What was true yesterday is not necessarily true today. This statement is not just common sense, it's also in keeping with what we hold to be true about the scientific method, in light of which yesterday's theory is today's law, or possibly vice versa. Tillich's sense of dynamism comes to mind as well, since nothing is static or still for long, and we must revise our sense of place in the world from time to time. There is nothing insidious or threatening in this as long as we are not insecure in our understanding of the world and our place in it. It is perfectly natural to see the world with new eyes when the sun dawns on a different day.
What is not natural is our modern (I use the historical term very deliberately) collective relationship with the world of Physis (the world of natural law). At one point in our existence, we were just one species out of many, caught up in the endless back and forth of teetering between survival and extinction. Like any intelligent creature, we feared the real possibility that our light could be extinguished, that we could go hungry or thirsty, that we might not have shelter, that we might at any moment be wiped out at nature's thunderous caprice. Given that we are a manifestation of life different from our brethren, we expressed our desire to hold death and meaninglessness at bay differently; we did not merely seek shelter or hunt in packs, but crafted tools, formed systems of agriculture, social organization, and found within our being as
homo symbolicus the utility of symbolism and ritual. These tools helped us evolve into a creature capable not only of withstanding the elements with reasonable success, but also of expressing in transcendental terms our desire to survive: "Be fruitful and multiply." It was true in those days of risk that human beings might succumb to the natural entropy of the universe, overturned in waves of dynamism, another failed experiment of the cosmos.
But we did not fail to survive. In fact, we slowly learned to appreciate and harness the Promethean Fire gifted to us by the cosmos. We built fences to not only keep out predators, but to protect our livestock. We learned the art of harvesting both mineral and biological supplies, providing ourselves with durable materials and the means of healing and prolonging life. We discovered how to manipulate the environment to produce even greater crop yield, which we stored in granaries. As time went on, we realized that we could not only produce enough to get by, but could also extract extra profit. We did not merely survive; we thrived. The shackles imposed on all creatures, which functioned to promote balance and healthy ecology in the community of being, no longer held us down. This was by no means a bad thing, as it signaled that we were coming into our own as the elder siblings that the cosmos intended us to be. There was potential for Nomos (the world of human law and convention) to be a higher expression of the truths of Physis and even being itself, for of all living things, we were in the best position to be the universe made conscious of itself.
As history shows, however, humanity was not content with collective survival. The excess goods extracted from the gracious earth became understood in terms of monetary wealth, a category of Nomos that has no meaning in the broader reality of Physis. Human society shifted and altered its internal processes to reflect the valuation of wealth, which became an expression of assured personal survival. The village and town gave way to the city, where industry and wealth superseded mere survival.
The formation of these cities would not be possible without a boom in population. "Be fruitful and multiply" became the creed of humanity, whether thematically or unthematically, and as it does in any creature, the instinct to reproduce remained, even in times of plenty. Physis still posed certain threats to humanity and the artifice of Nomos they created, so there was no concept of necessary limitation or self-imposed restraint in anyone's mind. Why should the human population plateau when it could grow, especially with the advent of military institutions and political tensions with a growing number of neighbors? Political pragmatism, ritual, socio-economic necessity, and instinct all combined in an overwhelming human reproductive drive.
We had every right to continue to exist as a species, as any species does. Reproduction is, at least initially, the right of all living things. But where other creatures, given the manifold dangers of Physis, reproduced out of necessity for survival, human beings began to reproduce for reasons other than survival. Once Nomos was firmly established and the city became commonplace on the earth, survival was no longer in question. The new collective motive for reproduction, slowly and unthematically, was the goal of out-performing neighboring civilizations. Whether it meant breeding a large population of workers, warriors, or believers, most nations in recorded history sought to match or overshadow the growth of their rivals. Despite all instinct to the contrary, reproduction ceased to be a category of Physis for human beings, but rather one of Nomos. It was no longer about surviving the elements and having enough to get by, or even about having enough to thrive; it was about living into the assumption that Nomos, not Phyisis, was the dominant reality, and that humanity was the lord of that reality.
This has all been a very roundabout way of saying that human reproduction was once a right, but this is tragically no longer the case. What was true then is not necessarily true now. We live in a time when a single species has overcome nearly every coping mechanism and buffer Physis has to maintain balance among living things; we have learned how to effectively combat diseases and prolong the human life expectancy, how to comfortably endure the elements, how to predict weather patterns, how to subjugate even the most vicious predator, and how to extract all the wealth of the world from its own economy and inject it into ours. Humanity enjoys a bigger slice of the pie than the cosmos originally ordained. Human reproduction was once a right, as it is the right of all living creatures, but we are no mere living creature, being capable of more ecological damage than any pack of predators. What was true at the dawn of Nomos is not true at the height of Nomos' dominion; human reproduction is not a right, but a privilege, one all too easily abused.
Our Promethean Fire, our ability to manipulate the environment to our own benefit has elevated us above our siblings in the family of being, and it has done so to the point of excess. We have broken our chains and gone mad with the power in our grasp, and Physis can do precious little to put a cap on our growth. The earth was not prepared to accommodate a species as numerous and all-consuming as humanity is. We number in the billions now, and the population is only expected to grow. It is too quickly forgotten or dismissed that every human being on this planet is another person eating, drinking, defecating, and buying into economic systems that objectify and abuse our fellow creatures. There is little to no thematic malice towards nature in the individual person, yes, but that is irrelevant in that Nomos today has become radicalized into an expression of egotism and greed, which Physis can only interpret as malice. Even something as sacred and beautiful as the miracle of birth can be perverted into an extension of that malice.
We have unwittingly inflicted a great violence upon ourselves. In a world where so many children are born without parents and so many adult partners are unable to naturally procreate, I believe that adoption should become increasingly normative. It should also be mourned that well meaning prospective parents capable of natural procreation should no longer act on their longing with impunity. We have created a world where I cannot make my dream of being a biological father a reality, and I am deeply grieved at this loss of possibility. In order to live fully into my humanity as the cosmos intended, I must deny myself the comforts and pleasures of parenthood, or at least parenthood by conventional means. This is one more instance of the heartbreak and evil that is radical Nomos. It has been said in the Christian traditions that sin is that which perverts and corrupts what God created good. Radical Nomos is similar in that it is a systemic sin which perverts and corrupts human reproduction. It should be the indisputable right of every person to experience the magic of bringing a life into this world, but radical Nomos degrades this right into a privilege that cannot be guaranteed. This is one more reason out of many to bring down radical Nomos and rediscover our purpose as the benefactors and protectors of life in the universe.
