Everyone knows the saying “necessity is the mother of invention” but this idea is just plain wrong. Necessity does not drive the invention of things. Just because there is a need for something does not mean it will be invented.
The idea that necessity causes an invention finds its support in the mechanistic fatalism of evolutionary philosophy. Evolution is the idea that things come into existence because there is a need for them. The fish has the need of getting out of the water in order to eat so it grows a leg. The bird has the need of a wing in order to fly and get food so it grows a wing. And the idea goes on. This philosophy suggests that time and lots more time create the things because they are needed.
This thinking means that there is no will or mind behind anything. There is no conscious mind shaping and creating the thing, whatever it is. In this worldview, things change merely when they have to. Change does not come from a plan and purpose but when the machine of nature has ground itself into a hopeless dilemma where the only possible response is a change. Then a new creation suddenly springs forth into existence. This idea undermines the foundation of what it means to be human. Humans are conscious, creative, thinking beings who have wills and who make decisions. In the evolutionary model, people are mindless automatons bumping into each other. Thus, evolution destroys human creativity.
Here are some key examples to consider which show how necessity does not have a hand in creating new inventions.
Vishal Mangalwadi tells a story of when he recently visited Jinja, Uganda. While there, he saw hundreds of women and girls carrying water pots on their heads, taking water from the local water source to their homes. He couldn’t believe people were still doing that kind of work in this place. The city is built right next to Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world. The British built a hydroelectric dam there and it generates tons of electricity, so much that there is extra to sell to Kenya.
Given such technology in the region, why are people still carrying water on their heads? The reality is that there is a great need in Jinja for some good indoor plumbing. But nothing has been done to change things. Women and girls are wasting billions of hours of labor on hauling water but nothing has been done about it. The need has done nothing to create the solution.
Another example to consider is the American space race of the 1960s. The computer technology people have today in their smartphones is more advanced than most of the technology of the Apollo program. So how did the space program of the 1960s do it then? The simple answer is that there were creative, thoughtful minds behind the program.
In the Apollo program itself, we see that there was actually no dire need for it. We were not short on resources. We were not fighting population issues. It is true that there was a political investment in the program but the main reason for the program was because intelligent people wanted to do it. These people imagined how to do it and then they did it. Necessity was not the instigator behind these space inventions. People were.
We see a similar example of a creative mind at work in Elon Musk’s reusable rockets. People didn’t think it was possible and yet he has applied intelligence and creativity to the issue and he has done it.
How did these things come about? A creative mind imagined the possibilities and worked to build it. Necessity didn’t do a thing.
All of this should again underline that we are not functions of a mindless biological process. We are thinking, creative beings made in the image of a creative and thinking God. To suggest that necessity will improve the world is to think that stupidity will make us wise. It is not necessity that is behind the inventions that fill our society; it is human creativity and the human mind.
Abraham Kuyper, in his discussion on Calvinism and Science, said this about the importance of Christians working in the world: “… the Calvinist became a pilgrim, who, while on his way to our eternal home, had yet to perform on earth an important task. The cosmos, in all the wealth of the kingdom of nature, was spread out before, under, and above man. This entire limitless field had to be worked. To this labor the Calvinist consecrated himself with enthusiasm and energy.”
The cosmos is a field that has to be worked. This is the mandate that God gave Adam in the garden to subdue the earth and take dominion over it. This means we should use our minds well for the glory of God and for the good of others. Inventions do not happen because we evolved into them. Inventions happen when Christians dare to dream and to explore all the glories God has hidden in this world.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
I think you’re misunderstanding the reason for that saying. It’s not about some biological/cultural imperative, it’s that necessity can drive creativity to solve the problem. The real message that needs to be explored is why that happens more in a free, i.e. christian, culture and it’s byproduct of capitalism. You could explore why a lot of the science from the 1600 and 1700s came from christians (which was because they had a hard time finding other economics means of supporting themselves and they could do that with something not controlled like science).
Thanks for the comment. I disagree with you that “necessity can drive creativity to solve the problem.” I don’t think necessity is really that big of a factor in invention. The primary factor is a person having an idea and wanting to create that idea using the resources and materials around him.
Hmmm. I think I would have to agree more with Lance on this one, Jesse. I agree with you that, “The cosmos is a field that has to be worked. This is the mandate that God gave Adam in the garden to subdue the earth and take dominion over it. This means we should use our minds well for the glory of God and for the good of others.” But unless I’m missing evidence for the notion that the cliche “Necessity is the mother of invention” is born out of an evolutionary impulse, the argument seems like a straw man. In other words, I don’t think the statement was ever meant to imply “Inventions… happen because we evolved into them.” How many times in history have we human beings come up with better technology to overcome certain obstacles? Even one example–and there are myriad–and the argument fails. That said, the fact that necessity does drive the creative impulse to solve some problems, doesn’t discount the idea that “Inventions [often] happen when Christians dare to dream and to explore all the glories God has hidden in this world.” It’s both/and, not either/or. Peace!
Thanks for the discussion, Scott. I am not saying that the phrase comes from an evolutionary impulse. It seems that the phrase comes from an older source so I don’t think there is really a connection to evolution. I am just using the phrase as a shorthand way of talking about the idea: necessity causes inventions to come about. I think it would be helpful to discuss the meaning of “cause” here. While there might be a need for something like “talking long distances” the need doesn’t create or produce the technology “a telephone”. The person Alexander Graham Bell creates the invention. In this example, the cause is the person. The need is the setting or circumstance in which he creates. However, the need does not really have a hand in the creative process.
Jesse, thanks for the response. If we are talking “cause,” I would agree the person is one of the “causes,” that is the creator is the efficient cause; but I would also argue that the need for “talking long distant” is also a cause, that is the final cause. In any case, thanks again for responding.
Thanks for the interaction, Scott. I will give it some thought about being connected to the final cause. Cheers!