As society advances in knowledge and understanding of the natural world, we tend to disdain, so-called, 'out moded methods' for gathering and determining knowledge. Many of these were the foundations upon which we built our collective understanding. In some areas of anecdotal observation, we were wrong. Changes, in those elements of our knowledge base have led to success and betterment. However, in manners of a more visceral nature - human nature for example - we may well have set humanity onto a perilous collision with destruction. What does Common Sense say about this?
History offers a sad and sordid tale of the actions of mankind. Like many of the other hominids with whom we've shared this orbiting blue orb, we have a love for swinging. However, instead of vines and ropes, we choose to swing upon the great pendulum which casts a long and ominous shadow between the great extremes. Yet, somehow, our specie has managed to continually avoid the obvious solid foundation found in middle ground.
That small, but immensely stable and highly beneficial resource a
...
More
History offers a sad and sordid tale of the actions of mankind. Like many of the other hominids with whom we've shared this orbiting blue orb, we have a love for swinging. However, instead of vines and ropes, we choose to swing upon the great pendulum which casts a long and ominous shadow between the great extremes. Yet, somehow, our specie has managed to continually avoid the obvious solid foundation found in middle ground.
That small, but immensely stable and highly beneficial resource area some call 'balance', exists in near mythological status for most humans. Balance, it would seem is altogether missing from our psyche. Either that or we are genetically wired for avoidance of it. For we have a near perfect 1.000 batting average for missing it!
I don't believe this, but it does present a convincing argument. One that should cause any of us to stop and give it serious thought.
Equally simpsoning is the the avoidance, our society of the 21st century, has placed upon the basic knowledge learned by our ancestors. You know (or at least should!) where the 'rubber meets the road' - life experience.
Do a simple survey of the value scheme embedded in today's social development tools and it's readily observed that we have replaced - if not in reality, then for sure cognitively - the lessons learned and valued in previous eras - with an obscene value for the empirical and theoretical.
We believe them to be true, therefore they must be true. Right?
How is it that, as a society of individuals, we have adopted so thoroughly a social-mindset-without-individuality, that insures Santayana's warning should be, instead of a worthy saying, a prediction of prophetic inevitability?
Why indeed!
Less
