Remain Sapiens

So far there are no comments on the previous note. Nobody wants to suggest a moral to the story of Flavius and the Gulls. My girl and I talked it over this morning. There is an obvious point to be made: the importance of restraint so we don't destroy what sustains us. However, thinking through the fable, we are left wondering. Some things don't feel right. We aren't sure about exploiting people's instincts such as their desire for fashion and novelty; that seems manipulative and self-serving.  Also we don't admire making wisdom into a business. We have this instinct for altruism; it can't be good unless it costs you something to benefit others, as if sacrifice is admirable and profiteering is evil. We wonder.

Perhaps wondering is the point of the story and has been the point forever in myths about the antics of the gods with their very human peccadillos. We wonder about them and learn something about ourselves. We learn that our motives are conflicted, that selfishness and altruism must coexist, that sacrifice and profit are complementary rather than antagonistic. The task of wisdom is to find a way that honours all the competing imperatives, a thoughtful yet tentative way into a better future even if the best is out of reach.

So my object here is to leave you wondering about politics and business, rights and duties, faith and doubt, whatever comes to mind in an unravelling world. Those who insist they know the right answers may not have asked the right questions. 

Those who wonder remain sapiens.

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Ignoring Climate Crisis Wont Make it Disappear: David Suzuki Foundation, June 2024

Call For Fossil Fuel Ads to be Banned: Benjamin Shingler, CBC News, June 6, 2024

The Pros and Cons of Carbon Tax: TVO podcast, The Agenda, May 2024. 

The Collapse is Coming: Nautilus interview with Dan Brooks, coauthor with Sal Agosta of "A Darwinian Survival Guide"