BUMBLE, bramble, which came first, sir
Eggs or chickens? Who can tell?
I’ll never believe that the first egg burst, sir,
Before its mother was out of her shell.
— By children’s author Mary Mapes Dodge in 1875
Long before Dodge came the contemplation of Aristotle, thought to be the first to publicly ponder the perplexity of which came first: the chicken or the egg.
As he wrote in his Historia Animalum (aka “History of Animals):
“If there was a first man, he must have been born without father or mother — which is repugnant to nature. For there cannot have been a first egg to give rise to birds, nor can there have been a first bird that gave rise to eggs, for a bird comes from an egg.”
As noted by Aristotle’s struggles, there has been a centuries long lack of consensus. Chickens hatch eggs but also come out of eggs. So which happened first?
The root of the paradox is that it’s difficult to determine the origin of something. We may have theories as to how something has originated, but theories are inexact and open to interpretation. Interpretation can indeed be subjective.
So why in the world would a current events blog share a post on an ancient paradox?
What value is there in discussing this here?
Let me humbly attempt to articulate why this topic seemingly fits well here today…
Chickens are intelligent animals. They learn from each other and are believed to be decently self-aware. Noting numbers over 33 billion, the birds outnumber the human population on the planet. They are a fascinating fowl, and not only that, but they are an extremely popular food choice, especially in that they are an affordable protein source that can be prepared in all sorts of ways. They have great value.
Eggs vary pending the species. Their color, shape and structure come in all sorts of forms. Besides carrying a future, living, breathing animal, eggs have so many benefits for humans — brain health, heart health, eye health, muscle growth and repair, immune system support, weight management and more. There are so many benefits.
The bottom line is that both the chicken and the egg are distinct. They are real. No one doubts what they are nor their existence. Hence, in a conclusion that may frustrate trivia game lovers, it doesn’t matter which of the two came first. It changes nothing. The chicken and the egg can still be acknowledged for what they are.
The reason we write this post is that recently, we’ve been acknowledging significant impudent behavior on all sides of all sorts of subjects in the socio-economic, political sphere. We’ve pointed out the insolence and incivility all over the place.
The strangely fascinating aspect that exists it seems, is that persons attempt to justify their insolence and incivility on the grounds that the other side did it first.
Here at the Intramuralist, we suggest the chicken and egg analogy applies…
It doesn’t matter.
How to win friends and influence people never employs disrespect. In fact, as said in multiple places about the iconic self-help author, Dale Carnegie, one of the core ideas he promoted was that it actually is possible to change other people’s behavior. However, it starts by changing our behavior toward them.
Chicken? Egg? Yep… doesn’t matter.
Respectfully…
AR