The main problem with “reason,” as it is characterized by the historical figure Marcus Aurelius, is that…

‘“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it”, Albert Einstein said.’

Marcus Aurelius speaks from the same level of consciousness that also created the problems that he is trying to address.

It is not clear what is good and what is bad, for instance. Because many “good things” turn out to be bad, and many “bad things” turn out to be good. Furthermore, you cannot be sure without a complete understanding of the bigger picture what the end goals are of any our processes. Was Rome, as a process, something that was ultimately benevolent, or was it neutral, or was it malevolent? You cannot know. Maybe Rome was there to create harm?

I illustrate these last points with the full knowledge, for instance, that global humanity has created a social structure that at best can be thought of as mediocre, yet kills 100 billion animals per year (a number so large your mind will draw a blank when you try to think about it) in order to maintain that mediocrity. We have Donald Trumps smeared all over this place. Our current world presents itself as a characature of “Bad.” Remember, though, that that same world is unfathomably intelligent. So, what is going on?

Are we dying, or going someplace worse?