180 Self and the Phenomenon of Life
b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity “9x6”9.1 We are All Captives of Passion
The following was taken verbatim from Bill Bryson’s recent book: “If your
two parents hadn’t bonded just when they did — possibly to the second,
possibly to the nanosecond — you wouldn’t be here. And if their parents
hadn’t bonded in a precisely timely manner, you wouldn’t be here either.
And if their parents hadn’t done likewise, and their parents before them,
and so on, obviously and indefinitely, you wouldn’t be here.”^1
Bill was being polite and subtle. If the word “bonded” were replaced
by “copulated,” it could have been applicable to almost all living things,
down to the bacteria E. coli that do their thing by the scientific euphe-
mism called “conjugation.” That is how we got here, and that is how
endless future generations will continue to be here. I, for one, would not
be around if my countless ancestors had not lusted for each other.
We humans are slaves of desire, as are butterflies and scorpions,
the only difference being our ability to convert instant to deferred grat-
ification. Over eons, evolution gleans the instincts that preserve self
and the species and imbues them with strong motivation, frequently
irresistible: why steaks are so tasty, why boys chase girls, why babies
are so cute and cuddly, why salmon swim upstream hundreds of miles
to the point of exhaustion, only to find a place to spawn and die. His-
tory is littered with episodes of people taking great risks, often at the
peril of their wealth, power, reputation, and even life, only to release a
moment of rage or satisfy an irresistible desire. Remember how Helen
ignited the Trojan War, how Henry VIII broke with the Vatican, how
King Edward VIII abdicated his throne, and how many high level gov-
ernment officials met their downfall by engaging in socially unaccept-
able affairs?
Emotion is the driving force to action for the benefit of the self. It is a
strong undercurrent motivating all behaviors, however rational the action
may appear. Emotion is to consciousness as color is to shape. Conscious-
ness without emotion is an aimless, drifting experience; emotion without
consciousness is an impulse devoid of content. Emotion is deeply ingrained