Back when I was a kid, a seemingly trivial moment spurred my curiosity to try and understand the driving forces behind humanity.

Attending a larger family gathering in Lebanon, I found myself unwittingly caught in the crossfire of a heated dispute between two friends.

The two adults debated the state of the Syrian mandate over Lebanon, which had begun since the Taef Agreement in 1989. To one participant, it was unequivocally an ‘occupation,’ while the other staunchly defended it as ‘guardianship.’ Their perspectives were polar opposites.

The spirited debate, unfortunately, devolved into a physical altercation, culminating in shouts, punches, and broken glassware. The intervention of external forces became imperative as these two individuals failed to maintain a civilized discourse.

This incident left me perplexed.

Why did these two intelligent people resort to violence to express their frustration?

How could both be so unwaveringly confident in possessing the absolute truth?

It seemed self-contradictory that both perspectives were unequivocally correct.

I questioned whether their disagreement stemmed from differing values and interests, emotional biases, perceptions of history, or purely semantic distinctions.

Is the world an objective place, interpreted by sentient beings through various lenses?

Did universal truths exist, capable of transcending and connecting subjective realities?

Since that day, I embarked on a journey to try and better understand humanity, to try and build bridges, to unravel the beliefs, desires and fears that drive the evolution of our species.