From: Bryan Moss (bryan.moss@dsl.pipex.com)
Date: Mon Jul 21 2003 - 08:45:50 MDT
Barbara Lamar wrote:
> I agree with Damien about the value of Bryan's posts. Thank you for coming
> back, Bryan. At the moment, I'd like to respond to two items you
> discussed -- optimism and humility. You said : <<One of the general points
> I'm trying to make here is that we need to foster a sense of humility.>>
> and <<Optimism should be an excuse to work harder for the future, not an
> excuse to sit back and do nothing.>>
Thanks. I think the latter quote may be Harvey's.
> I would slightly rephrase what you said about optimism, Bryan to this:
> Optimism should be the *inspiration* to work harder for the future, not an
> excuse to sit back and do nothing. Every entrepreneur I've ever met has
> been wildly optimistic. One of my functions as a lawyer/CPA is to spill a
> little rain on my clients' optimism, to the extent of pointing out
> possible weaknesses in their plans possible rough spots they could run
> into. This may be the sort of thing you mean when you say we need to
> foster a sense of humility; but being aware of potential problems is not
> the same thing as being humble.
By "humility" I mean the acceptance of a certain pluralism; that is, don't
assume your goals are (or should be) universal.
> I would go so far as to say that too much humility is more likely to cause
> inaction than too much pride. A humble person is more likely to have the
> attitude that nothing she does can make any difference. Rather than
> humility, I think we need to foster a sense of reality-based pride in
> accomplishment and belief in every person's ability to make changes for
> the better. Such changes can't all be listed on a general to-do list
> (although such a list probably wouldn't be a bad idea), because many of
> the changes are personal in nature. I liked something Anders said well
> enough to repeat it here: <<As I see it the question "how can I get
> involved?" can be turned into the question-tree: "Can I turn my current
> activities and interests into something more useful? If not, do I want to
> change them in such a direction?". Most people are going to find that the
> first step actually gives plenty of room for practical action.>>
The larger issue is the question of the status of futurism and the
opposition of futurism (positing a future that we then work towards in
order to find resolve/meaning) to a more immediate, situated activism (which
I describe as, "an extropianism concerned with fidelity to those particular
truths science has revealed about ourselves and our world and how they
interact with our current situation [and culture]"). It's quite a radical
thesis, and I'm not sure I explained it as well as I could. In simple
terms: (1) I identify a problem with our futurism (the future we posit takes
the form of its own fulfilment [in the "ultratechnologies"]); (2) I try to
show how this is exactly so (this is admittedly the weakest part of my
thesis; I begin with the claim that futurism entails a certain overarching
monism and argue for a more active, pluralistic philosophy, but don't have a
systematic account of how the sort of eschatological "self-fulfilment" I
initially speak of comes about); and (3) I try to formulate a sort of
anti-futurism, a philosophy that doesn't posit an exacting future, but
contains all the positive aspects of extropianism. I suggest "humility," in
the sense I describe above, as a kind of interim solution.
In this sense, I don't think my suggestions are at odds with optimism or
pride. The kind of humility I want to encourage is the kind that situates
us within a horizon in which action can take place, a more human scale.
BM
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