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Thursday, June 16, 2005
Omelet, anyone?
One of my favorite writers, Gerry Lower, gives a naturalistic explanation of the old "chicken or egg" conundrum. It's almost humorus in its complexity:
First, we must realize that the terms "hen" and "chicken" are technical terms from human cultural evolution that do not relate directly to the biology of wild fowl. Rather, these terms specify a wild fowl designated to become a domestic farm animal. The first "chicken" emerged on earth sometime around 2,500 B.C. in India, not as a result of mutation and selection (the red-combed wild jungle fowl, Gallus gallus, emerged that way), but as a result of the humans who first chased down Gallus gallus and put it in an enclosure allowing collection of eggs. Eureka, the first "chicken" was born, already fully grown, ready and able to lay eggs for breakfast.
... The age old "chicken and egg" dilemma exists because we are trying to answer what is conceptually a vertical question (i.e., where did chickens come from?) with a horizontal answer (i.e., they come from an egg which comes from a chicken). We are trying to answer what is conceptually a spiral question with a circular answer. In other words, some questions refer to horizontal and some to vertical natural processes and they must be answered accordingly. Some questions refer to linear processes and some to circular processes and they must be answered accordingly.
The chicken and egg can be seen to exist in a continuous horizontal cycle - as do the seasons of the year, the plantings of spring, the harvests of autumn, and the washing of dishes. These natural cycles comprise the circular conceptual world of the traditional Oriental ethical systems, providing for their closeness to these earthly realities. In complementary contrast, alpha (beginning) to omega (end) timelines comprise the linear conceptual world of the traditional Occidental religious systems. Neither the east or the west has it quite right.
Well, that settles that. The next time someone casually drops the chicken-or-egg question, paraphrase this article by Lower and watch them give you a blank stare. Yes folks, these are the kind of party tricks that nerds like me fantasize about using but rarely have the opportunity to.
Posted by Will at June 16, 2005 10:03 PM in Philosophy and Religion