Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at NYU whose work focuses around the psychology of morality. He has a wonderful book in my personal top five called The Happiness Hypothesis, where he merges ancient wisdom with modern truth to create a formula for happiness. I will discuss a chapter of the book titled “Divinity With or Without God” that I found to be truly exceptional.
Haidt begins the chapter by discussing a story written by English author and mathematician Edward Abbot titled Flatland. In this story, the protagonist is a square that lives in a two dimensional land called Flatland. He is visited by a third dimensional sphere from a world called Spaceland. The sphere, however, only appears to be a circle in the 2D Flatland but nevertheless impresses the square with its ability to grow and shrink by merely moving through the plane. The sphere tries to explain the concept of the 3D world to the square but no analogy can make the square comprehend the 3D world. Out of frustration, the sphere grabs the square and takes it to the 3D world which results in the square freaking out into seeing such a chaotic reality. However, the sphere calms the square down by telling it that this is the world of knowledge. The square is enlightened and becomes a disciple of the sphere and preaches its 3D gospel but has a similar struggle explaining his wokeness to his fellow Flatlanders. The lesson to be taken here Haidt points out is that “We are, in some way, the square before enlightenment. We have all encountered something we failed to understand, yet smugly believed we understood because we couldn’t conceive of the dimension to which we were blind. Then one day something happens that makes no sense in our two-dimensional world, and we catch our first glimpse of another dimension.”
Haidt then transitions into talking about two clear social dimensions present in all cultures: a horizontal dimension of closeness or likeness and a vertical one of hierarchy or status. Closeness is how intimate and familiar you are with an individual. Someone like your typical mom is evidently higher in closeness than a stranger as it comes with intimate behaviors like hugs and kisses. Status revolves around social power which varies depending on the context. Everyone pretty much naturally keeps track of these two. Consider how awkward it is to have a stranger try and hug you or how scandalous it was for a student in grade school to call a teacher by their first name as opposed to Mrs. or Mr. That is because they were violating the norms of these dimensions. Haidt argues that there is a third dimension called “divinity” independent of religion that everyone has the capacity to feel. This third dimension is an elevated feeling, different from the up of status, that comes in response to seeing something of great moral significance like natural beauty or an act of great kindness. Haidt who is a Jewish athiest admits that once he realized this lesson, he gave up his contempt for religious dogma because he understood that religion was trying to tap into the three dimensions.
I think this third dimension is the source for the age old idea that humans are special. There is just something about these moments of elevation that makes us transcend the tragedy of our individual mortality. When you see something so beautiful and uplifting like the birth of your child or a wedding ceremony of two madly in love partners, it almost feels like you get connected to a higher power or wisdom, an experience that simultaneously minimizes your individual worries while maximizing your hope in yourself and life all together. What I find interesting is that this feeling feels infinitely better when there is someone there to share it. It is almost tragic to witness a beautiful rainbow or sunset and have no one there to see it with you. It is no wonder why you immediately take a photo and post it on Facebook or Instagram and see that others have done the same. By and far, humans have ultimately been obsessed with connection. Moments of beauty and awe serve as perfect vessels to connect with others. I urge you to pay attention and train yourself to become more sensitive to that kind of beauty as well as to share that beauty because like the square in Flatland before enlightenment, I have noticed that many people are not in tune with this divine dimension. It is everywhere and it makes this shit show we call life worth living, and more importantly, it gives you more power to connect with people which opens the door up for a more loving and fulfilled life.
Cosmic Latte 