The Human Journey Through the Universe

We searched for love, we searched for peace, we searched for happiness, we searched for existence. But did we ever search for ourselves?

To fall in love, to trust, to be trusted, to be respected, to be appreciated, to be liked... In other words, all our desires that are tied to another person, object or material thing... Have we ever asked ourselves ‘who we are, what we live for’ when we detach ourselves from all of these things?

We who live life, that is, the subjects of this life. And we who look at ourselves from the outside, the objects of life. The self we see in the mirror; the self in the eyes of others...

Sometimes we close our eyes and then complain about not seeing.

Some philosophers argue that when something changes, it necessarily involves the existence of two separate things. Two humans were necessary for the concept of humanity. On the one hand, humanity was temporary and existed in a sensory way. On the other hand, it was something that could not be perceived conceptually, something immaterial, eternal and unchanging.

Thus, they posited a being that could not exist on its own; one of these was the existing one, the other was abstract and ideal, detached from the sensory world. Everything that existed in nature also had an ideal existence separate from matter, which constituted its mental concept. This could only be understood through logic, because the idea was timeless and eternal; worldly and perceptible things, on the other hand, were transient. And meaning in life is still something of a mystery.

So, can we achieve understanding through science? Does science give us the ability to distinguish between internal and external reality? Humans cannot describe what they see and perceive. What did he see, what did he experience with his body, from within, from without?

Wasn't that what made us human, in a way?

And curiosity...

It is said that Ibn Sina went all the way to India with this curiosity to develop his knowledge and medicine. And when he returned, his students and other teachers asked him, ‘Well, tell us, Ibn Sina, what did you see there?’ He said, "I saw many, many special things, but there was one thing I couldn't understand: those precious jewels were mixed with worthless stones. In everything they did in the name of medicine, unfortunately, they had mixed the precious jewels with the worthless stones."

And perhaps the ancient teachings went far beyond concepts and desires. What do you think?

-Taken from Prof. Dr. Zümra ATALAY's TV programme ‘İnsan Hali’.