This simple post brings to mind an old expression and an very old folk tale. The expressions: "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." To me this is always a reminder of the downside of intellectual rumination. While we are applying our intellectual processes life - and death as you point out - continue. Often during the period of time we take to study and plan, the issues we have studied and the conditions we have planned for have changed. The folk tale is the story of the blind men and the elephant. Where do we "local ourselves"? Are we at the head of the elephant, or the tail? Even collaborators with the best of intentions (and not motivated initially by profit), often cannot see the whole from their unique vantage points. Humanity seems less and less capable of seeing issues from the vantage points of others and emotionally and egotistically less and less capable of true collaboration. In the contemporary version of the folk tale, every blind man will insist that he is right and that all the others are idiots.
so, keep thinking is not a bad idea, but it might not help. My view is that humanity will weave itself into a cocoon through the complexity of its projects - and then die. I have quoted Saroyan, " Every man knows his true destiny, but he likes his detours because they take time."
As though the detour might change the destiny. I fear as a society and perhaps as a species have taken many detours only to arrive at the same destiny. Which brings yet another tale to mind - "The Appointment in Samarra"
future thinking, or thinking of and for the future? not to be flip, and as you write early in Gardenword, Doug, “We are dealing with human nature.” We can not abandon our own personal mind work, and our innate shared sociality.
This simple post brings to mind an old expression and an very old folk tale. The expressions: "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." To me this is always a reminder of the downside of intellectual rumination. While we are applying our intellectual processes life - and death as you point out - continue. Often during the period of time we take to study and plan, the issues we have studied and the conditions we have planned for have changed. The folk tale is the story of the blind men and the elephant. Where do we "local ourselves"? Are we at the head of the elephant, or the tail? Even collaborators with the best of intentions (and not motivated initially by profit), often cannot see the whole from their unique vantage points. Humanity seems less and less capable of seeing issues from the vantage points of others and emotionally and egotistically less and less capable of true collaboration. In the contemporary version of the folk tale, every blind man will insist that he is right and that all the others are idiots.
so, keep thinking is not a bad idea, but it might not help. My view is that humanity will weave itself into a cocoon through the complexity of its projects - and then die. I have quoted Saroyan, " Every man knows his true destiny, but he likes his detours because they take time."
As though the detour might change the destiny. I fear as a society and perhaps as a species have taken many detours only to arrive at the same destiny. Which brings yet another tale to mind - "The Appointment in Samarra"
future thinking, or thinking of and for the future? not to be flip, and as you write early in Gardenword, Doug, “We are dealing with human nature.” We can not abandon our own personal mind work, and our innate shared sociality.
I am writing to express unknown thoughts of your own. Interesting place to be.