Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa, and the paradox of perfection

On the idea of perfection

The purpose of this reflection is precisely to shed light on this "something higher and vaster" that we carry out intuitively, without fully knowing it.

Before going further into the first chapters of our philosophy, we would like to clarify a specific term. When we write: "Humanity is destined to reach its perfection", it does not mean that our species is imperfect during the time of its construction — simply that it has not yet reached its ultimate perfection point.

The strange paradox of perfection

Humanity is always perfect in the present — while being perfectible. It is perfect in the sense that it cannot be other than what it is; it cannot be more advanced than it actually is at this very moment (only our imagination, our regrets or our desires lead us to believe otherwise). And yet, humanity is also perfectible — it changes from day to day and, in our view, it moves forward (even if some aspects of our evolution sometimes seem to decline temporarily).

It is therefore always more perfect than yesterday, and less perfect than tomorrow. It would be more precise to say: Humanity is destined to reach its ultimate perfection.

The Mona Lisa — a metaphor for human evolution

Let us compare the evolution of humanity with the slow creation of a work of art. Imagine that someone with absolutely no experience of painting had the opportunity, in 1503, to enter Leonardo da Vinci's studio — and to stand before the very first sketch of what would become the Mona Lisa.

What would they have thought, faced with those few strange lines scattered here and there on the canvas? They would probably have seen nothing more than a meaningless scrawl, without future or importance. This uninitiated observer would have been incapable of conceiving the future of that sketch — of imagining the completed masterpiece, or foreseeing its significance for humanity. And yet those scattered lines were absolutely essential to the final work. Every charcoal stroke, every regret, every doubt, every error and every correction made by Leonardo da Vinci was indispensable to the creation of the Mona Lisa.

In other words: every moment, every stage in the making of a work of art, is perfect in the present — while being perfectible.

Humanity is a masterpiece in progress

Just as a work of art requires many stages before becoming the final work envisioned by its creator, humanity needed all its previous stages to become what it is today. All our past phases were necessary to transform the natural primate we once were into the human being we have become. All the phases of construction — prehistory, history, the formation of cities, empires, religions — all periods of war, peace, terror and serenity — cannot be subtracted from what made us what we are.

Even if we must fight the negative acts of humanity and judge certain historical events as "useless" or "excessive" — in truth, all were inevitable. The only dramas in which humanity can genuinely intervene are those of our present and our future.

Just as the "errors" and corrections of the Tuscan painter were essential to the masterpiece in the Louvre, the "errors" of humanity are an integral part of its evolution towards its ultimate perfection. Every moment of the slow evolution of our species is always perfect — because it cannot be other than what it is in the present — while being perfectible, because it is followed by moments of higher evolution.

The consciousness of maturity

Each of a child's falls, each youthful mistake, shapes us into the adults we become. If acceptance and contemplation are the natural children of absolute awakening, dissatisfaction and resistance are the natural mothers of evolution.

In the same way, we must remain critical of the "mistakes" of humanity. Only on this condition can we improve our present and shape our future. The evolution of humanity resembles that of an individual — birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, maturity and wisdom seem to characterise its great stages.

In a metaphorical sense, we might imagine the humanity of today in the midst of an adolescent crisis — beginning to discover its true reason for being. This is entirely normal. Before understanding, one does not understand. It is a necessary stage in the evolution of consciousness, on the path to wisdom.

Just as young dominant individuals eventually take the place of the old ones — renewing the system — young societies dethrone and modernise older ones. This was the case for the Egyptians, Hebrews, Mesopotamians, Persians, Greeks, Macedonians, Etruscans, Romans, and then Christianity, Islam, modern Europe, and America. The same pattern applies to Asian civilisations — Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, India, China, Japan.

And just as the son always preserves the best values of the father, societies change while keeping the best of what came before. That is why today we carry the best of Egyptian civilisation (geometry, writing, the early laws, monotheism), the best of the Hebrew world (moral law, sacred texts), of Greek society (democracy, philosophy, history), and of Roman civilisation.

Towards a new teleology

Studying scientifically the purpose of humanity will become, in my view, one of the great challenges of future philosophy and science. From Kant to Hegel, from Marx to Nietzsche, many thinkers devoted their lives to the question of the human future.

Since the end of the Second World War, this reflection seems to have been set aside — overtaken by questions of immediate personal happiness, psychology and contemporary political and economic concerns. The contribution of Freud and his successors is fundamental, and the exploration of the inner life must absolutely continue. But it seems to me equally necessary to revisit teleology, eschatology and the philosophy of history. It seems to me time, once again, to resume these studies where our greatest predecessors left them.

Why did our species appear, spiritually speaking? What deep meaning do its specific qualities carry? What objective does humanity as a whole seem to be pursuing? These are unavoidable questions today.

We do not claim to bring entirely original or forgotten concepts here. Most of the great keys to our purpose were already discovered by the countless illuminated minds that have appeared throughout history — from the Bible to Hegel. But these propositions are not yet "established enough" to be accepted by all humanity as a guide and destination.

A universal purpose must first be studied and confirmed by science — that is the only way for it to be accepted universally. We are still far from this universal awareness, which will no doubt come quite naturally in time. The claims of our naïve, simplistic and synthetic vision are limited. We would simply like to add a few candles to a road already opened and drawn by the greatest adventurers of philosophy, science and mysticism.

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Synopsis · Preface · Summary · Teleology · Genealogy · Consciousness · Questioning