Keep the Faith: Imitating the birds

Do you ever wonder why birds sing? That question is about as good as any relating to the mystery and wonder of creation. Have you ever carefully listened to the birds chirping away? Especially in the early morning hours? I sometimes find myself awake about 4:30 a.m. during these  summer days when it’s still dark and silence everywhere pervades. Then suddenly out of the silence I hear a single chirp, and then another chirp, and then two or three quick chirps follow as a lone bird tweets a melody that will continue for hours.

In a few short minutes, that lone chirp is joined by a chorus of chirps happily singing to the coming of the light of a new day. When I listen to the beauty and joy of the birds singing, especially early in the dawn, I cannot help but thank and praise God for the new day that has been given to us. I find myself grateful for being alive and experiencing the pleasure and spectacle of this magnificent creation.

Before you think that what I’ve said is for the birds, I must tell you that one of the most respected philosophers of the 20th century, Charles Hartshorne, in the midst of his brilliant scholarly career during which he wrote books on such esoteric subjects as metaphysics, omnipotence, and the ontological argument for the existence of God, wrote a book titled "Born to Sing: An Interpretation and World Survey of Bird Song." Hartshorne was interested in birds since boarding school when he became an amateur ornithologist. As his professional travels took him to just about every continent on the planet, Hartshorne recorded and studied birdsong all over the world.

When he died at the age of 103 in 2000, his humble home in Austin, Texas, was found in disrepair. He had lived alone for the last several years of his life and could no longer take care of the property the way he had wanted. On the day of his Memorial Service, photographs were taken of his unassuming house. A downspout was hanging loose, all kinds of stuff were left in the driveway covered by tarps, and a bicycle without its front tire was hanging on the carport wall. Inside the house, boxes of papers and books cluttered almost every room, his office was in disarray, and minor repairs were visibly seen to be needed throughout the dwelling.

But interestingly Hartshorne’s favorite chair was left intact and was found squarely in front of a large window that gave a magnificent view of the backyard woods. Lying on the windowsill within reach of the chair was a pair of binoculars. Spread all over the back double lot were birdfeeders of different sizes containing an assortment of bird treats. The impression left by Hartshorne’s house after his death was not that his greatest love was for philosophy and theology, but rather, that it was for songbirds. He was more interested in his property retaining its character of a bird sanctuary than a place to entertain notable academics.

Hartshorne’s research led him to the conclusion that birds sing merely for pleasure and enjoyment. This answer isn’t what you would have expected from someone who spent his life studying the most profound thinkers who ever lived. He discovered that birdsong tends to be relaxed, leisurely, and sustained. Songbirds practice youthful play as they learn to sing, tend to imitate each other and other sources of song, and avoid monotony in their singing.

I find Hartshorne’s interest in birdsong fascinating. The final legacy of his home life that this illustrious academic philosopher left behind with his chair at the window, the binoculars, the recordings, the birdfeeders, the statistical analysis, and the published book on birdsong tells the immense delight that Hartshorne received from observing and listening to birds.

Hartshorne believed that nature as we find it is basically good as resulting from God’s creative influence. But humans, because of their tremendous capacity of freedom, have a unique capability for evil not possessed by the natural world. The same freedom that allows humans to experience moments of ecstasy also allows them to experience moments of intense pain. A person can enjoy a level of pleasure denied a pig. But that same high level of freedom that can bring about pleasurable experiences also allows a person to undergo great suffering denied our porcine friends. Pigs don’t contemplate committing suicide. The higher the level of freedom, the greater potential danger inherent in freedom. Because human beings are the freest of terrestrial animals, they are the most dangerous.

This is why we who belong to the human species need to reflect much more seriously on the awesome power of freedom that we possess, a freedom that can literally destroy the world if used recklessly. Hartshorne admonished us to join the ancient Greeks in their fear of human conceit, what they called hubris. The tremendous advances that humans have attained in science and technology should not blind us into thinking that the universe exists for us to do with it as we please. A balanced interpretation of science should lead us to an attitude of reverence and love toward that which is other than human civilization and in fact incomparably broader than the accumulation of human achievements.

Hartshorne reminds us that God has given to human beings the greatest responsibility of all beings for the preservation of the earth. Human freedom is much more powerful than the freedom of any other creature. We need to meditate upon our freedom and choose well, for the entire earth depends upon our choices. We need to heed Hartshorne’s advice to take into consideration that which is more encompassing than merely the needs and desires of humans. We must choose that which brings more enjoyment, more beauty, and more love to all creatures in our world. In this way we can truly take pleasure in our works, just as the birds do in their singing.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Keep the Faith: Imitating the birds