Steve Harris
  • Home
  • About
  • Courses
  • Research
  • Other Sites
  • Contact
  • Condemned to Repeat It

Existentialism

10/29/2021

2 Comments

 
This is NOT about Sartre, or Kierkegaard, or any number of other Euro philosophers who wrestled with issues of the meaning of human existence (except incidentally and tangentially).

It is about what some people do when they feel their existence is at stake.

I have been struck by the juxtaposition of the stance of two large slices of the human race who perceive such a threat, both of which I have discussed from time to time in this series.

* There are those—in the US and elsewhere—who feel that their world is crumbling: that the components and structures by which they define themselves are going away. This group encompasses those who have traditionally held significant power in society, often based on race, gender, or economic status, as well as those who may lack any such significant power, but still feel their identity is tied up with the societal and epistemological status quo.
* There are those—in the US and elsewhere—whose world is crumbling: that the current levels and momentum of human disruption of the planetary environment will lead to the deaths of large swaths of humans, as well as other species over the next decades or century.

The first group is not (uniquely) physically at risk; but their conception of who they are and how they fit into the world is being pressured by societal changes, including demographics, unfamiliar language and semantics, new social values, and competition for power/wealth/status. The acceleration of change—a hallmark of modernity for the past 250 years—is bewildering and unsettling.

The second group is (although not uniquely) physically at risk. Many in this group understand, at least in broad terms, the threat to the planet and the species. They accept the premises of science and generally have confidence in the processes and methods by which a dismal forecast might be proffered.  Some in this group, for a wide variety of reasons, are unaware of the probable outcome of humanity’s current course; sometimes due to lack of education or current information, sometimes (which includes much of the first group) because of nescience (i.e., intentional ignorance or the closed mindedness of denial).

Many in the first group are marshaling their considerable resources, including physical demonstrations and political engagement,  to hold back the tide of social change. They seem to be ready to dispose of the nominally bedrock norms of behavior, including respect for law, fairness, due process and the essential social glue of democratic societies. They are “all in.” Within their worldview, this makes sense. The Constitution (the social contract) is not a suicide pact. Lesser norms must be sacrificed to preserve survival. In a particular and tightly-framed way, I admire their clarity of thought and their willingness to take action to preserve themselves (even as I disagree with most of their premises and fears).

Of the second group, at least those who are aware and are in a political and financial position to take more than cursory or minimal actions in response, only a few seem to have the same “fire in the belly.” Most of them, even as they recognize the risk and proclaim their rationalism and their humanism, do little…or nothing.

Those in the first group misperceive (in my view) the nature and extent of the risk they face; calling it existential. But, having done so, they act drastically, and, arguably, “improperly,” “illegally” (with due citations to the ideas of Jefferson and the practice of Lincoln), and “wrongly.” But at least they act to defend themselves and the world as they perceive it.

Most in the (aware portion of) second group perceives (accurately in my view) the nature and extent of the risk they (we!) face, calling it existential. But, having done so, act incrementally, in accordance with political niceties and legal standards in the hope that it will all work out or, at least, that the damage will be limited to others or that they will be dead (by natural causes) before things get brutally bad.

I’m not sure exactly how to conclude this discussion of two groups; but I am struck by their intimate parallels. It would be a fine thing if both groups were to change their stances. History, however, doesn’t give us lots of encouraging examples in this regard. Indeed, of such impasses, revolutions are made.

2 Comments
Gretchen Galbraith
10/29/2021 09:40:06 am

A compelling twist on the concept of existentialism.

Reply
Jack Saunders link
10/29/2021 10:20:21 am

Provocative comparison. My guess is that while the first group holds enough residual faith in the anti-tyranny direct action myth, the second set, more sophisticated, see the direct action mythology plainly overwhelmed by the decisions of a few unsympathetic players, namely Xi Jinping, Modi and Jair B, plus a convincing coterie of “our turn” foot draggers. So a U.S. policy written by Bill McKibbon himself with no beveled edges becomes merely a mildly ameliorative gift to the coal guys. Solve for that.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Condemned to Repeat It --
    Musings on history, society, and the world.

    I don't actually agree with Santayana's famous quote, but this is my contribution to my version of it: "Anyone who hears Santayana's quote is condemned to repeat it."

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020

      Sign up for alerts when there's a new post

      Enter your email address and click 'subscribe.'
    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly