What is Conatus?
Developed first by the ancient Greeks, and more specifically, the stoics, Conatus is the idea of endeavor. To maintain existence, we each make an effort, or continuing tendency to thrive.
The great philosopher Baruch Spinoza went further. He saw all continuing existence as one substance, or mode. That is, we are all inter-connected, and thus we are nature, or of divine nature.
Later scientific investigation bear this out. We are not only of the same atoms and DNA as the new bud on a tree, but we are part of the same tree. We are also of the stars. Our carbon formed there, our inspiration is from there, and toward there.
What can Conatus teach us about our own equality, though? We are surely not only one race, but one species belonging to the animal kingdom, further belonging to the ‘all living cells’ kingdom. This has the profound possibility of teaching us to cooperate and help one another in order to survive.
Nature is to be, (not to be good, or evil)
Obviously, there is also competition in nature. But cooperation is minute to minute, whereas competing violently anyway, is what happens once in a while. It is actually a rare and uncertain mechanism for the survival of the species.
We can see that most animals that challenge one another for herd dominance or resources do it by posturing. Posturing is far less dangerous for any animal, including the human animal.
We see a lot of posturing in our species, too, especially politically.
Yet we are supposed to be smart enough to see this for what it is, often fear-mongering and “good guy” signaling that is tribal in nature.
Conatus for our times
Overcoming that non-inclusion is a great challenge for our human minds during this difficult time in history.
Spinoza was an outcast in his time. Yet, the greatest minds of the 20th and 21st century embrace this “oneness” thoroughly. Albert Einstein is the best known of such great minds, but he is far from alone.
To live in conscience conatus means to see that our planet is finite, and our help to one another can be collaborative rather than competitive.
It is far more than just simply saying “there is only one human race.” That limits our existence to one species only. If we ate food or drank water, today, however, we realize as Spinoza did, that there is no separation between all that is, and all that contributes to our endeavor.
Another example is the chips in your computer, the laces on your shoes, or the medicine you take to thrive. None of these came from just people, let alone just people of another color, gender, class, or nation.
In ecopsychology, sociology, and biology there are answers
Some people misinterpret stoicism itself as being apathetic. But it’s more akin to concepts from Buddhist thought of acceptance.
Yet, even “acceptance” as a word falls short of a healthy conatus.
One way to think of conatus is as the Latin “con = with” and “Nat” being short for nature. It is in our nature to belong and also to “continue.”
In modern psychology also, we have come to know for certain that feelings are only useful if expressed, not bottled up. We can only learn from what we feel about an injustice by seeing it, exploring it, and reviewing it.
In ecopsychology and at the intersection of our planetary biology there are answers to be found. We are biological and we belong.
Once we learn that, the rest is not an easy path, but a determined one.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Chris Anderson on Unsplash
