A Wolf to Man

‘…a wolf to man.’

That is how the 17th-century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes describes humans. Man is a wolf to man.

This phrase encapsulates our darkness. It highlights our brutish and violent nature.

Aristotle considered man to be a ‘political animal’.

He attributes to humans both moral and political reasoning, as well as the ability to communicate beliefs through language.

His assessment of our nature clings to the idea that man has an animalistic side, but he also recognizes that we are well advanced beyond any other species.

To the architect of the evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin, humans are noble apes who descended from animals. He views us as survivors of evolution and the result of adaptation and change.

There are plenty of opinions on who humans are. Some are theories claiming to be grounded in science; others are more philosophical approaches. Some agree with one another; others directly contradict each other.

Why can’t we figure out who we are?

I have yet to discover if man can speak from his soul; if he can truly see himself beyond what reflection murky waters offer.

And so, I fear I have no satisfactory answer to the question of who we are. For when I wish to see myself, I am met by crashing waves that are too stormy for an image to be even remotely recognizable. However, I cannot let this gale stop me from making some observations and asking a few questions.

I am certainly no renowned thinker like the gentlemen I mentioned above, but that did not stop me from summarizing their respective views of humanity so briefly that I undoubtedly butchered them.

So then, let me add a few thoughts to this conversation.

I observe in myself two things: conflict and conversation.

The conflict within me arises from navigating an imperfect world as an imperfect person. The conversation within me is the subsequent attempt to rationalize behavior and understand myself and this world.

This makes me wonder…

When I think, am I the voice speaking in my mind, or am I the ear which is listening?

When the flames of temptation arise, am I the firefighter trying to extinguish them, or the moth longing to be seduced by their deceptive lights?

When I feel sad, angry, or jealous, am I the emotion flooding my veins, or am I the mind succumbing to it?

Or am I always both?...

Am I perhaps the speaker and the listener?

Am I the firefighter and the moth?

The emotion and the mind?

Is that perhaps the schizophrenic nature of man?

…He is made of two sides and does not know which one he truly is.

Is this duality perhaps a reality of life? Am I bound to experience friction in every action and every thought?

I do not think Thomas Hobbes was too far from the truth when he said that man is a wolf to man. Even a brief look at history reveals that humanity has been the worst plague to itself that has ever existed. Man’s hands are red from the blood of his kin. There is no doubt about that.

Perhaps man is a wolf.

After all, I do feel that wolf in me.

It drives me to survive.

It places ME over all else.

“Do not speak to me in that manner,” the wolf in me snaps when I believe I am being treated unjustly. And then it summons anger so that I may get my way because no one wants to deal with someone who is enraged.

It bolsters my pride and allows me to feel superior to those around me. It reminds me that I deserve better than I have been given, and that I must achieve more than I have thus far.

Its watchful eyes scan the surroundings for any threats to my life, my pride, my status, my identity. Should danger be spotted, the wolf induces fear in me so that I may act without regard for those around me. Fear limits my vision to my interests alone. For that is what the wolf in me cares about. Only ME.

But I am not only wolf. As I said earlier, I am always in conflict. Every time the wolf bares its teeth and lunges to defend my pride, there is something else within me seeking to be heard. Let’s call it the lamb.

When my pride is injured, the lamb tells me, “Let it be. Do not be a fool who stands on his pride.”

The lamb reminds me that I am not the one who should dole out justice. It pleads that I not stand on my rights but on grace. It asks me to be humble and focus my efforts on the needs of others. It places faith and moral excellence over my status and even my life. It does not try to move me with fear as the wolf does, but with love.

It cautions me against anger, impatience, and lust – all the things the wolf would have me succumb to in the name of survival.

The lamb in me would see me take last place, so others may go before me.

But I am not only lamb, just as I am not only wolf.

I am both. One man, two sides.

And the one I feed grows strong.

And so, as I said, I observe in myself two things: conflict and conversation.

The conflict lies in the fact that the wolf and the lamb pull me in opposite directions. And since I am the lamb and the wolf, it is I who am pulling myself in opposite directions.

The conversation is the resulting discussion of this tension as I make my decisions and follow the call of one of these sides.

Will I listen to the Lamb or become a Wolf to man?