Second Coming the novel: Extending the Entertainment

What is the true nature of existence?

In the novel, Paul Genet tells his story to the abbot of a monastery he seeks to join. After Paul finishes, the abbot asks Paul questions to further help decide whether to admit him or not. Here, he asks Paul about existence itself. —Editor

Abbot: What is the true nature of existence?

Paul: The true nature of existence is that it does and does not have a nature. In other words, the true nature of existence is contradiction—two equal, opposite partners which are binary¹ because each is necessary to define the other like One and Many define each other. As equals, neither aspect of the binary can be privileged over the other. And, both aspects of the binary, by definition, are simultaneous. Finally, contradictory binaries must both negate (cancel) and confirm each other like Nothing-Something, Wave-Particle, Yin-Yang, and One-Many.²

For the past 2,400 years in Western Civilization, it wasn’t contradiction but Aristotle’s principle of non-contradiction that defined the true nature of existence. He claimed that contradictory states of phenomenon, like Wave-Particle, could not both exist and not exist at the same time. For Aristotle, existence was either-or, not either-and. That something could exist and not exist simultaneously made no sense to Aristotle because he saw only one side of the binary. This is like seeing only the rabbit and never the duck in Wittgenstein’s rabbit-duck drawing:³

Nobel laureate Werner Heisenberg revealed that Aristotle’s view was one-sided when he used an electron microscope thought experiment to examine a single photon. What Heisenberg discovered was that the photon would manifest as a wave using one setting, and as a particle, it’s contradictory binary opposite, using a different setting. His experiment demonstrated that the wave did not cease to exist when he focused on the particle, but only that it would not be possible to observe both at the same time.

Why is that? The answer is in ourselves. We humans perceive the world with an ability that defines our species: the capacity to split self from other (subject from object). When we exercise this capacity, we break the symmetry of One, and we reveal its binary, Many (individual objects with unique identities). At this point, what we call the physical universe “appears,” and existence becomes a one-thing-at-a-time process thanks to the second law of thermodynamics. Our inability to experience both aspects of a binary at a time is the trade off we humans make in order to gain self-awareness. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view, this limitation cannot be overcome with better methods or equipment. It is inherent in the Many aspect of existence.

Heisenberg's mentor, fellow Nobel laureate Niels Bohr, recognized that the true nature of existence is binary contradiction when he said that—while wave-particle descriptions of a single photon were inconsistent and incompatible—both were necessary for a complete description of nature.

Balance as the operating principle of the universe | Balance as the non-local ‘hidden variable’ of quantum physics

‘Second Coming’ protagonist, Paul Genet, answers questions about his universe:

What is time?

Why is there something rather than nothing?

Does life exist elsewhere in the universe?

Will there ever be a coherent theory of quantum gravity?

Is the universe a computer?

Are superstrings the theory of everything?

Is Schrödinger's cat both alive and dead in a balanced quantum universe?

Does God exist in the balanced universe of Paul Genet?

What is the origin of language?

¹ Paul, of course, is aware that the academy holds the binary in contempt. As Russell Jacoby reminds us in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “The Dictionary of American Academic Speak labels ‘binary’ an insult. To defend binary thinking is to invite opprobrium [disgrace, scorn].” Paul shrugs, “The binary incudes its negation. For the complete picture, regard both the binary and the non-binary.” —Editor

² In the novel, balancing within the Many aspect of the One-Many binary is due to “gathering” and “scattering,” and is symbolized by the opposing equal triangles of the hexagram (more here). The Chinese Taoist yin-yang symbol, is exactly the same. The choice of hexagram or yin-yang is personal preference only. —Editor

³ Gestalt psychologist Joseph Jastrow first used the perceptually ambiguous rabbit-duck drawing in 1900. In philosophy, it is an illustration of aspect perception. Ludwig Wittgenstein used it in Philosophical Investigations (1953). —Editor