written by Eric Phipps
It is said that in between existing stars, there is an interstellar gas. It consists mainly of Hydrogen and Helium, but also in some cases, of all the other elements of the periodic table. The material is distributed unequally, so that in certain areas, where it is more densely concentrated, there is a gravitational pull, attracting more of the surrounding material into itself, until eventually, there is enough material, sufficiently concentrated, for a star to be born. However, it is not sufficient to just have all the material. There needs to be a trigger factor that sets the process of nuclear fusion of starbirth into motion. This can be something extremely subtle such as the ripples of gravity emanating from a distantly passing galaxy or an exploding supernova light years away. It could be said that the whole universe and everything within it may have an even more subtle effect on this process. If the trigger factor isn’t present, the clump of material may remain just that, becoming what astronomers call a Brown Dwarf or a “failed star”.
In a sense, every single thing is unique, and when certain elements or basic components come together in a certain specific way, and are subject to a certain specific trigger factor (including possibly the particular state of the whole universe at that moment in time), this can give rise to something new that is totally unique in itself, something that is “more than the sum of its parts”.
For example, a great work of art isn’t just a collection of words or images or musical sounds. The collection, by means of its very specific configuration, suggests or demonstrates a totally unique quality or experience that by virtue of its uniqueness, is utterly beyond words, images or musical sounds, but which nevertheless can be apprehended by human sensitivity.
Uniqueness is a process, or even a nothingness, whereby everything hangs together. The universe as a whole is eternally unique. This eternal uniqueness, I guess, is what many people call “God” or the “Tao”. In fact, in the world, apart from this Eternal Uniqueness, there is just change: it is through the contrasts between different rates of change in the various locations within the universe that we discern separate “things” or entities. So, all things are, in reality, by their very intrinsic nature, changing all the time, with the result that each moment has its own uniqueness. It follows from this that all processes are actually ultimately unpredictable and full of surprises, since we cannot know the state of the whole universe at any given moment. As a matter of fact, I think the concepts of “Randomness” or “pure chance” are superficial or subjective interpretations of the intrinsic uniqueness of everything in the universe.
Within each human being, elements come together (the genes plus a countless myriad of environmental factors) and are forged into a uniqueness that becomes the core of the individual. This uniqueness strives to survive through all the changes. It has at its disposal the faculties of perception, emotion, memory, imagination and intellect. Plus intuition, the ability to detect the uniqueness of each moment. Perception is like an inner mirror reflecting Reality. Emotions are immediate reactions to what is perceived, mobilising the self for action. Memory is the storage of past perceptions. Imagination is the facility to modify memory in order to create, in the mind, “alternative realities” that diverge from the actual Reality. Intellect is the facility enabling the individual to apply imagination to the practical aspects of reality, yielding such disciplines as logic, mathematics and science. Through these faculties, the individual can over-ride the uniqueness of all the diverse phenomena of Reality by seeing (or imagining) common universal traits, or patterns, running through all these phenomena, a bit like projecting images onto the random inkblots of a Rorschach test. Through concepts, words and numbers (which are symbols in the imagination, used to represent the imagined qualities of universality), the individual can come to discern the differences between appearances and Reality, thereby enhancing his chances of survival (via social interaction with fellow human beings). However, through the potentially infinite labyrinths of the imagination, there is the danger that the individual can also lose touch with both his inner uniqueness, and the uniqueness of Reality at large. I reckon that many traditional myths are in fact cautionary tales regarding this danger. There is the danger that the individual can become attached to an IMAGINED uniqueness of his own creation (which becomes the basis for his identity or “ego”). He can also become attached to a more or less totally predictable (and hence potentially controllable) model of reality. As a result of this, he may at times come eventually to experience Life as being rather repetitive, hum drum, dreary, somewhat banal, even depressing. He is rowing his boat up a shallow stagnant tributary, a blind alley. He may well come to ask himself “Is this all there is to Life?” This is the price one pays for Uniqueness-denial.
The point of human existence, as I see it, is to fulfill or complete ones inner core uniqueness, a process that C.G. Jung called “Individuation”. Imagination, intellect, perception, emotion and intuition, and even a SMALL degree of Uniqueness-denial can, paradoxically, be a means to achieve this end. Imagination and intellect (and their corollary, the propensity to generalise) are instruments or tools that require skill or wisdom in order to use them in a manner conducive to Individuation. The ego, or conscious personality, equipped with these tools and skills, thereby becomes a mid-wife giving birth to a totally new child: the full flowering of ones REAL inner uniqueness. The initial uniqueness that the individual is born into is the “prima materia”, the basic soil, an ever-changing, messy, contradictory, unconscious uniqueness. The final uniqueness is a sun shining in all its glory, a star partaking of the Eternal Uniqueness of the Universe.
In connection with what I said above regarding projecting images and concepts onto reality, I would like to add that when I say that each and every thing is unique, I do not mean to imply that things are UNIFORMLY unique. That would be a contradiction in terms: if all things were EQUALLY unique, that would, in a sense, cancel out the uniqueness of each individual thing. Also, if all things were equally and totally unique, there would be nothing for Reason or Imagination to latch onto, as it were. What I am saying is that given that everything is unique, then it follows from this that even the DISTRIBUTION of uniqueness is also unique, i.e. it is uneven, irregularly distributed, clumpy, such that some things are more unique than other things in varying different ways. This clumpiness of the real world is what enables Reason and Imagination to get a purchase on Reality, so to speak. E.g. when two things are perceived to be similar to each other (i.e. with less apparent uniqueness), Imagination can extrapolate or abstract this similarity to come up with the notion of sameness or identicalness (which is in fact EXTREME similarity). Conversely, when two things are perceived to be extremely different to each other, Imagination can abstract this difference into the notion of oppositeness or polarity. In Reality, no two things are identical, nor are they ever completely opposite to each other, but it is very useful for Reason to think in these terms.
Eric Phipps
