Darwin's Thought
Abstract
It is difficult to describe accurately the bond between humans and society.
Our current society is morphing at such a gradual pace that no one seems to notice
many changes. Those changes, however, accumulate and in fact exert great pressure
on our lives. Humans are pushed to take action when pressures reach a threshold, and
this creates conflicts that can tear society apart. 2014 was a harsh year for my home
city, Hong Kong. The people launched a series of political movements, asking the
unpopular government to restore and respect their civil rights. While the people were
demonstrating on the streets, the government replied with violent actions, which left
me angry and disappointed. From these events, I realized that our social environment
has the power to greatly influence individuals to conform to societal norms. On the
positive side of this, we continue to learn to understand the world throughout our
lives. On the darker side, our ever-changing society can force us to modify our
standards and our behavior, so that we can avoid losing our place in the society in
which we live.
As a result, most humans find themselves situated in a passive condition, with
little choice but to reshape their lives according to an acceptable social standard in
order to continue to exist. This notion is similar to Darwin’s idea of Natural
Selection, which is disturbingly accurate in pointing out current social trends and
issues. I was inspired by these books to compose a set of songs that satirizes our
current condition. The piece has eight movements: a prelude, six songs and a
postlude. The text of the first four songs uses nature as a metaphor to depict the
human world; that of last two songs directly describes human nature. The piece has a
dark and disturbing quality, which creates an ironic effect.
Table of Contents
Darwin's thought
Degree
M.M.