is that humans, possessing a consciousness that only permits them to understand their own situation partially, are forced to act on incomplete information, whether they realize it or not. There are so many variables acting on any one of these situations, so many chains of consequence intersecting each other at each moment, so many synergies at work, and so many unanticipated outcomes being set into motion by them, that no human or even set of humans can predict the ultimate effect of any given action. Obviously, very simple actions (such as the act of picking up a pencil off the floor) are less consequential and less affected by variables, but the more our actions involve other people and the physical world around us, the more unpredictable their outcomes will be. Huge events, such as wars, generate incomprehensibly huge and complex consequences, ones far beyond our collective ability to understand.
Therefore, I believe that humans are pretty good at creating realities too complicated for humans to comprehend. I further contend that the innumerable and multivaried interactions of humans (as an entire species) with each other and with the rest of the physical reality around them, over space and time, have created problems that may be too complicated for humans to extricate themselves from. (I emphasize the word may--I am not wholly devoid of hope.)
So as I see it, human social reality at any given moment is the sum total of all the consequences of all the incompletely understood actions of all the humans who have ever acted, and this reality has been shaped in many ways by laws of probability and quantum randomness that are as yet only partially grasped.
5 comments:
Reading this is enlightening given my recent interactions with people I care about, however it does nothing to comfort me.
It's not even something as big as wars. I've been in rooms with forty people who I know, each making choices to thier own drumbeat. We quickly make choices that tend to disrupt others choices and sow confusion and pain all around. Not at all hekpful.
I would tend to agree, however I would add that I think we tend to compound our confusion by not being honest with others and especially ourselves.
What do you think?
M. N. Wirth
P.S. I have been reading these, but thus far I have been at a loss at how to reply, which doesn't really bother me, but still...
Keep it up, this makes me think hard,kinda like being in Ideas again. Not enough people are doing that anymore.
Matt--I agree with you. The vagaries of social interaction in small troups are an excellent example of what I'm talking about. Even when we are honest, we cannot know the consequences, but it generally seems less destructive than being deceitful.
Glad you are finding things interesting so far.
Joe,
You have presented some very profound thoughts here.
Your first couple of statements make me think of the works of Kafka (or what I've read about them). It does seem that being human means being cast into situations whereby we must make choices and decision when we really don't have complete information, and we really have almost no understanding of the full consequences of the decisions we do make.
I think your statement "humans are pretty good at creating realities too complicated for humans to comprehend," would already be implied if we initially assume that human consciousness has incomplete information from the get-go.
I sometimes wonder about these "realities" which humans construct: are there motivations behind these constructions that even their inventors do not fully understand? And furthermore, how much of a drive is there for individuals, or groups of individuals, to construct "realities" which give them the upper hand in the control of others?
What's it all about anyway?...
Pablo, I don't know if I'll ever figure things out even minimally. It almost seems as if there is an invisible yet very tangible wall between me and the rest of the universe,something I can't describe, and yet undeniable.
I treasure your comments.
"And furthermore, how much of a drive is there for individuals, or groups of individuals, to construct "realities" which give them the upper hand in the control of others?"
I would tend to say that people do construct realities in such a manner to get any number of things.
In my experience the best way to get people on board with your plans is to get them to see your point of view, which is largely subjective. The idea of bringing people around to your way of thinking is really about bring people to your perception.
One wouldn't really have to be aware of such a thing in order to do it.
I think part of that is the idea behind leadership, a subject and field that I think about a lot and am experienced in. In my experience it is the art of getting people to see things your way.
I've seen such a thing done and been guilty of it myself, its certainly a force and a drive that is present in the world. The real question that bugs me and sometimes keeps me up at night is this: Is the fact that some people will manipulate reality at all dishonest if you don't understand your doing it? What if you do understand that your doing it? IS it dishonest then?
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