The reality expressed in the notion that opposites are complementary originates from quantum physics, but it remains largely unapplicable to our social world. The polarization of our societies has reached levels comparable only to the darkest moments in our history. The risks we face today are greater than ever. The threat of climate change and nuclear war is posing questions that go beyond our dualist prism of reality.
The threats we face go beyond labeling each other. When the future existence of our species is at stake, there is no right or wrong in left or right.
Just as our limits are biological, the limits of the living systems are ecological. These limits are not ideological, racial, religious, or linguistic in nature. However, we let the latter drive a wedge between us and reduce our ability to mitigate the threats that, unless addressed, will eventually be the end of all of us. Red or blue, black or white, left or right, this God or that God, will all be deemed irrelevant if the threshold of the point of no return is breached.
The application of quantum physics has become an integral part of our daily lives through technology and gadgets that we encounter or use almost every day. Throughout the last century, “quantum physics showed us the impossibility of separating the subjective mind of an observer from the experiment, the object of observation, and the nature of reality that sprang forth from the observation”. This led to the invention of everything from solar cells and medical scanners to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and global positioning systems (GPS), and yet the notion that the nature of reality depends on how we observe it has yet to settle in the way we relate to each other.
Quantum physics has taught us that organic and inorganic are not separate, but complementary parts of all living systems. And yet, we are, perhaps, the only species on Earth that need to be reminded that all life, and all living systems, follow a natural, unavoidable, and cyclical path from inorganic to organic and back. It is at the core of the manifestation of complementarity between the opposites. Between life and death.
No other species has to be reminded of the impermanence of life. And that is why no other species has ever come up to the position to threaten the future of so many different living systems. It is from a lack of introspection and the failure to accept impermanence that our hubris receives its boost. Through the feeling of immortality, we act as if there were no consequences for our actions, which is no other thing than to act as if there were no future.
But no matter how great we believe we are, we are not greater than life. No matter how destructive our power gets, life will continue, but it will be a terrible loss if it were to continue without us. But there is a positive side to all of this, and it is the notion that the way this story ends is very much UP TO US.
It is up to us to change our narratives and acknowledge that there is a wealth of knowledge, experience, and insight on the other side. To move from the escalatory systemic archetype and the zero-sum games, we need to acknowledge the complementary nature of interdependencies that define all living systems. When we do, there will be no limit to what we can accomplish.
Boris Matijas 