August 26, 2013 Are we one or many? Scientific research seems, to the layman, uncertain. On the one hand, there is the ‘man’ sometimes labelled ‘Home Economicus’ – an essentially selfish being, capable of training in cooperative social norms by the use of appropriate incentives. Then there is what is sometimes called ‘Homo Sociologicus,’ defined in one study as “individuals [who] internalize values that induce compliance with social norms even when self-interest might dictate otherwise.” On yet a third hand is the conception of human nature as essentially cooperative, relying on studies of genetics as well as behavior to suggest that (contra Hobbes) modern economic behavior, competition and violence, are more akin to mental illnesses than to our natural state of being. One might suspect there is a little truth in all of these things; that humans are multi-faceted, “layered” beings, in whom the elements of sociality and individuality are interlaced, potentially competitive and potentially complementary characteristics; that we are both many and one. If that suspicion is true, then perhaps our primary concern ought to be not so much with to which of these traits we are predisposed by nature, but which of them we will choose to emphasize in our lives and why. I am reminded of the story of the old Cherokee grandfather explaining to his grandson that there are two wolves inside him, one greedy, selfish and malevolent, and the other loving, kind and compassionate, and they these two are engaged in an epic battle. “Which will win,” the boy asks. “The one you feed,” answers the old man. We’ve quoted a few times the story referenced in Chris Salewicz’s biography of Joe Strummer, in which the old punk’s widow relates that Joe believed intensely in the basic goodness of every person. Did he need to believe that? Did genetics force that, or life impose it? It sure doesn’t seem so. Family and economic stresses, personal issues with anger and pride, his brother’s suicide and other sources of darkness or sorrow affected Strummer’s life at least as much as they do anybody’s. Yet, he seems through that to have retained his capacities for hope and compassion. For the most part, his music and efforts in life are laced with optimistic expressions and undertones, with continuing desires to do good and to do it better. A little serious reflection on our own lives and those of others seems to teach us that, whatever our genes and environments might do to us, whatever opportunities they offer and limits they impose, within that range we can choose, at the very least, between such attitudes as cooperation and competition, to be defined by compassion and concern or self-protective self-interest. It seems to be these choices that make us who and what we are, and determine how we will be known and remembered. For our part, we at Strummerfest encourage all to choose compassion and cooperation over competition, to choose hope over despair, to choose life and positivity over anything that might describe their opposites.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 11:42:45 +0000
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