Recognize futility, exercise humility.
May 25, 2011 at 10:19 am
(This post was last modified: May 25, 2011 at 10:40 am by tavarish.)
Here's my latest blog post, let me know what you guys think.
http://usualrhetoric.blogspot.com/
Greetings, friends.
I'd like to start this off by posing a simple, yet strikingly uncommon question to those reading:
"What goals and ideals are important for progression of the human race?"
As a preface, I'll let you know that I don't intend to answer this question, as there can be countless explanations as to what, if anything is most important to the human condition in general. I will, however, add what I think to be an important contribution in determining what methodology to use in answering questions such as the one I've mentioned.
Let's start off with a scenario.
Civilization A consists of people that employ ideals that are based on emotion. They are led mainly by superstition, persuaded by authority and are heavily rooted in tradition. Their main goal is to retain their way of life and live with the knowledge that all life's questions have already been answered by an ultimate source.
Civilization B consists of people that employ ideals that are based on demonstrable results, and empirical evidence. They are led mainly by logic, the scientific method, and a genuine thirst for knowledge. Although they are prone to errors frequently,they learn from their mistakes, as their main goal is to learn as much about their surroundings as possible, and accept that not all in the universe is known, or perhaps even knowable, but that should not impede one from trying. In fact, it only serves to strengthen curiosity.
Let's examine this a bit further:
In our hypothetical situation, Civ. A yearns to maintain the status quo, while Civ. B strives to learn more than previous generations, standing on the shoulders of giants in order to do so. Why is this an important distinction, and what does it have to do with employing ideals that help progress the human race?
Quite simply, if you think you have all the answers, you stop searching. This is intellectual stagnation. If you honestly believe that there is nothing more to be learned about the universe, no intellectual progression can be made. The very notion of adopting superstitious and unverifiable belief is futile, because by definition, you'd have no way of actually backing it up or testing it.
Applying these scenarios to the real world, we realize that humans are a mixed bunch. There are extremes on either side of the spectrum, but most fall in a bell curve consisting of a mixture between Civ. A and Civ. B. It's a breath of fresh air that most people in industrialized countries don't resort to incantations as a first resort to life threatening situations, but it's also a bit unsettling to see superstition promoted with fervor, with dissenting opinions labeled as disrespectful.
It is important that we recognize these traits in ourselves and have the ability to analyze our beliefs in such a way that they are readily demonstrable in reality. Testing the only way to distinguish fact from fiction consistently, and it is equally important to know that no belief, idea, or claim is above question. The human brain thrives on stimulation - so much so that it will hallucinate in times of sensory deprivation. It's a machine that needs a constant supply of fuel to run optimally. If we as a society don't harness the resources and drive to answer the interesting and mystifying questions in the universe, we are quite literally wasting the most important aspect of our physical evolution.
One of the more interesting facts about our quest for knowledge via the scientific method is the more we find out about the universe, the less we realize we know. Using Carl Sagan's terminology, we are an inconceivably small part of the universe, floating around on a pale blue dot, in a system of other dots, around a star that is one of hundreds of billions, in a galaxy of hundreds of billions in the universe. To make claims of ultimate knowledge on such a grand scale when there is so much to be learned is not only futile, but arrogant.
Learning our place in the universe can be ultimately humbling, as we are in a time where we can observe other planets from afar, measure the distance between stars, and ask questions, but aren't in a position to physically travel there in any reasonable time frame. We are in a period where we recognize how large our environment is, but are powerless as of yet to do anything about exploring that environment.
The religious and superstitious people of the world claim to answer to a higher power, and I can appreciate that. I honestly think that we as a species must hold some connection to something larger than ourselves to keep our motivation in life to a maximum. What I propose, however, is that we replace the unverifiable with the real. We can toss the magical for something that is awe-inspiring and demonstrable. Those searching for answers need not turn to religious doctrine, they simply need to adopt the mindset that we don't know all the answers yet, but we should work to one day have them. The sooner we realize that we are a fragile species and abandon the wishful thinking and fears associated with religious claims of the afterlife, we can break barriers between cultures and share a common bond and goal, and yes, it is ironic that it is only after we recognize how alone we are in our environment can we unify.
We must question the status quo and analyze where benefits can be established. And most importantly, we must observe reality on its terms, and be able to change our thoughts and theories when new evidence is presented. This way, not only will the potential of society not be wasted to trivial or mundane tasks, but people will have the methods in place to learn from their mistakes and take responsibility for their thoughts and actions.
http://usualrhetoric.blogspot.com/
Greetings, friends.
I'd like to start this off by posing a simple, yet strikingly uncommon question to those reading:
"What goals and ideals are important for progression of the human race?"
As a preface, I'll let you know that I don't intend to answer this question, as there can be countless explanations as to what, if anything is most important to the human condition in general. I will, however, add what I think to be an important contribution in determining what methodology to use in answering questions such as the one I've mentioned.
Let's start off with a scenario.
Civilization A consists of people that employ ideals that are based on emotion. They are led mainly by superstition, persuaded by authority and are heavily rooted in tradition. Their main goal is to retain their way of life and live with the knowledge that all life's questions have already been answered by an ultimate source.
Civilization B consists of people that employ ideals that are based on demonstrable results, and empirical evidence. They are led mainly by logic, the scientific method, and a genuine thirst for knowledge. Although they are prone to errors frequently,they learn from their mistakes, as their main goal is to learn as much about their surroundings as possible, and accept that not all in the universe is known, or perhaps even knowable, but that should not impede one from trying. In fact, it only serves to strengthen curiosity.
Let's examine this a bit further:
In our hypothetical situation, Civ. A yearns to maintain the status quo, while Civ. B strives to learn more than previous generations, standing on the shoulders of giants in order to do so. Why is this an important distinction, and what does it have to do with employing ideals that help progress the human race?
Quite simply, if you think you have all the answers, you stop searching. This is intellectual stagnation. If you honestly believe that there is nothing more to be learned about the universe, no intellectual progression can be made. The very notion of adopting superstitious and unverifiable belief is futile, because by definition, you'd have no way of actually backing it up or testing it.
Applying these scenarios to the real world, we realize that humans are a mixed bunch. There are extremes on either side of the spectrum, but most fall in a bell curve consisting of a mixture between Civ. A and Civ. B. It's a breath of fresh air that most people in industrialized countries don't resort to incantations as a first resort to life threatening situations, but it's also a bit unsettling to see superstition promoted with fervor, with dissenting opinions labeled as disrespectful.
It is important that we recognize these traits in ourselves and have the ability to analyze our beliefs in such a way that they are readily demonstrable in reality. Testing the only way to distinguish fact from fiction consistently, and it is equally important to know that no belief, idea, or claim is above question. The human brain thrives on stimulation - so much so that it will hallucinate in times of sensory deprivation. It's a machine that needs a constant supply of fuel to run optimally. If we as a society don't harness the resources and drive to answer the interesting and mystifying questions in the universe, we are quite literally wasting the most important aspect of our physical evolution.
One of the more interesting facts about our quest for knowledge via the scientific method is the more we find out about the universe, the less we realize we know. Using Carl Sagan's terminology, we are an inconceivably small part of the universe, floating around on a pale blue dot, in a system of other dots, around a star that is one of hundreds of billions, in a galaxy of hundreds of billions in the universe. To make claims of ultimate knowledge on such a grand scale when there is so much to be learned is not only futile, but arrogant.
Learning our place in the universe can be ultimately humbling, as we are in a time where we can observe other planets from afar, measure the distance between stars, and ask questions, but aren't in a position to physically travel there in any reasonable time frame. We are in a period where we recognize how large our environment is, but are powerless as of yet to do anything about exploring that environment.
The religious and superstitious people of the world claim to answer to a higher power, and I can appreciate that. I honestly think that we as a species must hold some connection to something larger than ourselves to keep our motivation in life to a maximum. What I propose, however, is that we replace the unverifiable with the real. We can toss the magical for something that is awe-inspiring and demonstrable. Those searching for answers need not turn to religious doctrine, they simply need to adopt the mindset that we don't know all the answers yet, but we should work to one day have them. The sooner we realize that we are a fragile species and abandon the wishful thinking and fears associated with religious claims of the afterlife, we can break barriers between cultures and share a common bond and goal, and yes, it is ironic that it is only after we recognize how alone we are in our environment can we unify.
We must question the status quo and analyze where benefits can be established. And most importantly, we must observe reality on its terms, and be able to change our thoughts and theories when new evidence is presented. This way, not only will the potential of society not be wasted to trivial or mundane tasks, but people will have the methods in place to learn from their mistakes and take responsibility for their thoughts and actions.
My blog: The Usual Rhetoric
