"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," – that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. (Ode to Grecian urn)
Literature in particular can be a remarkably effective way of imaginatively projecting ourselves into situations that lie beyond the frontiers of our own lives, and in this way it enables us vicariously to broaden the scope of our experience. For example, for the Greeks, Homer’, Iliad, is an essential piece of literature. Iliad tells us about the individual nature of man, as well as society in the Geek civilization. And it is not surprising that those values hold true even today: That man is captivated by wine, woman and wealth, and that a society cannot put up with the stigma of the elopement of a woman. Literature helps us realize that we are not living in The Golden Age of mankind. There is no utopian society today. Patriarchy is still the order of the day, and women are still called the weaker sex. Even today man’s ego gets the better of his rationalism. Being an Indian student I have witnessed a spurt of the incidents of honor killing where the girl was butchered by her own parents only because she married on her own out of paternal accord.
But is it really always so? Are not there incidents that throw light on Man’s progress? Yes there are. And to know them it is literature again that paves the way. Reading the Elizabethan age, we realize that England was ruled by a woman, Queen Elizabeth. And there are many references to matriarchal societies in Asia an Africa. In Africa there are countries where polygamy and polyandry are still witnessed . But these are exceptions only. What i come to understand through literature is that there is yet a long way for humanity to adapt itself to such changes. Whenever such a question is posed to humanity, change is not evident. The human or the society faces the same question as was faced by the Prince of Denmark,
To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? Hamlet by Shakespeare
Literature again tells us the man does mot take a lesson from history. What Hitler did in the Third Reich during the World War II was done by Saddam Hussein in the Gulf war, and the same is being done by general Gaddafi in Libya. The society is the sum total of its individuals. As Hitler was the idol for the Germans, Saddam was for Iraqis, and Gaddafi is for Libyans. Thus literature tells us man, being obstinate and inquisitive by nature, is not ready to accept multiple viewpoints on a knowledge issue; he will inherently replace or substitute them for others. Literature is the outcome of the creative and imaginative skills of an author. It helps us learn about individual development of a character, who is no other than a man belonging to his society. Literature helps us realize the ideology of people at a particular point of time. It has the power to teach an individual, and also how it can be related to the individual’s society. For example at one point of time the Greek and Roman society called the birth of twins as ominous. In the Middle Ages slavery was considered not a stigma on mankind. The people believed that the earth was flat. The man suffering from leprosy was considered an evil spirit, and he was ostracized from the society. And that a black man was considered an inveterate sinner in the medieval society. Thus literature gives us inkling as to how man and society have adapted themselves to changes over a period of centuries.
Society and science are similar in that they cannot function without a set of principles or rules. A society can flourish only when there is discipline and a code of conduct. Science claims that individuals are similar in nature, and that people coming from the same society share similar behavior, traits and characteristics. Thus the scientific theories do help us understand man and society as a whole.
If Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Dickens stand as the pillars of wisdom and sapience, our knowledge is incomplete without Galileo, Newton, Edison and Einstein. Darwin’s theory of evolution is legendary in explaining to us how man and society evolved from apes and monkeys. It tells us that only the fittest can survive in this highly competitive world. Science explains that the man became superior to animals only on account of his social instincts. Human science tells us that a man has to be utilitarian in a community in order to survive competition.
It is the gift of psychology and philosophy that we can know the state of the unconscious mind of a man by applying the Freudian theory of dreams.
We dream because our superego overcomes the ego, and lets the ID escape. And what applies to an individual applies to a society. Thus human society suffers from fears, anxieties and passion that it tends to hide under its ego.
Mankind is indebted to science in that today we are aware of our surroundings. We know the perils of global warming, and know that this evil can be fought with acting as a whole only. Today we know that if we are surviving today, the credit goes to individual efforts only.
. The theory of evolution, based on genetic research, shows that men and women behave differently but men share similar characteristics with other men, while women with other women. Darwin’s theory of natural selection claims that every individual tries to impress the individual of its opposite sex, universally, and that animals and birds too prefer to reside in flocks. Darwin’s theory of evolution shows that both the individual and the society are still deluded. The modern man still believes that he is the offspring o Adam and Eve, and so is the case with modern societies. Most of the men and communities still believe that we have not descended from lower animals, and that our creator is either God or Allah.
Human sciences show that even a modern man harbors fears, mythologies, superstitions and prejudices in his heart, and such an individual will show a propensity to live in a society where most of the people share his views (Like begets like). A recent report from the U.S. census reveals that people prefer to reside at places that have names similar to their first names or surnames. In Delhi there are a number of places that start with the surnames, and it is not surprising that men with this particular surname inhabit the place abundantly.
It is not that science does not fail anywhere when it comes to understanding individual behavior. It does fail, for example it cannot describe how it feels when one is in love, nor the attitude of a particular society or community to love. For some it may be a divine feeling while for others it may be a transgression. Perhaps more than science literature can be of more help to define love. Whatever be the case, one thing is indubitable that the role of science and literature is immense and can easily eclipse these minor foibles.
To conclude I would like to assert that science and literature have strengthened our understanding of individual ad society. Whether man creates society or society creates man is a debatable issue, but one thing can be asserted that both science and literature serve an exemplary role in the understanding of individuals and societies.
by
sc_rahulgrah (student)
