An Essay on Man is one of the most interesting texts I have ever read. One of the ideas that really stuck with me is the idea that everything in nature is codependent. That we are all on a single hypothetical chain and if one part of the chain fails, all the other parts of the chain also fails. We can definitely see this concept being explained by Pope from line 243 to line 246. This concept of codependency between different lives in one ecosystem has been proven over the course of time, if a species goes extinct it creates this butterfly effect where we see whoever is right above that species on the food chain will start to decline in the overall population and then it keeps going up the chain. One thing I did not really understand is how someone like Pope who is a devoted man of faith can suddenly shift towards science and reasoning although not all the way. I am aware that in the enlightenment age the trend was to question blind religious faith. However I also imagine at that time period, there was really no need for science when faith really answers most of your unanswerable questions. I would like to find out what exactly is the catalyst for someone to perhaps start to question what they have believed in their entire life until then. Class was certainly productive, I was certain that I was the only one who might have struggled with the text but it appears that most of my classmates also seemed to have struggled. I do believe that the class kind of ended too abruptly, I wish everyone had more time to discuss what they have found interesting. I certainly see where Pope is coming from, he is coming from being a serious devoted man of faith to accepting reason and science. However, I do think that science should be placed on a higher pedestal. It may not make sense to call this so-called planet Earth a random probability to some people, I do believe that we are somewhat an anomaly. I personally believe that everything can and will be explained by science and we do not necessarily need a higher being for an explanation. The most impactful line to me is definitely the last line, “Whatever is, is right”. This is where I certainly agree with Pope, although not for the same reason. Pope thinks that everything is perfectly the way God intended it to be but I think that everything is perfect because everything was random enough to evolve into a world like this.
Tianhui, I am so glad that you found Pope’s “Essay on Man” to be so thought provoking, and I really appreciate all the insights you’ve shared here. The idea of the “great chain of being”, as you suggest, does seem to have resonance today when we see how interdependent we all are, especially in the face of climate change. You mention that there was no need for science when people felt that faith answered all their questions, but perhaps the question Pope is responding to is the opposite of that: How do you convince people who believe in science that they also need God?