One Objective Reality: The Crude Reality

This explanation to the reality we live in is the one that perhaps a skeptic scientist would give. There is only the reality we see it. Subjective realities (SRs) are a mere manifestation of intricate biochemical patterns formed over the aging of the one and only Objective Reality (OR). The crude reality does not exclude the existence of other universes, but it does not include any special “spice” within each being or entity that is part of it.

So, there is no soul, no reality connected to another reality. It is what it is. It is a world that grows from chaos to each time more complex structures and patterns. And we may not know, but we are likely part of a larger structure that is forming on Earth's crust and that goes beyond each individual: the pattern of humankind.

Even more interesting is the fact that, in this scenario, the freewill also disappears. Freewill is nothing but an impression perceived by our biological selves as the result of  complicated processes and interactions in the OR. Our decisions may seem like free will, but because they are part of the OR and therefore predictable responses in a intricate set of interactions at different levels of reality. Even if not all science is exact, such as quantum mechanics, that does not mean we have free will. It only means that the processes that make us decide what we decide may not be as predictable or deterministic.

This view is interesting for its lack of egocentrism from part of intelligent beings. Why should we be any better than water, stone, a branch or a grain of sand. We are all the mere result of complex interactions of matter, be it organic or inorganic. And if one was not human in planet Earth, I think it would make sense that this would probably be your #1 choice for explaining reality.

The hardest thing to explain with this theory is the necessity of moral or ethical behavior. There is no inner motivation for humans to behave morally or ethically other than to enable us living with others as a community. And that may be accomplished with different degrees of success, without much of either of those behaviors at all, as is visible in the newspaper every day.

However, if we think about it, moral behavior probably emerged from the fact that animals of the same species had higher chances of survival if they worked in groups and behaved with some degree of moral behavior. Moral behavior helped the group stick as a larger entity that could take care of itself and that was stronger than its individual parts separately. Hence, moral behavior was an evolutionary feature, much like opposing thumbs, bipedal posture and fabrication of tools and language.

But, “getting back to reality”, the crude reality does not offer explanations for our elaborate consciousness and emotions other than that they are biological mechanisms evolved over millions of years. It is all about natural phenomena. And though reasonable and logic this explanation may be, honestly, my gut feeling as a semi-predictable biochemical being is that there is something else, something more meaningful to our lives than being an evolved pattern of matter trying to make a living.

This reality explains everything as being natural, actually. From humans stealing, killing and exploiting each other and other species to the modification of Earth's biosphere that may go through a new cycle of ecosystemic renovation. They are all natural processes, it is part of the nature of things.

It is a sad way to explain reality, and perhaps that is why most people prefer to have their own faith and imaginative explanations for reality. By doing this, they have the opportunity to create unknown, mystical creatures and dream of wondrous worlds to make their life feel more exciting and magical. These imaginative explanations of reality help them improve their self-value and esteem and justify that bad is bad and good is good. It also helps maintain order in society, so that it does not fall into chaos. It can be said then that even though religion might be as fake as political promises, they are an important tool in maintaining order in our society and it has played an important role in making it evolve and survive up to this point in history.