mediocrities
Since we need the truth to survive, and the elite are not a serious factor in truth production, it would appear that the only option is to assume that the socially perceived mediocrities must be the source of those needed truth-producers. How does this occur?
As previously determined, all living humans are of equally unknown evolutionary value. But they are not equivalent and it is precisely their non-equivalence that is their evolutionary value, since that non-equivalence is the raw material out of which future survival capabilities can be fashioned. That is, that non-equivalence is the source of variety of insights, which is the source of new truths. The key point here being that a priori, there is no sure method of assessing evolutionary value. The only way an evolutionary value can be assessed is by its manifestation. Incidentally, since we are restricting our interest to insights (that is, to variety in thinking) another term for the manifestation of one’s evolutionary value is self-realization.
Of course, the social dynamics in the real world never produce such a conclusion since it is vital for cultural replication and, therefore, confirmation of elite status that the conventional wisdom be the constraining factor on the determination of an individual’s value. That is, it is assumed that reliance on the conventional wisdom is revelatory of human and, therefore, evolutionary value. But we know this cannot be true since that information can only be available through its actual manifestation. From the explanation provided under the section on culture we are aware of the techniques the elite will use to establish this bogus assumption and the intuitive mechanisms in human mentalities that allow that bogus assumption to be successfully propagated – that is, that the label “mediocrity” is actually indicative of human value.
But that label can define a “reality” only if you can be bamboozled into believing the label applies to you through being conditioned into the denial of the value of your own uniqueness. In that case, you are a mediocrity according to the definition, since you have foreclosed the possibility that your uniqueness has any potential for improving the human condition. In addition, if you have accepted the appropriateness of the designation for yourself, you will also assume the term accurately portrays the value of others so designated, which further entrenches the power of the defective conventional wisdom.
Therefore, real mediocrities exist, but they are not a fact of nature, but rather the creation of social engineering. The greatest human tragedy is the successful creation of such self-defined mediocrities. At a personal level, what has been done is to alienate a human being from the quintessential human attribute – the ability to think. But among the socially-perceived mediocrities, there is also a small minority that has not been bamboozled in the denial of the value of their uniqueness. How does it happen that some are immune to the manipulations of the conventional wisdom?
As a consequence of random evolutionary processes, some people will have an intuitive understanding of their need for self-realization, just as some people have an intuitive understanding of mathematics. That is, they grasp that the quintessential human quality is the ability to think, and the expression of their thinking uniqueness is what gives their existence meaning. As an example of this type of person, let’s consider Copernicus.
The heliocentric version of the heavens was actually first proposed by Aristarchus a couple of centuries before the Common Era. However, it did not “have legs” since at that time there was no knowledge of how to transform that insight into a truth and it contradicted the era’s conventional wisdom that all the processes of nature were focused on the human condition. That being the case, it was reasonable to assume that the earth – the dwelling place of humans – was the focus or center of the cosmos. But things had changed by the 15th century. Most importantly, the knowledge base had changed which necessitated a radical increase in the complexity of the mathematics that supported the geocentric assumption. The justification of Copernicus’ insight rested on one issue. The heliocentric assumption simplified the mathematics but still accommodated the objectified information. Copernicus retained circular orbits and the need for epicycles. But despite those retained errors, that changed assumption eventually unlocked a cascade of new truths about the nature of things. Whereas the geocentric assumption was a dead-end. That is, while it also accommodated all of the objectified information, there were no new truths that evolved out of that assumption.
It is apparent that Copernicus had to have had a mentality that was radically different from the mentality of those who were wedded to reliance on the conventional wisdom. He certainly had to be aware that his proposal would entail some risk for himself personally. But never the less, he was intuitively driven to a single-minded pursuit of his own self-realization. Moreover, this has been the mentality of everyone who has here-to-fore advanced the human understanding on the nature of things.
Incidentally, we have previously argued against the reliance on intuition so why should we trust intuition in this case? Well, we aren’t trusting the intuition, but rather the insight the intuition produced - that variety of insights is of evolutionary value.
But we need not reply on intuition, nor should we. Since the expansion of the number of insights is critical for human survival, we should do everything possible to secure that expansion even among those without an intuitive grasp of the issue. This can be achieved by a changed mentality. Improving the prospects for potential truth-producers rests on a single condition. That condition is the manifestation of the uniqueness with which evolution has endowed each individual and that mentality can be nurtured through the evolutionary definition of education.
Of course, the vast majority of insights will be valueless in that they will not pass muster under our truth-producing methodology but we will never know precisely which ones since it is impossible to know the value of any insight at any point in time. That is, unique insights can only be evaluated in terms of the current knowledge base and perceived social requirements. But knowledge bases and social requirements change over time, so there no way of knowing what the value of a unique insight might be in such future conditions.
The designations of elites and mediocrities are social perceptions. But we know that social perceptions are constrained by cultural values and cultural values only provide information on someone’s value as a cultural “replicator”. And, as previously determined, mere cultural replication is of unknown value in enhancing the long-term success and survival of the human species. We also know that “intuitive responses”, while appropriate for the “hunter gatherer” environment are of little value for the “truth-producing” environment, which is now an evolutionary requirement. That being the case, the long-term success and survivability of the human species would seem to lay in providing the maximum opportunity for each individual to manifest that special uniqueness with which evolution has endowed them. In other words, the self-realization of each person is the fundamental evolutionary value for the human species. Of course, self-realization itself is constrained by the requirements of the evolutionary definition of human decency.
Second-rate human beings are those who have never discovered their evolutionary uniqueness. Therefore, their estimation of their self worth is entirely dependent on the judgments of others, from which they can achieve the social designation as being first-raters. But this is an illusion. They are decidedly second-raters and it is the pursuit of wealth and celebrity as their primary motivation that makes them so.
First-rate human beings are those who enhance the prospects for the long-term survival of the human species. We know that the mentality sustaining the elite excludes them from that designation. But the mentality available to the mediocrities, whether intuitively grasped or attained through education, can produce the environment of the mind that has the potential for producing such first-raters.
The prospects for the long-term survival and success of the human species are critically dependent on its socially perceived mediocrities.
- Home
- Introduction
- Part 1
- Truth
- Insights
- The Human Condition
- Education
- Human Decency
- Enlightenment
- Part 2
- Culture Demystified
- The Elite
- Mediocrities
- Self-regard
- Self and Society
- Part 3
- Morals, Ethics, and Virtue
- The Concept of Evil is a Bad Idea
- Religion
- Patriotism
- Freedom
- Market Capitalism
- Wealth Distribution