tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post6174761486583898454..comments2024-03-17T11:54:10.124+11:00Comments on Journeyman Philosopher: Utopia or dystopiaPaul P. Mealinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14573615711151742992noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post-55569878655191958642009-09-22T12:08:37.747+10:002009-09-22T12:08:37.747+10:00Thanks for your comment April.
I expect you didn&...Thanks for your comment April.<br /><br />I expect you didn't read my very lengthy essay on <b>Human Nature</b> (Nov.07) - it's the longest post on here. The point I make, which is not so clear in this current post, is: <i>'...leadership only works when the people being led are actively involved in the process.'</i><br /><br />Einstein made the same point (in a political context) as I quote him in my more recent post <a href="http://journeymanphilosopher.blogspot.com/2009/08/einsteins-words.html" rel="nofollow">Einstein's Words</a>.<br /><br />As a writer, you may be interested in <a href="http://journeymanphilosopher.blogspot.com/2009/07/storytelling-art-and-evolution-of-mind.html" rel="nofollow">this post</a>. I'd certainly be interested in any comment you may have to make on it.<br /><br />Regards, Paul.Paul P. Mealinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573615711151742992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post-7412331393549515662009-09-22T08:57:24.099+10:002009-09-22T08:57:24.099+10:00I enjoyed your blog. I found your analysis of huma...I enjoyed your blog. I found your analysis of human nature particularly insightful. I had identified two universal human traits from my own studies. I called them the desire to "be a part of" and the desire to "stand apart from" the group. The first is the social instinct that you've identified. The second is the creative urge to develop our talents. I believe this second one comes from our need to be useful, since it is often demonstrated by developing talents that are useful to our social group--though I believe that rebels can be influenced by this trait so strongly that they become isolated by their own alienating expressiveness.<br /><br />Some psychological studies have found that people who do not feel part of a social group can literally die of loneliness. This is often expressed by the idea that they need to feel needed. Being part of a social group would encompass my first trait. Yet, I believe that feeling needed applies just as strongly to the second trait. We desire to have some ability to contribute to our social circle in a useful way, not just to be in the company of our fellow humans. These two traits are so interdependent, it is difficult to separate them completely. The tendency for elderly people to die shortly after retirement demonstrates the need to contribute. Yet, failure to contribute often leads to isolation, so that it also results in loss of social contact. <br /><br />You have identified a third trait, the hierarchical tendency. I'm not certain that it is an urge that has such life or death implications, but I agree that it is a strong urge. It is just hard to know if it is really just one trait. One aspect of it might be what Nietzsche identified as the Will to Power. Perhaps some people, maybe most, desire to be the leader of their group. Or, perhaps this is one aspect of the urge to "stand apart" that makes us want to be the leader in our own particular area of contribution. A housewife may have as strong an urge as an industrial CEO, she may just demonstrate it by her indispensible skill in cooking and keeping her family organized. Thus, one need not aspire to be at the pinnacle of the hiearchical triangle to be a leader. This can explain how a democracy can be effective, since everyone may find their niche in an egalitarian hierarchy.<br /><br />Thanks for your stimulating blog.Paula Furnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17379960465663872227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post-81439634608096020992009-09-18T12:14:38.343+10:002009-09-18T12:14:38.343+10:00Hi Larry,
This very day, our government has raise...Hi Larry,<br /><br />This very day, our government has raised its forecast population figure for Australia to 35M by 2049 (according to Wiki, it's currently 21M). This is small beer, compared to say, our nearest neighbour) Indonesia, 237M. But, we are the second driest continent in the world (after Antarctica, I believe) and all our water resources are already stressed. I know this, as I've worked in the water industry.<br /><br />The reason for the increase is because we have an ageing population (baby-boomers like me), so we are just making a bigger problem happen later rather than sooner.<br /><br />There are all sorts of good reasons for increasing the population, including health, but mostly economic ones. But there is one bad reason - we are destroying everything else in the process: fisheries, forests, habitats, climate, species, you name it.<br /><br />Regards, Paul.Paul P. Mealinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573615711151742992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post-75320716440266868672009-09-18T11:21:27.139+10:002009-09-18T11:21:27.139+10:00"But it’s the constraint on resources that ca..."But it’s the constraint on resources that can turn tolerance into intolerance more quickly than you can say refugees."<br /><br />I remember this from an anthropology course in college, actually - evidently there's a pretty strong historical correlation between natural disasters (i.e., resulting in shortages on some resource or other) and group conflicts. If you're interested, I may be able to dig up the source.<br /><br />Coincidentally (maybe), I also took a course on utopian and dystopian fiction - most of it, unsurprisingly, was not very good. The one that might interest you in terms of its ideas was I think <i>Looking Backward</i> by Edward Ballamy (or someone). The writing's not great but it's pretty creative and surely has more ideological traction today than when it was written.<br /><br />The trick, I think, is transitioning into an economy that produces almost entirely intellectual property. (This has been my pet theory for a year now, give or take a few months.) Computers obviously make this much more practicable than it would otherwise be, but there are definitely a lot of obstacles and sticking points - one of these is whether or not population control measures need to be adopted in and of themselves or whether they can be the result of other changes.Elihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03543293341085230171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3427479692989285926.post-64795777052805839472009-09-17T16:05:02.865+10:002009-09-17T16:05:02.865+10:00New Scientist, as of last week, have started a 4 p...<i>New Scientist</i>, as of last week, have started a 4 part series to address some of the very issues discussed in this post. They've called it <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/special/blueprint-for-a-better-world" rel="nofollow">Blueprint for a Better World</a>.Paul P. Mealinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14573615711151742992noreply@blogger.com