Temples and the meaning of life

Matt Kanenwisher from Arizona takes the Temples as his point of reference as he attempts to give meaning to who we are. He says that "Temples are the tattoos of a culture and they reflect a larger common heritage that tells of a family of mankind.". From Kanenwisher:

I often wonder who we are. Specifically, I am not asking a metaphysical question, rather; What defines us as a people? What defines a community, a social or political group, a race, or even the human race? It seems, at first, easy to describe a group according to geography. However, a quintessential Texan does not necessarily possess quintessential American-ness. It could be that our beliefs and what we value is the most accurate criteria for categorizing cultures and people. Religion plays a critical role in cultures the world over. In fact, 85% of Americans, not the most religious population, claim to be an active part of an organized religious body (US Census Bureau 2001) and temples have been the focal point and pinnacle of religion for thousands of years. Whether we consider temples in the classical sense or the modern world’s edifices and monuments, these are societies tattoos and make a statement about who we are and were. It could be the case that we have far more in common than we have differences.

In order to take a look a temples, we need to understand what they are and for what use they are intended. The temple is the first architectural type in human history. In Spiro Kostof’s A History of Architecture, architecture is divided into a surprisingly small number of types: temple, pyramids of Egypt, ziggurat, baptistery, Renaissance palace, sky scraper, and railroad station. It seems strange but according to the Berkeley Architecture Department head Kostof, all structures made by man fall into one of a small group of categories.(Kostof 32) In order to avoid a lengthy discussion of architectural theory, it shall suffice to say that Kostof states all architectural types follow the pattern of such groups and furthermore, “A building type is an architectural form that is invented for a specific purpose and achieves a general validity, both visual and ritual, through its repeated use.”(Kostof 32) The oldest discovered structure that fits this criteria is the rubble and stone walls of Ggantija in Malta. Kostof further clarifies, “Ggantija is a wholly manmade form, which is to say it is thought out and reproducible. As such, it is the first true building type we are encountering.”...