"How?" vs. "Why?"

The serious need to ask life's serious question.

I often find myself in a trance of sorts. One often born with the contemplation of a personal disappointment. Be it a disappointment in my actions in the day to day. A similar lack of understanding someone’s actions or intensions can induce this effect. To speak more on the nature of this contemplative trance requires an understanding of just how it comes about.

 

            The question of “how?” vs. “why?” is great place to start.  On a windy Saturday afternoon I find myself engrossed with one of Jack London’s more famous novels. His truly riveting description of the birth of life seen through his narration of a grey wolf of particular cunning and strength always captures my intellect and forces the comparison of my cushion filled life of comfort with that of a wild beast. Being a man of great and unending contemplation of life and its various day-to-day events and ensuing travesty’s and glories, I am always asking myself the question, why? Why was today so good for me, and such similar days give me displeasure? Why was she in such a grievous mood? Why did I treat them so harshly? Why is this taking so long? Why didn’t the car start? All questions that we all ask daily be them among fully conscious thought or simply unconscious notions fleeting through out our heads, we ask them non the less, mostly to no avail, only aiding in my disgust with the days negative aspects, leaving me sour, disapproved, and answerless. Every day begins much the same, however on this day I choose to step out of the fray and put a brief end to the “whys” and begin to contemplate the “hows”.

 

In London’s novel ,White Fang, a cub, is new to the world, its wonders and dangers. London describes his mental process involved with his interaction of the world(birth cave) and his learning of the simple do’s and don’ts required of all beings to remain alive.

           

            “The grey cub was not given to thinking"at least, to the kind of thinking customary of men. His brain working in dim ways. Yet his conclusions were as sharp and distinct as those achieved by men. He had a method of accepting thins, without questioning the why and wherefore.

In reality, this was the act of classification. He was never disturbed over why a thing happened. How it happened was sufficient for him. Thus, when he had bumped his nose on the back-wall a few times, he accepted that he would not disappear into the wall. But he was not in the least disturbed by desire to find out the reason for the difference between his father and himself. Logic and physics were no part of his mental make-up.”

 

            London’s newly born fictional cub interacts with a facetious world and makes conclusions forthwith that have no real place in reality, however they speak true don’t they? The greatest question I pose is, if we as humans could discontinue the continual question of “why?” seen in almost every circumstance and purely focus on “how?” events transpired similar to London’s cub, would we find an end to my afore mentioned disappointment when so often our questions of “why” go unanswered? Obviously we live in a large and complex world that thrives on; new information, new ideas, advances in technology, and better ways of doing things that bears the need for the question of “why”. Through logic and reason we must continually ask the question of “why?” It is who we are as human beings, we all know this. However, isn’t the very ability to ask “why?” forever indebted to our primal nature? . Our primal selves, the ones that learnt the importance of “how?” so early on to protect our selves from the inherent dangers life doesn’t  need to ask “why?” to keep our hearts beating we just do, the same way our ancestors have thousands of years prior to our inception. Our primal selves are the ones that dictate, and conduct us when we must operate on instinct, the need to fuel our selves, the need to stay warm, the unsatifiable urge to procreate, and the need to do battle with anything that inhibits such needs. Is this us?

 

In the asking of such questions you will see the hidden conflict of, how? Vs. why? As humans we are both lucky and unlucky. We have the gift of being able to ask and contemplate why something happens, consuming our selves in such thought, ignore the ever simple and solely important “how?” In doing so we neglect our natural selves in the process. I believe this is the cause of my disappointment and what London was getting at in some of his works.  Creatures that are forever in conflict can never find true peace and harmony in this world. Can we jump ship with society and be true to our primal selves in today’s world? Doubtful. So what is the answer?

Is they a way to exist in both worlds and be in harmony, is there a fix to this?

 

We ignore our true selves and it worries me deeply, such imbalance is a recipe for disaster.

 

“So the grey cub knew fear, though he knew no the stuff of which fear was made. Possibly he accepted it as one of the restriction of life. For he had already learned that there were such restrictions. Hunger he had known; and when he could not appease his hunger he had felt restriction”

Author's Note

I am fully aware that my writing lacks much proper grammar, and formatting. I will gladly put up some grammatical criticism and aid in its construction. I most welcome a response to my questions and your thoughts on the matter. Perhaps even if you agree or disagree with the entire thing! or select portions!

Reviews

[Eric R. Wright]

Jack London is great stuff; my dad gave me books with him as a kid. I need to print this out and read it through. I really like it to be honest, as you wrote earlier there are some grammatical problems but nothing to devastating. Write more, I like how you think.

[Be Dubs]

Much appreciated! Thank you and enjoy your X-mas!