by the concept of Darwinian evolution, he reconstitutes a purpose to life in those terms. For example, he talks about spirit in naturalistic terms:
“Spirit is not mystical.
It is not cosmic consciousness.
It is not beyond life.
It is life’s need to be free.”
The poem is dedicated to Washoe, the first chimpanzee to learn sign language, and the narrator also interacts with a Hanuman langur, a monkey native to Nepal. The author’s engagement and identification with the natural world is evident:
“The other includes nature,
now abused and powerless to resist.
Nature winces for a while,
before the Retribution.”
The author is influenced by Schopenhauer’s concept of Will and the Upanishads, Taoism, and Buddhism. He talks about spirituality and morality without recourse to supernatural justifications, but out of a love for nature. My favorite verse, which epitomizes the author’s attitude, is:
“The rooster needs
to crow.
I need
to hear the rooster crow.”
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review