In the timeless story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet lies a profound and enigmatic statement:
There are more things dreamt in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Prince Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 5, Hamlet
These words, uttered by the melancholic prince, not only reflect the character’s existential reflections but also convey a deeper insight into the human experience and our understanding of the world around us.
Hamlet’s observation challenges the boundaries of empirical understanding and highlights the intrinsic limitations of our perception. Scientific advancements perpetually enhance modern life with new understanding, new serviceable technologies, new discoveries, new medicines, new understandings of the universe, from the subatomic to the cosmic, but Hamlet reminds us that that much of what we “know,” in its essence, is perpetually beyond the reach of our instruments and intellect.
That which lies beyond the limits of human cognition is pure mystery.
In the play, a ghost appears, defying rational explanation; the supernatural element suggests the existence of realms or dimensions beyond our earthly comprehension, reinforcing the idea that the universe is filled with enigmatic forces above and beyond our understanding.
Hamlet’s words invite us to contemplate the profound questions of human existence. What lies beyond life and death? What realms of consciousness or experience can we not fathom or quantify? What do we not know that we do not know?
There are realms of existence far beyond our limited consciousness. The photos from the recent Kepler mission and its space telescope confirm: there are as many planets in our night sky as stars. We are not alone. The universe was made to be inhabited.
What sort of intelligence governs this universe made to be inhabited? What unfathomable intelligence gave origin to and governs the dynamics of the cosmos and all the living beings within it? What intelligence initiated life in this world? We know nothing of how the 70 trillion cells in our own bodies know how to support one another for the benefit of the whole. How are the cells of the heart minded to know when to stop building the heart? We know nothing of the origins of life itself, for though we are alive, we do not know what life is. Though we are persons, we do not know what a person actually is.
We may feel that we understand life, but what we understand is that which is kept within the limits of our own paradigms, constructs, and stories — “our philosophy.” They deliver a sense of certainty that can be comforting, but they can also lead to an egocentric certainty that obscures the greater story: We live and walk in mystery.
“There are more things dreamt in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy” is not merely a poetic line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet; it is a profound meditation on the limits of human knowledge and the mysteries that surround us.
When we remember that we are honored to be born into mystery and to be given the capacity to experience partial elements of that mystery, that understanding can alter who we are with others. When we fully grasp how we live in mystery, how we know so very little about who we are, or how we are experiencing our experiences, we may feel humbled and honored to be in life with others who are living and breathing in the same mystery.
J. G. Johnston is author of The Call Within and The Way — The Religion of Jesus Before Christianity. He is co-founder of the website, Life Atlas.