The Egg And The Chicken: Which Came First?

Let us consider briefly these two schools of thought i.e. Existentialism and Essentialism as they relate to purpose, by reviewing a philosophical question “the egg or the chicken which came first?”. I want you to take some seconds to ponder on this question: if the egg comes from the chicken and the chicken comes from the egg, which of the two would you say came first? Obviously, the chicken and egg puzzle is not a simple question, even though on the surface it appears to look like one; but it is a tricky puzzle; however, if we are to apply logic, it is valid to say that the chicken came first. I will back up this position with the analysis below.

Only after a pullet (female chicken) mates with a cockerel (male chicken), that an egg is fertilized; which will then form into an embryo. Now, for any fertilized egg to hatch successfully into a chick, it must be incubated by the chicken.

Which means the mother hen would have to sit on its eggs, and subject them to a certain degree of temperature over a given period of time for them to hatch into mature chicks; failure to do that will consequently cause the eggs to waste away. Furthermore, after brooding over the eggs for a given period of time, the pullet becomes aware by instinct that the eggs are ready for hatching; so using its beak, it will start breaking the eggs for the chicks to come out from the egg shell. This process is very methodological and critical during hatching.

An egg will not by itself create the right condition for itself, or protect itself from preys that lurk both in the day and at night. Rather, the chicken was designed in such a way that it can produce eggs, protect her eggs and assist the chicks to break out of their eggs. Based on the above, you will agree with me that it will be illogical to conclude or think that the egg came first.

To believe the egg comes first is to believe in the Existentialist school of thought that supports creation by accident, instead of by design. To believe in the theory of evolution as the author of all creation. But let me cleanse your mind once again, nothing in this world is by accident; all things were created for a purpose. If you think they happen by accident, then such accident must be a miracle.

A more rational way to look at it is to accept that the chicken was designed by a creator, and given all the necessary instincts to fulfill the purpose for which it was created: To live, reproduce and raise a new offspring of its own kind. A role that the creator equipped and prepared the chicken for. If you agree with this, then you will agree with me that essence comes before existence. Things are first designed with a definite purpose to fulfill and given all that they need to fulfill that purpose. I wholeheartedly accept the view of the essentialists which states that “things are born with a fixed property or essence which make them what they are”.

All over the world, there are factories everywhere where different consumer goods are made. Before a manufacturer goes into production, he would first decide the product he’s going to create, and define in advance the purpose the product is going to fulfill. Having this in mind, the manufacturer goes into production with the full awareness of his intended product and purpose. He makes sure he embeds into his product all that it needs to fulfill its intended purpose.

A writer, for example will often sit down, think, and consider his message before putting his pen to paper. If his writing must be effective, he must first define his message, and its purpose. He must decide if his aim is to educate, entertain, inform, inspire or motivate his readers. Having first defined his message and purpose, he can then goes into writing and tailor his words in a way that will help to fulfill the purpose for which the piece of work is written.

My purpose for writing this book is to help you know what purpose is, how to discover your own purpose and live out your purpose as well as the need to dare to be as great if not greater than recorded men of history. Every word, sentence, paragraph, and chapter of this book is written to fulfill that single objective. If by reading this book, you discover your purpose, then the purpose of this book has been fulfilled.