What could Alchemy and the anime Akira tell us about our
evolution future? Let’s look at each and find the threads of commonality
between them, illuminating our evolutionary journey.
Alchemy is an ancient activity which consisted of turning
the lead of the everyday mind, with its anxieties and insignificance, into the
gold of an elevated mind, which is godlike in its attitude. The main premise
within this system of thought is that the processes of evolution which we
witness, has an underlying force to it. This force is what directs the
branching out of species, culminating in human beings with our advanced
technology. Alchemists believe that the energy or force driving this change
could be extracted and harnessed. In doing so, the alchemist would aim to
isolate and speed up this processes on a specific object. This object is known
as the philosopher’s stone. It is the end product of the evolutionary process. In
this sense, it is perfect and can grant whoever wields it vast amounts of
power. In essence, the stone could be used for anything and everything. If you’re
hungry, then it will feed you. If you’re poor, then it will grant you wealth.
If you’re impotent, it will grant you incredible powers. Therefore, alchemy was
a way of harnessing the force behind evolution for the benefit of the
alchemist.
Moving on, Akira was an anime movie from 1988. It is
regarded as one of the best in the genre, gaining a significant cult following.
The setting is Tokyo after a nuclear war. There’s a motorcycle gang which has
one of its members come into contact with a mysterious boy with wrinkled skin,
as if he’s of advanced of age. The biker suffers a horrible bike accident as a result,
and is then experimented on during the ostensible hospital treatment. Later on,
we find out that the mysterious boy is a part of a secret government program
which aims to harness the same force behind evolution identified by alchemy, in
order to utilize the power for defense capabilities. In essence, the government
wanted to turn the force which drives evolution into a weapon (not surprising).
Evolution is considered to be a blind process which has no
aims or intent beyond immediate survival. This may be the case, but only up
until recently. Since humans are reflective rather than reflexive, they can contemplate
the situation they’re in, and plan for the far future. Such a condition entails
the foundation of a self-regulated evolutionary process. Humans’ cognitive capabilities
allow us to guide our destinies and evolution like no other organism. Considering
this fact, we can imagine how, presently, we are like alchemists or the
government in Akira. By manipulating our environments and bodies, we are
harnessing the same power which drives the evolutionary change: behavior and
genes. Teleology, then, becomes an important factor in our continued evolution.
Because we can think abstractly, we can design possible evolutionary outcomes
which are guided by a mind with intention and goals, ours. This puts us in the
same position as those alchemists and others harnessing the power behind
evolution.
Therefore, given this fact that humans can control their
evolution, which humans are entrusted with such an important activity? Is it
each one of us deciding for ourselves, or is it some group of elites which decide
for us? The former is liberty, the latter is tyranny. Never accept that someone
else knows more about where your evolutionary outcomes should end up (or what’s
ultimately best for you).
We are in control of evolution now. Both alchemy and the
movie Akira highlight the ways in which humans direct their own evolutionary destiny.
Let us hope that with this profound power comes a respect for the liberty of
individuals.
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