Philosophy – Page 5 – The View From Sari's World

“The act of association comprises a mutual undertaking between the public and the individuals, and that each individual, in making a contract, as we may say, with himself, is bound in a double capacity; as a member of the Sovereign he is bound to the individuals, and as a member of the State to the Sovereign. But the maxim of civil right, that no one is bound by undertakings made to himself, does not apply in this case; for there is a great difference between incurring an obligation to yourself and incurring one to a whole of which you form a part”. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

I don’t know about you, but I think we should once again teach the basic principals of Rousseau’s Social Contract as part of high school civics. As a society that’s increasingly more self-absorbed than ever, we need desperately need Rousseau. It’s a sad comment on American society to say that we need to be reminded of our social obligations, but it’s true nonetheless.

In his book, Rousseau outlined the need for a political community that worked by addressing both individual and society’s rights and how the two were not mutually exclusive; one cannot work without the other. Although his book and the philosophy behind it pointedly addressed political ideas (some of which laid the foundation of American politics) Rousseau was quick to point out that this contract extended to citizenship; society is made up of both individuals and a collective whole. Rousseau reminded his readers that individuals who value their rights or freedom and self-expression must also admit that this freedom only works if smaller rights are given up for the common good.

A good example of this can be seen on our roadways. We have the freedom to choose our car and when we drive it, but we don’t have complete freedom of how we drive. Because each individual has this freedom there are thousands of cars on our streets and highways. We have rules governing our driving; i.e., stop signs; lights; and speed limits. When we ignore these rules we are ignoring our obligation to the social contract.

Rousseau is not the first to want to outline a set of rules for societal behavior. We can look to the 174 B.C. E. Babylonia Code of Hammurabi. This code, or set of rules of law is one of oldest we’ve found to date. This set of codes were posted on stone blocks, some posted as you entered Hammurabi’s city. These codes covered everything from contract law to marriage laws. Some historians believe that this set of finely detailed codes were written in response to a growing society whose members needed reminding of their social obligations as well as political authority. Some things never change.

Though the 10 Commandments were part of the covenant between the Jewish god Yahweh and his chosen people, Christians have adopted them as part of their social contract. Some even suggest that these laws should part of our secular social contract to be posted on government buildings. I disagree for the following reasons:

The commandments are too basic. If you don’t know the “Thou shalt not kill” rule before you are an adult member of society, you probably don’t belong in society, period. Here’s one that we do need: Thou shalt not text or talk and drive. If you are an individual whose phone call can’t wait, you’d have a limo driver. Come to think of it, if you don’t know this rule by the time you are old enough to drive, you shouldn’t have a license.

America is home to many religions and if we start putting up rules based on one, we’d have to put them all up. Who’s going to take the time to read all the rules? What if they contradict each other? Which ones do you follow?

Having rules based on religious text is the definition of Sharia; A Middle Eastern approach to political and social lawmaking. I find it hysterical that conservative religious Americans do not see the irony that while panicking over the idea of Sharia taking over their towns, they are trying to force it upon themselves. But I digress…

We need to study and learn about Rousseau’s social contract because as we are given more and more freedom and choices, we are unwilling to give any up. We are forgetting that society only works because historically we have agreed to limit our freedoms or “rights”.

I’ve touched on this before in another post, but as our lifestyle choices have expanded so too has the erroneous belief that we can “do what we want”. Or in some cases, don’t do what we want. Yes, if you live on a deserted island or deep underground than by all means don’t vaccinate your kids if you don’t want to. But because you live in a large society, your personal choice does affect those around you, so you better get your children vaccinated if you want them to be part of the collective whole.

We have forgotten that in shared public areas there are limits to our individual rights. This is where a good civics lesson comes in. We need to teach our children that society only works when its members agree and adhere to its rules. Respect for society reflects our need for individual respect, yet too many people refuse to acknowledge this basic tenant. Instead of posting the 10 commandments, maybe we should come up with a list of 10 basic social contract rules.

Thou shalt not talk in a movie theater. This is what a home theater is for. We don’t want or need to know that you’ve seen this move already and can’t wait for your friend to see….

Thou shalt not be so lazy that you cannot put your shopping cart away. Or didn’t your mother teach you to put things away when you were done using them? Someone else would like to use that parking space after you are finished.

Thou shalt not sigh loudly while in line. You are not the only person on the planet who has things to do. Be happy you have the money to purchase items and aren’t standing in a soup kitchen line. Oh and if you are, don’t sigh then either, remember, your getting a free meal.

Thou shalt not say, “I know” when in fact you don’t know. There is nothing more irritating to the gods than hearing people say they know something to be true when in reality they have no facts or evidence to support such claims. The gods really hate it when you post this kind nonsense on Facebook.

Thou shalt not open carry a gun on the public shared space. No, you aren’t telling us you have the ability to defend yourself, your telling us you have a small penis and that is way too much personal information. If you want to carry a concealed weapon for personal safety, you have that right. But you do not have the right to freak the rest of us out. How are we supposed to know you aren’t the real threat?

Thou shalt not bring screaming babies into restaurants. Some of us paid to leave our screaming kids at home and don’t want to hear yours.

Thou shalt stop being offended by every little thing that you don’t agree with or upsets you or you don’t find funny. Society has an obligation to ensure all are treated equally but under no such obligation to ensure your personal pet peeves are dealt with. Life does not come with trigger warning so grow up and get over it.

That’s only seven but you get the point. It is increasingly clear that in almost every area of society there are those who refuse to acknowledge their role and obligation to the social contract. This is why we desperately need Rousseau and renew basic civil lessons. A society is only as good as its members. If we continue down this path of self-absorption, how long can society really last?

Please feel free to comment and add to the list of modern commandments.

Bradshaw rock paintings Western Australia — Bradshaw rock paintings
Western Australia

What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an Angel! In apprehension how like a god! Hamlet

The second book in Terry Pratchett’s “The Science of Discworld, the globe” tackles an important question in the evolution of man. How did humans go from being ape like creatures to ones that can write eloquent poetry? In other words, how did the human mind evolve to think beyond its immediate surroundings?

Science has proven that our closest relative is the chimpanzee. We share 98% of our genomes with them, yet we have little in common. That 2% difference seems to be a pretty big deal.

Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart, Pratchett’s co-authors, walk the readers through the evolution of the human brain. It’s a rather convoluted story, one with gaps and seemingly full of conjectures* (*This is what one scientist thinks when another disagrees) . The biggest mystery and subject of debate is how over time we acquired a large brain, and how that brain developed the capacity to think beyond instinct. We know from the fossil records that 8 millions years ago the ancestors of humans and chimps parted, and since then the human brain has tripled in size. What we don’t know is why.

In two recent studies, researchers from Duke University suggest the human brain boost may have been powered by a metabolic shift that meant more fuel for brains, and less fuel for muscles.

Two researchers from the UK noted “the human brain uses more energy, pound for pound, than any other tissue. Yet our body burns the same number of calories as other primates our size”. They think we may have diverted our energy to the brain, allowing it to develop. This may also be the reason why our muscle mass differs from apes and chimps; what we gained in brain mass we lost in muscle mass.

Yet another theory, the Aquatic Ape theory, suggests at some point millions of years ago our ancestors moved from the Savannahs and back into the water. While most scientists balk at this suggestion it does answer some questions on why we look much different from our ape cousins. The theory suggests that a diet rich in seafood would account for brain development. If you would like to read a truly wonderful article on this subject I highly recommend reading Martin Clemens, “Aquatic Ape theory: An argument for our water origins.

Yet none of these theories explain how we developed into the philosophical apes we are today. As Cohen and Stewart explain, it’s not the big brain that counts; it’s what we do with it. They map out what they think is important to human evolution: the idea that by becoming storytellers we gained language and culture.

It is a large map, one too big to fully flesh out here, but the idea goes something like this: Our early ancestors learned to play the “What if game”.

Imagine one of our ancestors out in the Savanna plains, just chilling and taking in the breeze when he or she, notices a lion in the grass to the right, and possibly one to the front. Instead of acting on instinct or freezing in place, our ancestor thinks, “What if?”. What if I slowly back up towards that tree?” What if one runs out before the other, could I make it to the tree?” A story of what if starts to play out in our ancestor’s mind, and from that an idea of escape begins to form. Now let’s say he does escape and goes back to his clan and tells the story of how he escaped. His experience is shared with others. This is the beginning of what Cohen and Stewart call “extelligence”. The idea that shared knowledge benefits a clan as a whole and allows for group survival. As early humans began to share more and more information or stories, the more structured their world became. Structure led to stability and stability led to civilizations. This makes sense, yet I found myself asking a question: What allowed for the development of the what if game, and how did our earliest ancestors share this knowledge? Here is where some of my own conjecture comes in, so take it for what it’s worth.

“To sleep, perchance to dream” Hamlet

We know animals learn and share their experiences. Parents pass down survival methods to their young and we see group think in many species. Yet without the ability to communicate we cannot be sure if this is intentional or instinct. And even if it is intentional, we are the only animal to find creative ways to express our ideas and share them with our clan. What was the catalyst for our development of language and art?

Anthropologist Kate Glaskin, in her article, “Dreams, memory, and the ancestors: Creativity, culture, and the science of sleep” reminds us that “Ethnography from Aboriginal Australia attests to the significance of dreams in the creation of new songs, designs, and ceremonies”. We know this from drawings, and oral traditions that talk of how early Aboriginals shared knowledge gained through dreams. Other early cultures such as the Native Americans did the same. Before written language and possibly before fully developed language, dreams played an important role in the development of early culture. Glaskin notes, “Advances made in neuroscience mean that, increasingly, scientists are able to map neural activity occurring in different sleep phases. Can this capability help us to understand the emergence of creativity, such as that which appears to have its origins in dreams?”

If it is true that creativity emerged from dreams, couldn’t it also be true that storytelling, a form of creativity, also emerged from dreams? Perhaps early man learned to play the what if game because he may be the only animal to have complex dreams? Let’s play the game.

What if our early ancestors found themselves dreaming of past events, only in the dream the outcome was different. And, what if they used these same dreams as learning tools? Early man may not have just learn to be creative on cave walls and in song from dreams, he may have used dreams as a way of learning to think beyond the immediate and start asking himself and his clan, “What if”? If these dreams became oral teachings then we would have our first storytellers and shared emerging extelligence.

I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream—past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Bottom, Midsummer’s Night Dream

Clemens, Martin. Aquatic Ape theory: An argument for our water origins. Mysterious Universe. org

Glaskin, Kate. Dreams, memory, and the ancestors: Creativity, culture, and the science of sleep. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute JSTOR.com

Scientific American. How did human brains get to be so big? Scientific American.com

Tag: Philosophy

Sunday Rant Let’s talk about the social contract

The What if game: how humans evolved from apes to Shakespeare

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