Physics and Fundamentalism

“Physics and Fundamentalism”

The Law of Conservation of Energy doesn’t just apply to physics problem sets. Freud knew that, and used this law to create his theory of consciousness and unconsciousness, saying that one channels built up emotions (energy) into other emotions, thus converting energy but never destroying it.

I think we are seeing that again today, in the form of the recent outbreak of protests, demonstrations, and violence in reaction to Danish cartoons lampooning the Muslim prophet Mohammed.

My initial reaction, I must admit, was pretty elitist. I snubbed my nose at such base reactions, and thought with pride about how differently I would have reacted. I thought about all of the times I have been offended as a Jew, and of how I reacted. It usually involved some sort of letter-writing, or signing some (self-fulfilling) online petition, that in reality probably never actually made its way onto any legislator’s desk. But, being the cultured and civilized Westerner I pride myself on being, I have always been taught to abhor violence, and seek the peaceful solution.

Naturally then, my reaction to the recent violence in Lebanon and Syria was that of disgust, and a bit of self-pride, confident in the knowledge that I would never do something like that. I tolerate free-speech, and am accepting of other people’s opinions.

But then I really began to think about the situation. What could possibly make someone react so violently, so radically? Even when someone lampoons my religion, I don’t think of reacting like that.

It was at this point that two fundamental differences occurred to me, that create an enormous chasm of ignorance between me and the Muslim world we read about:

First, religion for me, and many Westerners, I believe, has been reduced to a strain of “phenomenology” that is little more than naive realist metaphysics grafted onto armchair anthropology. In other words, it has lost its deep meaning to us, and so an attack on religion carries little more weight than an attack on lifestyle or on taste in music. We forget sometimes that for others, religion is the core of their being.

Second, letter-writing and petition-signing is my version of energy transference. It is an outlet for my pent-up emotions, a channel through which I can release my frustration, and blow off some psychological steam. Not everyone, however, has these channels available to them. Without peaceful channels, people will, naturally, make their own channels.

When the Danish Embassies in Beirut and Damascus went up in flames, we were witnessing the redirecting of rage, built up over decades. This was rage not just over the cartoons, but over the entire way that Westerners treat the Muslim world. They stomp on all that they hold sacred, and invade their sacred spaces (physically and metaphysically). Whereas this might prompt one of us to start a PAC, or a non-profit organization, these resources are simply not available to many. They have to watch as the United States wages what (we all know) is really just the 10th Crusade on the Holy Land, while the rest of the world stands by idly, decrying America at times, but really doing nothing about it.

What would I do in this situation? Without peaceful avenues to pursue, there is no way I can be sure that I would not resort to violence.

The funny thing, as I reflect on my reaction, is how different it sounds than most of what I write. I am a registered Republican, I sat in the front section when John Ashcroft came to speak, and I have been pretty apathetic to current events lately.

However, being the good Humian empiricist my professors have trained me to be, I cannot sit by and ignore or dismiss what is going on in the world. I cannot snub my nose, and casually remark to my friends about those misguided extremists in the Middle East.

There must be a reason for it. The most startling thing about these reasons is that they point, overwhelmingly, to the fact that we are really all the same. We have the same needs, and the same urges; the only thing that is different is how we express these urges.

Boyle’s Law teaches us that pressure is inversely proportional to the volume of a definite amount of gas. As we consistently encroach upon the personal space of people who hate us, repeatedly denying them outlets for their frustrations, what kind of reaction do we honestly expect?

The laws of physics don’t lie. And you don’t need a particle super-collider at CERN to prove them either; all you need to do is turn on the nightly news.