If the answer to the question "Where do people come from?" solves the problem of human understanding of self-identity and improves human curiosity and self-confidence in pursuing life and exploring the unknown, then the answer to "Where are people going?" It will help human beings establish goals and motivations in life and establish the foundation of life value.
Anyone with some common sense in life knows that the end of life is death. Therefore, if people with this common sense in life still ask the question "Where do people go?", the real meaning of their question is "Where do people go after death?" Or "Where does the human soul go after losing the body?" These questioners must believe that the soul exists.
People have believed in the existence of souls since ancient times. These ancient people who believed in souls first founded the earliest religion of mankind. Research by anthropologists shows that human primitive religion believes that all things are animistic, and that the human soul is the most spiritual among all things. The soul does not rely on matter to exist, the soul can exist without material form, and the soul can live forever. Primitive human religions also believe that after death, the soul will separate from the body and gather into an invisible whole, the soul body. Through support and practice, the soul can achieve whatever it wants, be unrestrained, free and immortal.
At the same time, the soul can retain the memories, thoughts and wisdom of life. The soul still has emotions and emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, gratitude and hatred. The undead can use its spiritual power and ability to help relatives and friends in life, and at the same time, it can take revenge on enemies in life. .
The primitive religions of mankind all believe that there are three ways for the soul of a person to go after death. The souls of those who have done a lot of evil during life will go to hell to suffer; the souls of those who have mediocre good and evil in life will enter the underworld or reincarnation, become ghosts or be reincarnated as living creatures; those who have done great good and great deeds during life. The soul enters heaven and enjoys eternal bliss. Generally modern people call those who believe in the existence of the soul idealists.
Of course, there are many people from ancient times to the present who do not believe in the existence of the soul. They are materialists. They do not ask questions such as "Where do people go after they die?" They believe that "people die like a lamp going out." Human body and spirit will return to a state of annihilation and nothingness. Everything in life will be interrupted and destroyed by death. From now on, there will be no future in life.
Idealists believe that there is this life and the afterlife, and this life is just temporary and excessive. All efforts and actions in this life are for freedom, happiness, eternal life and bliss in the next life. Therefore, idealists do not pay attention to the enjoyment of life and are willing to suffer. They use this life to strive to cultivate character and behavior, pray for soul purity and strength, and pray for blessings in the next life. These are the basic outlook on life and values of idealists.
Materialists only believe in this life and no afterlife, so they cherish life very much, attach great importance to the quality and enjoyment of life, and attach great importance to personal fame, status and power. They have almost no expectations for the future. If they have any expectations for the future, it must be because they are grateful. They want to repay their relatives and clan, help their relatives and clan continue their bloodline, and assume the obligation to cultivate the next generation.
Of course, there are no pure idealists or materialists in the world. The vast majority of people not only believe in the soul and look forward to the well-being of the next life, but also love life and value enjoyment. These people are often called "secular people", that is, secular people. .
In ancient times, driven by early idealists, materialists and secularists, primitive human civilization gradually emerged and took shape.
In modern society, civilization is a high-frequency word, but many people may not know the true meaning of civilization. We believe that the definition of civilization is that civilization is the power of human beings to utilize resources other than nature and instinct, and is a solution to their own survival, security, and development. , ideas, methods and means of freedom, happiness and eternal life. Because human nature and instincts are innate, and these natures and instincts are also possessed by ordinary animals. Therefore, humans are still ordinary animals if they live solely by nature and instincts. Such humans cannot be considered civilized people, or even human beings!
An important sign of the civilized era is that human beings can endure and overcome hunger, disease, harsh environments, difficulties, threats and their own weaknesses to achieve their own goals and pursuits, such as obtaining food, food and clothing, security, comfort, happiness and happiness. At the same time, human beings began to think about strategies and means of doing things, create tools, and transform the environment to obtain better resources and material foundation for survival and development.
Since the resources of this world are always in a state of scarcity, the development process of human civilization is a process of continuous struggle between humans and themselves and nature. The victory of every human struggle marks the leap-forward progress of human civilization.
In primitive living conditions, the biggest problem that threatens human survival is food shortage. Therefore, solving the food problem is the beginning of human civilization.
Through long-term unremitting thinking, trial and error, and hard work, humans have found effective ways to control the population, such as the separation of men and women, male castration, the female village official system, the system of moving out to open up wasteland and setting up separate households, etc.; at the same time, through the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, food supply has been increased. Improve food quality.
After the food problem was basically solved, human society and civilization began to take shape and move towards a track of rapid development.
We believe that the formation of human society must meet these conditions, with a certain number of people, serious conflicts of interest and ideological confusion among the people, and at the same time, legislators and managers must be generated among the people to coordinate and distribute group interests and maintain the common interests of the group. Benefits; produce thinkers, thinkers help everyone understand life and soul, and establish life goals and values. Thinkers relieve everyone's ideological confusion and mental pain.
These legislators, managers and thinkers are the creators of human society and civilization.
The origin of human beings and the starting point of human civilization are two completely different concepts. According to the archaeological fossil evidence, human beings may have originated in the East African Rift Valley region of Africa 250,000 years ago. However, human society and civilization did not form from that era until a long period of time later. At that time, human life style There is no difference from the ape lifestyle.
According to the latest historical research results of human genetics, as well as the latest archaeological and anthropological research results, we believe that human civilization that continues to this day was born and formed during the last ice age of the earth from 115,000 to 15,000 years ago. This era is the starting point for the development of human civilization.
Scientific research has proven that humans who survived the last ice age on earth are the direct ancestors of modern humans, and modern humans evolved from humans during the last ice age.
At the same time, biological genetic evidence studied by scientists shows that apes and ape-men have no blood relationship with modern humans, and they are not the ancestors of humans.
According to the results of ancient climatology and archaeological research on the earth, between 115,000 and 15,000 years ago, the earth experienced a complex and changeable final ice age that seriously affected the earth's climate and environment. Human beings have lived in this severe and long period. In the process, from few to many, from weak to strong, human beings finally conquered the entire earth and developed into today's modern humans and modern human civilization.
This stage is an era when the earth's environment is the worst, resources are scarcest, and the natural environment changes most violently and frequently. This stage best reflects the survival ability and growth status of human beings. At the same time, this process contains all information about the early development of human society and civilization.
Under these conditions of extreme scarcity of resources and extremely harsh environment, human civilization has achieved earth-shaking development and laid a solid ideological and material foundation for the development of today's human society and civilization.
In the early stages of the development of civilization, in terms of thought and spirit, mankind formed a basic understanding of the natural material world and completed a basic understanding of life and human beings themselves. On the basis of forming the original world view of mankind, mankind completed a basic understanding of life and human life. Thinking about life and the soul formed the basic understanding of life, human life and the soul, and formed the early human ideological system. The early human belief system was primitive religion.
In the early stages of the development of this civilization, in terms of improving the basis of survival, as well as material production and creation, humans learned living methods such as natural caves and building simple houses, and planned to build urban infrastructure and environments such as villages and roads in residential areas. ; Human beings learned primitive production methods such as collecting natural food, fishing, and hunting, and began to engage in collection, fishery, hunting, and food processing, and developed industries such as fishery, agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, and commerce. These capabilities and means provide a comprehensive solution to population growth and humanity's move toward settled life.
At this time, humans were already able to use fire skillfully, and learned and mastered methods of cooking food, firing pottery, and smelting metal. They invented various tools and supplies such as stone tools, bone tools, wood tools, and metal tools for production and life. .
Culturally, humans established the earliest world outlook, outlook on life and values, and formed the earliest human language, writing, thoughts, religion, behavior and moral norms. These civilizational achievements have laid a solid foundation for the subsequent development of human civilization.
In terms of social management, humans have developed a matrilineal social management system, as well as population management systems such as the separation of men and women, male castration, the female village official system, and the system of moving out to open up wasteland and setting up separate households.
Going forward, we will discuss the history of human development and the process of civilization from this starting point of civilization.
