Isn't our financial crisis fair warning? To the self-actualizing self-learner who has studied briefly the high points in human history the prospect of ever comprehending the human condition seems overwhelming. Where to begin? Perhaps some comprehension as to why the ancients could only propose eschatological solutions becomes apparent. Explanations for the human condition can come only from the beyond; perhaps only the will of God can be a starting point. When we realize this we perhaps will be less condescending regarding the errors of the early thinkers when they began to seek a human solution for a crisis in human knowledge. How to set a coherent path to alleviate the chaotic drift in education and the fragmentation of thought? The term ‘Renaissance Man' suggests a wo/man of many accomplishments. S/he is a person who is not a specialist but a generalist, a person who knows a significant amount about many domains of knowledge rather than knowing more and more about less and less as does the specialist. We might consider two classifications of knowledge similar to Aristotle's definition. Accordingly one can have a ‘scientific knowledge' of a matter or one can have an ‘educational acquaintance' with that matter. Scientific knowledge is the possession of the specialist who knows not just general principles and conclusions of the field but also many of the detailed findings included therein. Educational acquaintance comes with a comprehension of the methods of the subject, not just the details, particulars, and conclusions. A person with an educational acquaintance with a domain of knowledge is a person who is “critical†in that field. To quote Aristotle “It will, however, of course, be understood that we only ascribe universal education to one who in his own individual person is thus critical in all or nearly all branches of knowledge, and not to one who has a like ability merely in some special subject. For it is possible for a man to have this competence in some one branch of knowledge without having it in all.†The individual with an educational acquaintance in a field of knowledge is one who is capable of sorting out sense from non-sense in that field. Some will whine that today, with all of our knowledge, it is impossible for anyone to become a Renaissance Person. I say non-sense! With the world's accumulated knowledge at our finger-tips anyone who has practiced the art and science of navigating knowledge can quickly gain an educational acquaintance with any domain of knowledge in a matter of weeks rather than a matter of years as would be required in ancient times. Is a modern day Renaissance man or woman impossible? I do not think that is impossible. Today becoming a Bacon or a Thomas is, relatively, a piece of cake.
great topic tek. i completely agree with you. one thing that is a major problem in this country in regards to this topic is the media. for example does anyone remember the bitching and complaining about the economic crisis on TV all the time before the election? i think its fair to say that the media was very biased in this election towards the obvious candidate. so, i find it infuriating that they created all this hype before the election and AFTER it was over the bitching decreased notably. (which i predicted would happen) i think that this decrease was a sublimnal intent to make it look like obama fixed this problem, at least noticeably, which has yet to happen, just like MOST of the other things obama promised. yes, he hasnt had much time, so im just going to sit back and wait. i just thought that all of his ideas were nice yea, but fairly unreasonable. i damn sure hope he can do all this shit, but im still skeptical. something like this could lead to large ignorance of the crisis among american citizens. which would lead people to believe the crisis was just fixed. and that would make peoplestop worrying about it and not do anything to help it. so yes, our financial crisis to me is a huge warning. but america is stuck in a huge rut and our leaders too much of bitches to get out of it. if im correct obama spent millions of dollars on a golf course and neon lights. i mean really? thats my version of a stimulus plan alright. this post may be completely biased against obama so sorry if anyone is offended, actually im not sorry unless my info is incorrect
I have often wondered what the world would be like if adults had the energy level I see constantly displayed by children at play. Perhaps we see a bit of this energy when we see the old tycoon still struggling for more money and grasping for more power even as death appears eminent. It appears to me that energy is generated in humans when we are in action and when that action meets certain needs. If we extrapolate from the children and adults at play we might very well conclude that when action is play, energy will continue to be generated. How do we adults make our actions seem to be play rather than work? Action becomes play when we are creating. Also action becomes energy generating when it fulfills our needs for immortality. I would claim that play, power, survival, and the need for immortality are the four sources of human energy. In the beginning of civilization thought and knowledge was regarded as valuable things. However, we have discovered that thought and knowledge can also be dangerous and destructive. Today technology, one of our most touted accomplishments, is often presenting us with daunting dangers. “Therefore, with the growth of technology the human race is faced with tremendous crisis.â€-David Bohm “So the kind of thought that's going on all around us begins to take over in every one of us, without our even knowing it. It's spreading like a virus and each one of us is nourishing that virus…I'm trying to say that most of our thought in its general form is not individual. It originates in the whole culture and it pervades us.â€--David Bohm A fundamental need of our being is self-activation. The self-activation demanded of me may prove to be without inner friction, i.e. with inner pleasure or it may, contrarily, create inner discord and un-pleasure. The feeling of pleasure with self-activation “is always a feeling of free self-activationâ€. Economics is a good example of how some sciences handle human relationships. Economics treats humans like objects and ignores there subjective aspects. Humans are treated as two dimensional rather than like a diamond with multiple facets. Economics is a good example of a science that ignores nonlinear problems, i.e. problems not under the lamp-post.