"Now, it seems, we are also falling short in our understanding of Human Nature itself."
Yes, it seems we are ... at least on a collective level, although Haidt is doing heroic work. In our defence, I've come to think that understanding human nature is the most difficult task of them all. If our brains were simple enough that we could understand ourselves, we wouldn't be capable of understanding ourselves. A human is an exceptionally complex entity! And if they band together and make societies ... permutations beyond imagination! But, yet ... the human heart seems strangely constant down through history. This is why literature is so invaluable for our understanding of ourselves. Our technology grows in complexity, but our feelings and foibles, our motivations and fears seem recognizable -- if one has the ability to recognize such things at all ... which is perhaps where our societies are derailing these days.
A step back (and inwards): I realize that my life, my way of living, is unusual in our times. I earn my keep as a woodworker, working in seclusion each day. I work for a few hours, I read, I listen to music, I am still. I am poor (relatively, for Norway) and lead a frugal life. I have no wife, no children and no 'smart' phone. What I do have is an abundance of time. I do not need to work many hours each day in order to sustain my 'lifestyle'. My goal is to lead a satisfying life with simple means. I'm both blessed and cursed with an active mind. On the one hand I can amuse myself by just sitting on a chair thinking about things, creating stories, images, fantasy worlds or (a perennial favourite): 'My Dream Workshop' -- in short: Castles in Spain.
I sometimes think that as a consequence of my slow-paced, solitary life, my mind is 'uncluttered'. I have the time to think things through, deal with my feelings and make my mind up. When I have dealings with other, 'normal' people, they often seem distracted, stressed and scatterbrained. Many seem unable to reach any meaningful conclusion to a train of thought or to a topic of discussion, they are just blown off course by the slightest impulse. They are easily distracted, like children. I often feel like an adult talking to a child, returning the conversation to the question / topic that needs deciding after the butterfly-brained baby has flittered off, drawn to yet another shiny object or a gadget that goes biiip! biiip!
The downside to this is that I often 'see' other people in greater detail than I might have wished. When my mind is still, I can see and listen attentively, with my feelings open and impressionable. Some people are a joy to meet and this is one of life's true gifts! Others are ... not good. It seems to me that people are increasingly angry, judgemental and perverse. So little kindness! So little patience! So little virtue ... who speaks of virtue these days? Fools like me, I guess.
"Now, it seems, we are also falling short in our understanding of Human Nature itself."
Yes, it seems we are ... at least on a collective level, although Haidt is doing heroic work. In our defence, I've come to think that understanding human nature is the most difficult task of them all. If our brains were simple enough that we could understand ourselves, we wouldn't be capable of understanding ourselves. A human is an exceptionally complex entity! And if they band together and make societies ... permutations beyond imagination! But, yet ... the human heart seems strangely constant down through history. This is why literature is so invaluable for our understanding of ourselves. Our technology grows in complexity, but our feelings and foibles, our motivations and fears seem recognizable -- if one has the ability to recognize such things at all ... which is perhaps where our societies are derailing these days.
A step back (and inwards): I realize that my life, my way of living, is unusual in our times. I earn my keep as a woodworker, working in seclusion each day. I work for a few hours, I read, I listen to music, I am still. I am poor (relatively, for Norway) and lead a frugal life. I have no wife, no children and no 'smart' phone. What I do have is an abundance of time. I do not need to work many hours each day in order to sustain my 'lifestyle'. My goal is to lead a satisfying life with simple means. I'm both blessed and cursed with an active mind. On the one hand I can amuse myself by just sitting on a chair thinking about things, creating stories, images, fantasy worlds or (a perennial favourite): 'My Dream Workshop' -- in short: Castles in Spain.
I sometimes think that as a consequence of my slow-paced, solitary life, my mind is 'uncluttered'. I have the time to think things through, deal with my feelings and make my mind up. When I have dealings with other, 'normal' people, they often seem distracted, stressed and scatterbrained. Many seem unable to reach any meaningful conclusion to a train of thought or to a topic of discussion, they are just blown off course by the slightest impulse. They are easily distracted, like children. I often feel like an adult talking to a child, returning the conversation to the question / topic that needs deciding after the butterfly-brained baby has flittered off, drawn to yet another shiny object or a gadget that goes biiip! biiip!
The downside to this is that I often 'see' other people in greater detail than I might have wished. When my mind is still, I can see and listen attentively, with my feelings open and impressionable. Some people are a joy to meet and this is one of life's true gifts! Others are ... not good. It seems to me that people are increasingly angry, judgemental and perverse. So little kindness! So little patience! So little virtue ... who speaks of virtue these days? Fools like me, I guess.
Off on a tangent -- that's where you'll find me!