EIGHTH WAY OF WISDOM -- A Arthur M. Jackson
Copyright 2001, 2003, 2006
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EIGHTH WAY OF WISDOM: Help and be helped by other people.
Human beings are social animals. They have not evolved to live alone. Unless an individual bonds with other people, they cannot achieve a Sustainable Belief that their Life Has Meaning. Humanity may go on to eternity; however, the existence of an individual personality is very, very finite. The only true joy comes from being actively involved in developing our "wisdom" potential as we help others to do the same.
It is essential to realize that the very growth of a baby into a fully actualized human being is only possible within a community. Psychological research indicates, and one's reason accepts, that infants raised in the absence of people would not become human beings (except in the most "animal" meaning of that term). They would function at the most primitive level of their "tribal" propensities, close in many ways to a chimpanzee. They could not speak, or use the parts of the brain that develop when language is mastered. All the cultural evolution that has taken place over the past 10-40,000 years would be swept away. They would not even have the potential to develop their "wisdom" potential barring a dramatic change of their circumstances.
Without language, without human contact, important parts of the brain do not develop. Raised without human contact -- but with sufficient nurturing contact to survive -- individuals would be grossly deprived and culturally malformed. The amount of one's potential that is developed is almost totally dependent upon the society in which one is raised. As said before many times one can only become an Enlightened Person if they are part of an Enlightened Community. Who one becomes depends upon the specifics of one's nurturing -- (See VOLUME II, Chapter 4, "Nurturing Touch and a Sustainable Belief that one's Life Has Meaning" [1] which discusses the importance of physical affection) -- as well as too many other factors to comprehend at our current level of understanding. Intimacy and affiliative love are key ideas related to the concept of bonding. Achieving intimacy and maintaining it are discussed in greater detail later. For references see [2] and [3]
In addition to having a loving partner an essential component for becoming an Enlightened Person is to help other people and thus foster commitment between ourselves and others. This sense of commitment lies at the core of a Sustainable Belief that one's Life Has Meaning. Any person lacking this commitment will have their life significantly diminished from what it might have been. Nurturing connections with other people is essential in order to achieve good mental health. To achieve necessary social bonding appropriate living conditions would be very helpful. (See VOLUME II, Chapter 21, "Living Space for the Enlightened Person.")[4].
Although persons need to be part of a community they must not lose their individuality and identity in order to be part of that society. This is the challenge that has always confronted Modern Humans, but now we have a true opportunity to solve this problem. This is the dilemma which has troubled our species for at least the past 10,000 years. This is the problem we have been trying to solve since the evolution of the language ability. To achieve the unique potential we have as a species we must build societies such that no person can be allowed to become simply a cog in the machine. Individual ants, bees, and termites exist as exchangeable units in a social machine. They have no value or existence independent of their place in their society. The language ability gives humanity the opportunity to follow a very different path. The goal towards which humanity struggles is to produce a society in which each individual has the potential of being a key element in maintaining the species' existence. For humanity all individuals must achieve their personhood and goals as differentiated from group goals. They must function in ways that utilize their unique talents, creativity, abilities. They must provide what only they have to offer their community that no other person can. As indicated elsewhere this is a new challenge which no other earthly species faces. It is only possible to achieve such personhood in an Enlightened Community.
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Persons will achieve a sustainable belief that their life has meaning most easily who have been raised in a nurturing environment wherein they can develop their self esteem, personal power, ability to love. This involves physical affection, opportunity to develop their mind, and to use their talents and abilities in effective ways from the first moments of their birth. The closer their community approximates an Enlightened Community the more direct will be their journey toward a Sustainable Belief that their Life Has Meaning. A fundamental assumption of an Enlightened Community says that it is the individual human being who is most important, not societies, not the species, not the genes. For it is only by making this assumption that all the evils are avoided when one starts with any other assumption that I am aware of.
Individuals are most likely to love humanity if other people have treated them with love. The more harsh and abusive their environment, especially their early environment, the more likely are they to be criminals, cruel, deceitful persons, and/or in other ways less than model citizens. However, such persons are not "bad." There is no such thing as a "bad" person, although anyone can do bad things. They, like any person at any time, have the potential to change their life and become an Enlightened Person. All that is needed is the right experiences. Many people have not gained insight into themselves or found worthwhile goals to pursue, hence, are making an unsuccessful attempt to live in the right way. They, like all persons need, to have reasons for that faith if they are to have faith in humanity. They must draw material and moral support from their society. People cannot continually be beaten down and still be expected to continue loving. Children cannot be physically and sexually abused and be expected to grow into nurturing and loving adults without special assistance. Individuals cannot be placed in the dim, dusty recesses of a cave-in ridden coal mine for their entire lives and expected to be able to practice the habit of nourishing love unless they are provided sufficient support. Even though some individuals may be able to overcome the foregoing experiences through their own efforts -- and the luck of being raised in a good family (including the right genes) and having supportive friends -- most cannot. However, the Sixth Way of Wisdom (Become psychologically healthy) aims to provide guidance to interested persons so they will be able to get whatever help is necessary to function at their maximum level.
The Eighth Way of Wisdom provides the plan for achieving all the social support needed. Organizations (especially the Wisdom Group and Center for the Practical Application of Wisdom) must be formed to help achieve this Way of Wisdom. Also see, "Organizing for an Enlightened Community." Centers for the Practical Application of Wisdom would be formed to ensure each person the opportunity to develop in the best and most rewarding way in so far as the knowledge of the day permits. These groups would ensure that each person is offered the opportunity and support to achieve a Sustainable Belief that their Life Has Meaning. It would ensure that no individual is left to struggle, seek, and die alone. By introducing individuals to the Ways of Wisdom and helping them to achieve these goals, society would thereby provide the security, opportunity, and feeling of usefulness people so vitally need.
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A Center for the Practical Application of Wisdom (CPAW) would provide all the resources possible for in-depth study of each person to help them understand themselves fully, and learn the best paths to pursue. This group would guard people against spending an entire life as a beast of burden; a contented cow; an ant/bee/termite; or leading an undirected or misdirected life. It would ensure that all interested individuals have the opportunity to attain worthwhile goals. Every attempt would then be made to help them achieve their full positive potential. At the same time it must be kept in mind that trial and adversity if not too great have often been important ingredients shaping the lives of admirable people.
All persons should have their own "electronic helper" (Computer Tutor, Recorder, and Expert Systems) to accumulate detailed records. This data would be integrated, assimilated, and made available in every way to help the person. These records would include their entire life story: their medical records, their educational records, their most intimate, traumatic, important experiences as revealed by deep therapy, cross references to their family's records, etc. All persons might be assigned a universal code to ensure that their records would always be available.
In an Enlightened Community there would be no secrets. The prime purpose of personal records would be to help each individual and humanity. Records would benefit the individual in an almost infinite number of ways. No matter where the person went a physician seeing them would be able to study their complete medical history and therefore know the best way to treat them. Such records would aid the individual in all parts of their lives. This data would permit their Computer, Tutor, Recorder, and Expert Systems to make not only health suggestions including diet, exercise, and mental health, but help in the area of friendships, romance, finances, jobs, etc. Also, records would be an aid to humanity because these records would provide a resource for study and analysis of the different effects of similar factors in many different circumstances. These would be one source of data for researching the components of a Sustainable Belief that one's Life Has Meaning, for Discovery Games, and for factors too diverse to categorize.
Many thoughtful individuals fear any organization at all. They are worried that it will degenerate to exploitation and tyranny. Persons raised in the shadow of John Stuart Mill, Adam Smith, the Holy Inquisition, Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, fundamentalist religions, etc. have learned to fear organization. Any person aware of humanity's alpha male propensity to focus their energy on dominating others when inadequately socialized, will recognize a fundamental justification for this fear. However, we have an overwhelming amount of evidence that such societies need not exist. (See VOLUME II, Chapter 18.A, "What Other Animals Can Teach Us About Morality.") [5] Certainly an Enlightened Community would not permit insufficiently socialized males (or females for that matter) to attain positions of power (at least not unmonitored power over others) in the community.
A Science of Ethics must recognize that human organizations are essential. Organization is the central assumption of this book: The goals and conduct of an Enlightened Person and an Enlightened Community are not in conflict. If this assumption is in error then everything else I have written must be viewed with deep suspicion. And of course since neither Enlightened Persons nor Enlightened Communities currently exist suspicion is essential. However, be that as it may organizations are necessary to bring together and pass on the best thinking of the best people who have lived up to a given time. Without such organizations there is absolutely no chance at all for people to achieve a Sustainable Belief that their Life Has Meaning. Properly structured organizations help us organize knowledge and esperience so that each person need not discover on their own what those who have gone before have learned rather they are able to build on these experiences. This building is what most noticeably separates science from folk religions.
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Individuals become human in society. In "bad" societies, they tend to become "bad" people (Nazi Germany and the Ku Klux Klan provide food for thought on this point). Our species' dominance/ submission and us/them propensities combined with the alienation of urban communities provides the soft underbelly that makes exploitation, brutality, terrorism, and many of the other ills that flesh is heir to easy, or at least easier. It is only knowledge, experience, and social support that make us immune to the folly of our predecessors. Although people may rightfully fear organizations such as those proposed here, they must also recognize the risks in failing to develop adequate organizations. It is clear to me that Wisdom Groups and Centers for the Practical Application of Wisdom (CPAWs) would only work for the good of humanity if their leaders have achieved a Sustainable Belief that their Life Has Meaning.
Alpha males seeking power are susceptible to every temptation. (See VOLUME II, Chapter 18, "Ethics, Morality, and Science.") [6] Only Enlightened Persons will be able to avoid becoming oppressive, a condition that has dominated all organizations, past and present, designed to help human beings. However, unless we can build social institutions that allow each person to be fully bonded to society without becoming "ants" the species has missed the opportunity provided by symbolic language. This failure by our species is not acceptable for me. We can do better. We can be better. We can develop structures to build on individual strengths and develop ways to prevent individual deficiencies from hurting, mis-directing, and killing others. We can fulfill the potential produced by the evolution of our language genes. CPAWs must work to develop the resources and commitment to achieve the foregoing.
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Also, see Fifth Way of Wisdom: Strive to make the best choices possible. Since persons cannot know their capabilities when they are born groups like the CPAW are needed to make sure that the opportunities exist for each individual to learn and experience what is necessary to become an Enlightened Person.
CPAWs would ensure that individuals have the opportunity to do the things they most desire to do and which they are best suited to do. At the same time they would be helped to maintain individuality and universal social bonding. Nevertheless, persons must remain on the alert in case a particular CPAW is taken over by alpha males/females. The alpha male weakness for dominating others shows up in almost every paragraph of human history, even the history of science. Can democracy and good mental health overcome the dominance/submission propensity powered by our genes? Obviously, this is an open question that can only be answered empirically. Can society achieve Science of Ethic's goal to produce Enlightened Persons? To do so it must nurture the flame of the "wisdom" potential that exists within each person and work in every way possible to keep this potential from being overwhelmed by the flood of pressures constantly emanating from one's raw "tribal" propensities.
To produce Enlightened Persons, certain rules would have to be followed. Individuals would have to voluntarily associate themselves with a CPAW. Voluntary association might come about in a manner similar to that in a psychoanalytical case history mentioned by Robert Lindner[7]. A person came to him to be treated for impotence and depersonalization, but during the course of treatment was also cured of Communism[8]. Or, under certain circumstances it might need to be more coercive. Such an example would be the Children's Sexual Abuse Treatment Program of Santa Clara County where parents convicted of incest have the option to participate in the program or go to state penitentiary. Of course there are scores of other possible approaches.
But regardless of the specifics of the treatment process, the mechanism is the same, dealing with the relationship that exists between an individual's irrational beliefs and the symptoms that plague them. To be cured of one, persons must be cured of the other. Everyone who has not yet become an Enlightened Person has difficulties they recognize as such and which they will under the proper circumstances accept assistance in handling. In the course of solving problems of which one is consciously aware it is possible and necessary to help these individuals deal with their irrational beliefs, or pursuit of irrational goals most of which are powered by their raw "tribal" propensities.
However, the values and ideas that support an individual's world view are vital to their self concept. Their harmful beliefs can only be changed if their ideas are replaced by others that are equally satisfying to them. Persons cannot give up their irrational beliefs unless they find a more satisfactory position to replace those ideas. And even more important, positions, beliefs, and ideas that are emotionally loaded cannot be shaken by reason and logic. Deep therapy may be necessary in many cases to allow persons to discard the irrational ideas of their childhood and master the effects of the traumatic experiences of their lives.
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