Self and Transcendence

W. Vail C.

Description

This narrative begins with a description of the human self in terms of a naturalistic explanation of human nature and concludes by suggesting how we all may enter into meaningful dialogue from the common conceptual ground that is our shared humanity.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: First Edition Design Publishing
• Date de parution: 25 août 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781622879885
• Langue: English

Extrait

Self and Transcendence


C. W. Vail
Self and Transcendence
Copyright ©2015 C. W. Vail

ISBN 978-1622-879-87-8 PRINT
ISBN 978-1622-879-88-5 EBOOK

October 2015

Published and Distributed by
First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 20217, Sarasota, FL 34276-3217
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com



ALL R I G H T S R E S E R V E D. No p a r t o f t h i s b oo k pub li ca t i o n m a y b e r e p r o du ce d, s t o r e d i n a r e t r i e v a l s y s t e m , o r t r a n s mit t e d i n a ny f o r m o r by a ny m e a ns ─ e l e c t r o n i c , m e c h a n i c a l , p h o t o - c o p y , r ec o r d i n g, or a ny o t h e r ─ e x ce pt b r i e f qu ot a t i o n i n r e v i e w s , w i t h o ut t h e p r i o r p e r mi ss i on o f t h e a u t h o r or publisher .
Self and Transcendence
This book is not written to comfort those who might find my views congenial, nor to shock and offend those whose ideas I question. The ideal reader would engage in a common quest with me; he would be willing to reconsider his views and some of his basic decisions in the course of this quest. To that end it might help if we had some common ground in the beginning—not a common platform but some recognition of our common humanity. (Kaufmann 2015, 6)
This narrative is a meditation on our shared humanity. By necessity, it is a monologue, a statement in a single voice advocating a particular point of view; nevertheless, what is written here humbly is offered as an invitation to enter into a dialogue. Its readers are encouraged to reflect on the point of view offered here and then to seek out the opportunity to enter into dialogue with one another that, beyond putting forward any one individual’s point of view, can “offer common ground between persons and encourage social diversity.” (Arnett and Arneson 1999, 53)
My narrative also is a statement of humanism. According to Arnett and Arneson (1999, 53), humanism, as it was broadly conceived, “opened closed narrative structures, or what we call ideological structures, to interpretation . . . [where] themes of freedom, naturalism, and the civil function and earthly commitment of religion and the emergence of science all contributed to a public humanistic narrative in which the individual made the difference. From the time of the sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance, the human mind was bursting forth, but not without some way to describe the emergence of a broader based story on how the human could pursue the ‘good life’ within a dialectical tension of self and institutions.”
The humanism advocated here “puts human nature at the center of the knowledge process and defines values in terms of the relation of things to human living.” (Reese 1927, vi). It “takes the limits of human nature and the ideals of dignity of the person seriously, attempting to understand what it means to be a human in a given historical moment in time.” (Arnett and Arneson 1999, 53) Explicit throughout is Todorov’s autonomy of the I, the finality of the you, and the universality of the they. (Todorov 2002, 159) Each of us is an autonomous individual, each a unique and irreplaceable end in himself or herself, just as all of us together also are social beings, all of us sharing the same basic human condition.
Further, the humanism advocated here, in the words of John Patrick Diggins (2009, l), is radically conservative. It is radically conservative in the sense that its truths and insights can be found in the naturalistic writings of some of humanity’s greatest minds throughout history, from ancient philosophers through modern-day scientists. If we are to find these truths and insights at all compelling, convincing or persuasive, it is because they are derived from an understanding of human motives, purposes, and choices—in other words, our very human nature. What is offered here is meant to affirm a human life lived fully and well.
What follows begins with (i) a description of the human self in terms of a naturalistic explanation of human nature, as suggested by the preceding characterizations of humanism. My narrative continues, moving from potential to informed practice, by examining, in turn, (ii) self-awareness, intentionality, and cooperativeness; (iii) living in community; (iv) beyond fear, beyond selfishness; (v) freedom and equality; and (vi) certainty and uncertainty. It concludes by suggesting (vii) how we all may enter into meaningful dialogue from the common conceptual ground that is our shared humanity.
A Whole and Complete Human Being
The science of biology tells us that we are human beings, the single extant species of a genus of hominids included in the taxonomic family commonly referred to as the great apes. As are all other forms of life on Earth, we humans are a product of evolution. To the best of our knowledge to date, the first modern humans evolved about 250,000 years ago. Our closest known evolutionary relatives, the Neanderthals, died out and became extinct about 40,000 years ago. Our closest evolutionary relatives still living are two other great apes, chimpanzees and bonobos.
Like chimpanzees and bonobos—and ravens, elephants, and dolphins—humans exhibit a higher encephalization quotient—in other words, a higher ratio of brain to body weight. We and these other creatures also have in common communication that is more complex and social relationships, an emergent self that recognizes itself and others as individuals, an ability for innovative tool use and manipulation of the environment, and the capability for abstract thinking and mimicry. (see Neubauer 2012, 131) Humans differ from all these others only by degree, we happened to have evolved more recently and, from an evolutionary point of view, we are more advanced.
Evolution has provided us with increasingly complex means of maintaining ourselves in response to changes in our environment. Feelings, the most complex of these several mechanisms of homeostasis in humans, provide us the means
i. to remember past episodes in our lives along with the sensory information associated with those episodes;
ii. to comprehend and discriminate among these memories in terms of how we perceive well-being;
iii. to compare these memories with our awareness of a current situation and sensory inputs; and thus
iv. to choose to act to further our own well-being. (see Damásio 2003, 86)
Evolution has also provided us with abilities of mimicry and speech. Mimicry first allowed our evolutionary ancestors to share hunting and tool-making skills and social roles with one another. Speech allowed our more modern selves this with greater thoroughness and clarity; moreover, it also enabled us to explain ourselves and our place in the cosmos.