What is it to be Central?

Are human beings in some sense central to the cosmos? It used to seem obvious that they were. It seems less obvious now. But the idea is still powerful in our thinking, and it may be worth while asking just what it has meant.

There is of course a minor point of view from which we really are central—for our own lives, our own species do provide the natural focus. Our starting-point, the angle from which we look at things, is bound to be our own region. In the same way, if we think about self-centredness, each of us does unavoidably see our own self as in some sense the centre of the world.

This parallel is surely helpful. In neither case can we spread our consciousness impartially over the whole scene. We do have powers of sympathy, but since we are finite beings, those powers are necessarily limited. We have no choice but to be specially interested in ourselves and those close to us. As Bishop Butler pointed out, this kind of priority is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed it is vital that we do love and care for ourselves properly. If we have not enough self-love, if we despise or hate ourselves, we cannot love other people.