Right after reading the forgotten map by Manfred Max-Neef, I really needed some time jus to sit back and think about what he was trying to say. It is indeed very thought provoking. It gives a key or guide to answering the few main questions of Life and our existence on this planet, which every man has come up against, some ignore while others try to seek out the information or may I say knowledge. Manfred takes us through a small journey back in time where we discuss meanings related to terms “Decision”, “Direction” and “Reason”. Manfred even counters the same will of a man’s journey towards knowledge, in this case, our existence, and shows us that there are some things more important than knowledge if we want to realize the truth.
Manfred first discusses how we got here. “Here” in terms of Time. How important was the journey here? Well, after I had a read through, I’ll say It is as important and précis as it gets. In a nutshell, An action, statement or say even a word could have changed you, your beliefs and also your very existence. One tiny little change in the past would make hell of a difference in our time. Therefore a small change you make now makes a huge change in the future. As Spanish Philosopher José Ortega y Gasset had said “I am myself and my circumstance.”
12th century, Italy, Giovanni Bernardone or shall I say Francis of Assisi referred to a world full of love and relation within every being. Man would have had feelings for all that is there around us. But a little later in Italy, Machiavelli’s stated “It is much safer to be feared than to be loved” . He had made a statement sharing his views. But he had actually created a new world, a new direction. The gravity of the situation makes a huge impact when we think of it now. The reason? Well we chose to follow Machiavelli and thus came up with concepts for our social, political and economical concerns.
Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola faced this world, but wanted to attain spiritual renovation and believed it could reconcile humanity. Did he set a new path? Not really. Francis Bacon suggested we explore nature. The more we unravel about the nature the more we unravel about ourselves. Now the people chose to believe this, and from then on research and knowledge was everything needed to know. But Giordano Bruno in 1600 AD believed that Earth and everything in it had life, that earth had a soul. Was it going to make a change?
There was change, but it was towards the path lead by René Descartes who had said “What I see through my window are hats and coats covering automatic machines.” as a result we have witnessed the triumph of mechanism and reductionism. From then on scientists, mathematicians, physicists and inventors were on the high. The Earth became a playground for science. Man was overcome by the wonderful feeling when he had discovered something new. Man started reasoning more, knowledge was power, science was the beginning and the end.
But Goethe, known more for his literary works than his successful pursuits in the field of science felt upset with the limitations of the Newtonian physics. For Goethe, “science is as much an inner path of spiritual development as it is a discipline aimed at accumulating knowledge of the physical world. It involves not only a rigorous training of our faculties of observation and thinking, but also of other human faculties which can attune us to the spiritual dimension that underlies and interpenetrates the physical: faculties such as feeling, imagination and intuition.” Science, as Goethe conceived and practiced it, has as its highest goal the arousal of the feeling of wonder through contemplative looking, in which the scientist would come to see God in Nature and Nature in God.
Now I could say that the path which we have chosen compared to the path shown by Bernardone, Francesco Pico, Giordano Bruno and Goethe, They are two different worlds. How vast the difference would have been.
But take the world we live in. We have reached science’s limitations almost. We have concepts to economize our lives. Systems to maintain balance. But are we successful entirely? Manfred points out that man is still missing something. He feels poor, and what Manfred is trying to implicate is that man lacks spiritual power. He compares the situation to love. We can have numerous studies on love from many perspectives. But scientifically we only attain knowledge, but not understanding. We have to experience love to understand it. Thus Manfred points out that the completeness of our being might rely on the relation between science and spiritualism. Science makes man think, gives him a medium to explore. Man might have just not explored spirituality yet. Now even thought man had a balanced approach towards this point there is still poverty, war and many other hazards. What if another path had actually found ways of bringing truth and peace through understanding.
That is what Manfred makes us realize. Our pursuit of knowledge has postponed our navigation towards understanding. Maybe the inner peace that Goethe is talking about might actually help in solving the confusions through attaining understanding of everything around us. He also proposes an idea to change the language. What if man realized the miracle of life, his perceptions would change drastically. This change could make a beginning, A new path.
Showing posts with label The Forgotten Map. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Forgotten Map. Show all posts
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
THE FORGOTTEN MAP
The decisions humanity has taken in the past have led us to believe we are in a state of global crisis. Perhaps we made erroneous choices. Or perhaps it is simply easier to consider a situation that could have been better had we chosen what we hadn’t chosen. A classic case of the grass being greener on the other side or does our present scenario truly warrant an alternative approach? Maybe it is time to navigate the other routes, the ones we discarded in favour of our current path of reductionist science and neo-liberal globalization.
“I am myself and my circumstance”, pointed out the great Spanish philosopher Jose` Ortega Y Gasset. The decision I take implies all the decisions I did not take. The route I choose is part of all the routes I did not choose. Life presents itself as an unending sequence of bifurcations. A few minutes earlier or later or a few meters away in any direction might well have determined a different bifurcation and hence, a completely different life. What holds for individual lives holds for communities and whole societies as well. People in the west are what they are but they could have just as well been what they are not. It becomes vital to reassess the decisive bifurcations…
Sometime during the 12th century in Italy, a young man named Giovanni Bernardone decided to radically change his life. As a result of his transformations, we remember him today under a different name: Francis of Assisi. When he referred to the world, Francis spoke of brother Sun and sister Moon, of brother Wolf; and of water, fire, trees and people as close kin. The world he described and felt was a world where love was not only possible but made sense and had a universal meaning.
Sometime later, also in Italy, the resounding voice of the brilliant and astute Machiavelli could be heard, warning us that “it is much safer to be feared than to be loved”. He also described a world, but in addition, he created a world. Ironically, today the connotation of his name occurs in the same breath as that of politically crafty (marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith). Perhaps a far cry from the astuteness this philosopher once stood for. The world we have today is that propagated through the eyes of Machiavelli. Francis is the route we did not navigate. We chose Machiavelli and today our social, political and economic conceptions are constructed from the same source.
We have accepted, even embraced fear as a means to dominate and essentially, to survive. What other ratiocination can we attribute to the dictatorial behavior of so-called super powers of our time? While disguised attempts to eradicate world poverty are promulgated, the very same nations display ostentatious disparities between the rich and the poor. At just twenty-three years of age, Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola prepared himself for the public defence of 900 of his theses about the concord between the different religions and philosophies. Convinced that truths are multiple, and never just one, he longed for a spiritual renovation that could reconcile humanity. Years later, Francis Bacon, a fervent believer in absolute truth and n the possibilities of certainty, invited us to torture Nature so that through the delivery of her secrets we could extract the truth. Most significant of the many lesser travelled paths was Goethe’s; whose scientific contribution has been unjustly overshadowed because of his colossal achievements in literature and arts. For Goethe, “science is as much an inner path of spiritual discovery as it is a discipline aimed at accumulating knowledge of the physical world. For Galileo and Newton, Nature was mathematics. To them nothing that cannot be measure is important in science. Science is the supreme manifestation of reason and reason is the supreme attribute of the human being claimed both Newton and Galileo. Science as Goethe conceived and practiced it, has as its highest goal the arousal of the feeling of wonder through the contemplative looking, in which scientists would come to see God in Nature and Nature in God.
Two worlds once more. Another bifurcation. We are still under the spell of the overpowering luster of Galileo and Newton and have chosen not to navigate the route of Goethean science. Feeling, intuition, consciousness and spirituality have been banished from the realms of scientific understanding. The teaching of conventional economics, which, as incredible as it may sound, claims to be “value free”, is a conspicuous case in point. A discipline where mathematics has become an end in itself instead of a tool, and where only that which can be measured is important, has generated models and interpretations that are theoretically attractive but wholly divorced from reality. Spectacular successes have been attributed to the routes of Machiavelli, Bacon, Descartes, Galileo and Newton. Meanwhile Francis, Picot, Bruno and Goethe have been relegated to historical footnotes.
We have arrived at a point in our human evolution where we know a lot but understand very little. Our chosen navigation has been piloted by reason. We celebrate the apotheosis of reason, but in the midst of such a gala, we suddenly have the feeling that something is missing. Yes, we can achieve knowledge about almost anything we want. We can for instance, guided by our beloved scientific method, study everything there is, from theological, anthropological, sociological, psychological and even biochemical perspectives, about a human phenomenon called love. But once we achieve that complete knowledge, we will sooner or later discover that we will never discover love unless we fall in love. Eventually we will realize that we can understand that of which we become a part. Understanding is a result of integration while knowledge is an upshot of detachment.
In order to achieve completeness, it is essential to understand that the relation between science and spirituality is not through knowledge only. We therefore need to undertake, at last, the navigation we have long postponed. But in order to do so we must face the great challenge of a language shift. The first three centuries of the second millennium witnessed the dominance of a teological language; one that found its roots in finding a calling that was superior and beyond the needs of everyday life. This made possible the construction of magnificent cathedrals; after all they were constructing for eternity and time was not of essence. Gradually the shift in language toward one that was coherent with the historical challenge of the times was apparent. It is only in the twentieth century that the dominant language has become that of economics; a hard language that recognized economic domination as a means of survival. This language gave way for a more ‘developmental’ one, one that was visibly utopian, optimistic and happy. Promoting true development and overcoming world poverty were its taglines. True, the disparities in income strata’s are far more pronounced now than before… which brings us back to this moment in time where we must rest and reflect. Possibly by unearthing the forgotten map, we can pursue harmony between the many varied truths or maybe postpone our navigation of knowledge until we can truly understand the knowledge itself.
Or maybe, we need a brand new language that opens the door of understanding: not a language of power and domination, but a language that may emerge from the depth of our self discovery as an inseparable part of a whole that is the cradle of the miracle of life. If we manage to provoke such a shift, we may still experience the satisfaction of having brought about a new century worth living in.
“I am myself and my circumstance”, pointed out the great Spanish philosopher Jose` Ortega Y Gasset. The decision I take implies all the decisions I did not take. The route I choose is part of all the routes I did not choose. Life presents itself as an unending sequence of bifurcations. A few minutes earlier or later or a few meters away in any direction might well have determined a different bifurcation and hence, a completely different life. What holds for individual lives holds for communities and whole societies as well. People in the west are what they are but they could have just as well been what they are not. It becomes vital to reassess the decisive bifurcations…
Sometime during the 12th century in Italy, a young man named Giovanni Bernardone decided to radically change his life. As a result of his transformations, we remember him today under a different name: Francis of Assisi. When he referred to the world, Francis spoke of brother Sun and sister Moon, of brother Wolf; and of water, fire, trees and people as close kin. The world he described and felt was a world where love was not only possible but made sense and had a universal meaning.
Sometime later, also in Italy, the resounding voice of the brilliant and astute Machiavelli could be heard, warning us that “it is much safer to be feared than to be loved”. He also described a world, but in addition, he created a world. Ironically, today the connotation of his name occurs in the same breath as that of politically crafty (marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith). Perhaps a far cry from the astuteness this philosopher once stood for. The world we have today is that propagated through the eyes of Machiavelli. Francis is the route we did not navigate. We chose Machiavelli and today our social, political and economic conceptions are constructed from the same source.
We have accepted, even embraced fear as a means to dominate and essentially, to survive. What other ratiocination can we attribute to the dictatorial behavior of so-called super powers of our time? While disguised attempts to eradicate world poverty are promulgated, the very same nations display ostentatious disparities between the rich and the poor. At just twenty-three years of age, Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola prepared himself for the public defence of 900 of his theses about the concord between the different religions and philosophies. Convinced that truths are multiple, and never just one, he longed for a spiritual renovation that could reconcile humanity. Years later, Francis Bacon, a fervent believer in absolute truth and n the possibilities of certainty, invited us to torture Nature so that through the delivery of her secrets we could extract the truth. Most significant of the many lesser travelled paths was Goethe’s; whose scientific contribution has been unjustly overshadowed because of his colossal achievements in literature and arts. For Goethe, “science is as much an inner path of spiritual discovery as it is a discipline aimed at accumulating knowledge of the physical world. For Galileo and Newton, Nature was mathematics. To them nothing that cannot be measure is important in science. Science is the supreme manifestation of reason and reason is the supreme attribute of the human being claimed both Newton and Galileo. Science as Goethe conceived and practiced it, has as its highest goal the arousal of the feeling of wonder through the contemplative looking, in which scientists would come to see God in Nature and Nature in God.
Two worlds once more. Another bifurcation. We are still under the spell of the overpowering luster of Galileo and Newton and have chosen not to navigate the route of Goethean science. Feeling, intuition, consciousness and spirituality have been banished from the realms of scientific understanding. The teaching of conventional economics, which, as incredible as it may sound, claims to be “value free”, is a conspicuous case in point. A discipline where mathematics has become an end in itself instead of a tool, and where only that which can be measured is important, has generated models and interpretations that are theoretically attractive but wholly divorced from reality. Spectacular successes have been attributed to the routes of Machiavelli, Bacon, Descartes, Galileo and Newton. Meanwhile Francis, Picot, Bruno and Goethe have been relegated to historical footnotes.
We have arrived at a point in our human evolution where we know a lot but understand very little. Our chosen navigation has been piloted by reason. We celebrate the apotheosis of reason, but in the midst of such a gala, we suddenly have the feeling that something is missing. Yes, we can achieve knowledge about almost anything we want. We can for instance, guided by our beloved scientific method, study everything there is, from theological, anthropological, sociological, psychological and even biochemical perspectives, about a human phenomenon called love. But once we achieve that complete knowledge, we will sooner or later discover that we will never discover love unless we fall in love. Eventually we will realize that we can understand that of which we become a part. Understanding is a result of integration while knowledge is an upshot of detachment.
In order to achieve completeness, it is essential to understand that the relation between science and spirituality is not through knowledge only. We therefore need to undertake, at last, the navigation we have long postponed. But in order to do so we must face the great challenge of a language shift. The first three centuries of the second millennium witnessed the dominance of a teological language; one that found its roots in finding a calling that was superior and beyond the needs of everyday life. This made possible the construction of magnificent cathedrals; after all they were constructing for eternity and time was not of essence. Gradually the shift in language toward one that was coherent with the historical challenge of the times was apparent. It is only in the twentieth century that the dominant language has become that of economics; a hard language that recognized economic domination as a means of survival. This language gave way for a more ‘developmental’ one, one that was visibly utopian, optimistic and happy. Promoting true development and overcoming world poverty were its taglines. True, the disparities in income strata’s are far more pronounced now than before… which brings us back to this moment in time where we must rest and reflect. Possibly by unearthing the forgotten map, we can pursue harmony between the many varied truths or maybe postpone our navigation of knowledge until we can truly understand the knowledge itself.
Or maybe, we need a brand new language that opens the door of understanding: not a language of power and domination, but a language that may emerge from the depth of our self discovery as an inseparable part of a whole that is the cradle of the miracle of life. If we manage to provoke such a shift, we may still experience the satisfaction of having brought about a new century worth living in.
The Forgotten Map,
The Forgotten Map,
Every people on earth have their different way of leading there lives. Life usually deals with two things one is the reality and other possibility. Starting from the Iron Age man’s life has changed till now and that also drastically. The destination that we have reached today is a result of the decisions we have made in the past or the choices that we have made till now. Every point of time we have to take some choice or decisions to move ahead, the choice can lead good or bad for you but the point is that you have to take it.
The document actually says man have tried so much to gain knowledge for centuries and has amassed great deals of it. But the question that needs to be asked us here whether we have acquired the understanding to integrate all that we know to good application. We won’t be able to understand until and unless we experience it.
The Forgotten Map
“I am myself and my circumstances”
-José Ortega y Gasset
The present in which one stands is determined by some of the various decisions and routes one has taken in the past. Different situation ends with different results and this also affects the present stature in the person. These decisions not only stand for an individual but also for the communities and the overall society.
Considering the Judaeo-Christian or the so called Western civilisation has also undergone these decisions or ‘The Bifurcation’.
The world is a place where love was not only possible but made sense and had a universal meaning. This was said by Francis of Assisi formerly known as Giovanni Bernardone. But the world we have today is not that of Francis but of Machiavelli who believed that it is much safer to be feared than to be loved. This was during some time in the 12th century.
‘Truths are multiple and never just one.’ This was said by Giovanni Francesco Pico Della Mirandolla in the year 1497 when he refused to be enclosed with in one doctrine. But again this route was not navigated because a few years later Francis Bacon, a fervent believer in absolute truth and possibilities of certainty invited us to torture nature so that through the delivery of the secrets we could extract the truth.
In the year 1600 Giordano Bruno believed that everything has a life and has a soul. Everything for him was a manifestation of life. ‘What I see through the window are hats and coats covering automatic machines.’ This was whispered by René Descartes in his Metaphysical Reflection. The later took the upper hand and we have seen the triumph of mechanism and reductionism.
Science is the supreme manifestation of reason and reason is the supreme attribute of the human being. This was observed by Galileo and Newton for whom the language of nature was mathematics. They believed that We and the Nature are two separate entities where the former is the ‘observer’ and the later is the ‘observed’.
Science as Goethe conceived is in which the scientist would come to see God in Nature and Nature in God. He believed that science also helps to attain spiritual knowledge through proper training of observation, thinking, feeling, imagination & intuition.
That’s the way it is. The route which has been navigated has achieved spectacular success and achievements whereas the other route has remained as historical footnotes remembered by bookworms. The routes of the Newton, Galileo, Descartes, Bacon & Machiavelli has been highly used by Universities compared to the routes of Geothe, Bruno, Picot & Francis.
Mathematics instead of being a tool became and end where importance was given to things only which can be measured and be made to models to be interpreted that are divorced from reality but are theoretically very attractive.
This sudden change of the world into a world of confusion and a world of disenchantment where progress became paradoxical and absurd and we had to run into something as virtual reality to seek refuge. These are the reasons for the schizophrenia, depression and narcissism which have now become the mirror of the existential reality.
We are celebrating the glorification of reason but suddenly we have the feeling that something is missing. Our route has been guided by reason which has been a very successful one but the fact remains that we know a lot but understand very little.
Understanding is holistic whereas knowledge is fragmented.
Understanding is the result of integration whereas knowledge is the result of detachment.
Knowledge is not only the road to understanding rather it requires a different navigation on the whole.
A human phenomenon such as LOVE, we can study all the various aspect of it such as philosophical, sociological and even biochemical prospective. The result- we would know everything about love but we would eventually discover that we will not be able to understand it until and unless we fall in love.
So now we are becoming aware that knowledge itself is not enough but we have to learn how to attain understanding in order to achieve the completeness of our being and science.
Knowledge without understanding is HOLLOW, and understanding without knowledge is incomplete.
Language influences our perceptions and hence shapes our reason. Different ages of generation or themes has its own language
The dominant language of the first three centuries of the 2nd millennium was of teleological nature, where the actions by humans were related to a calling that was superior beyond the needs of everyday life. The construction made in this phase was enormous and time was never a concern because it was being built for eternity and eternity is timelessness.
The important lay in the deed and not in the time it might take.
The dominant language of the 19th century was marked by an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts of the historical challenge of the times.
Economics became the dominant language of the 20th century. In the late twenties and the early thirties the result of many crises was a language which had the capacity of interpreting the crisis as well as overcoming it known as the Keynesian language. During the fifties and sixties the economist felt that they had found a way to overcome world poverty and promote true development. There was a positive change of many things in this period.
The last three decades of the 2oth century, the neo liberal discourse, has been a brutal one. It dramatically increased global poverty, many national economics have been crippled by the burden of debt with a brutal over-exploitation of both people and natural resources which leads to the destruction of ecosystem and alarming levels of biodiversity.
We tend to comfort ourselves being the members of the successful culture. But the truth lies that no matter how much we convince ourselves with concept of success we still are incomplete beings, materially overdeveloped and spiritually poor. And this poverty is responsible for the uneasiness and anxieties of the world today.
Thus the time has come for us to search for that undiscovered route that we did not navigate to help us to rescue from our existential confusion. We now have the opportunity to study the hazards and success, the tragedies and the glories of the already navigated route to unearth the alternative map for navigation.
And as a consequence we may be able to
Perhaps see everyone as brothers and sisters.
Perhaps to believe the harmony of many truths.
Perhaps to believe that Earth has a SOUL and everything has a life.
Perhaps to realise the value of intuition, spirituality and consciousness.
Or in Geothe’s words “if we seek comfort in the whole, we must learn to discover the whole in the smallest part.”
Our quest for knowledge has delayed our navigation towards understanding.
Thus to avoid the increasing distortion of reality and contributing to our confusion and to the falsification of knowledge and to avoid the spell of neo-liberal discourse one such navigation towards understanding is the call of today.
So there is a need for a new language that opens our vision towards understanding rather than power and domination. It would emerge from the depths of the self discovery as an inseparable part of the whole that is the cradle of miracle of life.
Thus the path which has not been taken or being avoided by choosing the already navigated or the successful path has to be unravelled so as to help us realise the essence of the knowledge and understanding as a whole.
The time has come to avert the various issues of global crisis and to find an alternative route from the past than the current path of reductionist science and neo liberal globalisation.
This change in language will give us a satisfaction of having bought about a new century worth living.
Thus the historical footnotes will bring about a renaissance to the modern day theory of comfort and educate us about the other aspect of life which is yet to be discovered and lived.
Biswa Bikash Singh
Product Design, PGDPD, 1st Sem
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Forgotten Map
Our life is the result of all the decision taken by us at that precise moment of time, at a given place in that given situation. These decisions have a decisive effect on the rest of our life. As a result of our decision and acts whole community and whose society is affected.
There are many people who decided to radically change their life like Francis of Assisi (Giovanni Francesco Pico Della Mirandola) who prepared himself for public defence of his 900 theses. He refused himself to enclose himself within narrowness of just one doctrine. He spoke about brother sun and sister moon.
Even Machiavelli who warned us that it’s much safer to be feared than to be loved.
Even Giordano Brono who was burned at the stake, victim of his pantheism, as he believed that earth is life and has a soul.
Science is through reasoning and human’s attribute is to reason. Nothing that cannot be measured was important in the science according to Galileo and Newton.
Science is not only the accumulation of knowledge of physical world but also an inner path of spiritual development.
We have chosen a path of Galileo and Newton and not navigated through route of Goethean science. Feeling, invitation, consciousness and spirituality are still banished from realm of science. We are totally divorced from reality as we think that only what can be measured is important.
We follow the route that is there in front of us, which is been followed by others from past many years. We don’t look around and thus only bookworms remember the path not navigated.
As we seek refuge in a technology that offers in an escape into virtual realities, we find ourselves in world of confusion.
KNOWLEDGE IS INFORMATION. The understanding of the knowledge is lacked by most of us. Understanding is basically the experience we get of the knowledge we have example love. We define love in many ways if asked by some one but unless and until we experience it. We cannot tell that we understand it. This is basic different between knowledge and understanding.
Thus those of us who are concerned with relation between science and spirituality are finally becoming aware that knowledge is not enough and we have to attain understanding in order to achieve completeness.
The language influences our perceptions and hence shapes our action. Eg. In 1st 3 centuries of 2nd millennium, the dominant language was teleological nature, in 19th century it was consolidation of nature-state. In 20th century economics great depression with emergence of Keynesian economics, developmental language and finally neo-liberal disclosure in which global poverty has increased dramatically.
The decision humanity has taken in past have led us to a place of global crisis.
Now finally the time has arrived in which we should analyse with honesty, our navigation map and see the alternative map route on which we haven’t navigated. Perhaps we should start thinking the way round. We need new language and we should open doors of understanding. If we manage the shift, we may experience the satisfaction of having brought about a new century worth living in.
Malav Sanghvi
3rd Semester
Product Design
There are many people who decided to radically change their life like Francis of Assisi (Giovanni Francesco Pico Della Mirandola) who prepared himself for public defence of his 900 theses. He refused himself to enclose himself within narrowness of just one doctrine. He spoke about brother sun and sister moon.
Even Machiavelli who warned us that it’s much safer to be feared than to be loved.
Even Giordano Brono who was burned at the stake, victim of his pantheism, as he believed that earth is life and has a soul.
Science is through reasoning and human’s attribute is to reason. Nothing that cannot be measured was important in the science according to Galileo and Newton.
Science is not only the accumulation of knowledge of physical world but also an inner path of spiritual development.
We have chosen a path of Galileo and Newton and not navigated through route of Goethean science. Feeling, invitation, consciousness and spirituality are still banished from realm of science. We are totally divorced from reality as we think that only what can be measured is important.
We follow the route that is there in front of us, which is been followed by others from past many years. We don’t look around and thus only bookworms remember the path not navigated.
As we seek refuge in a technology that offers in an escape into virtual realities, we find ourselves in world of confusion.
KNOWLEDGE IS INFORMATION. The understanding of the knowledge is lacked by most of us. Understanding is basically the experience we get of the knowledge we have example love. We define love in many ways if asked by some one but unless and until we experience it. We cannot tell that we understand it. This is basic different between knowledge and understanding.
Thus those of us who are concerned with relation between science and spirituality are finally becoming aware that knowledge is not enough and we have to attain understanding in order to achieve completeness.
The language influences our perceptions and hence shapes our action. Eg. In 1st 3 centuries of 2nd millennium, the dominant language was teleological nature, in 19th century it was consolidation of nature-state. In 20th century economics great depression with emergence of Keynesian economics, developmental language and finally neo-liberal disclosure in which global poverty has increased dramatically.
The decision humanity has taken in past have led us to a place of global crisis.
Now finally the time has arrived in which we should analyse with honesty, our navigation map and see the alternative map route on which we haven’t navigated. Perhaps we should start thinking the way round. We need new language and we should open doors of understanding. If we manage the shift, we may experience the satisfaction of having brought about a new century worth living in.
Malav Sanghvi
3rd Semester
Product Design
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The Forgotten Map
Right after reading the forgotten map by Manfred Max-Neef, I really needed some time jus to sit back and think about what he was trying to say. It is indeed very thought provoking. It gives a key or guide to answering the few main questions of Life and our existence on this planet, which every man has come up against, some ignore while others try to seek out the information or may I say knowledge. Manfred takes us through a small journey back in time where we discuss meanings related to terms “Decision”, “Direction” and “Reason”. Manfred even counters the same will of a man’s journey towards knowledge, in this case, our existence, and shows us that there are some things more important than knowledge if we want to realize the truth.
Manfred first discusses how we got here. “Here” in terms of Time. How important was the journey here? Well, after I had a read through, I’ll say It is as important and précis as it gets. In a nutshell, An action, statement or say even a word could have changed you, your beliefs and also your very existence. One tiny little change in the past would make hell of a difference in our time. Therefore a small change you make now makes a huge change in the future. As Spanish Philosopher José Ortega y Gasset had said “I am myself and my circumstance.”
12th century, Italy, Giovanni Bernardone or shall I say Francis of Assisi referred to a world full of love and relation within every being. Man would have had feelings for all that is there around us. But a little later in Italy, Machiavelli’s stated “It is much safer to be feared than to be loved” . He had made a statement sharing his views. But he had actually created a new world, a new direction. The gravity of the situation makes a huge impact when we think of it now. The reason? Well we chose to follow Machiavelli and thus came up with concepts for our social, political and economical concerns.
Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola faced this world, but wanted to attain spiritual renovation and believed it could reconcile humanity. Did he set a new path? Not really. Francis Bacon suggested we explore nature. The more we unravel about the nature the more we unravel about ourselves. Now the people chose to believe this, and from then on research and knowledge was everything needed to know. But Giordano Bruno in 1600 AD believed that Earth and everything in it had life, that earth had a soul. Was it going to make a change?
There was change, but it was towards the path lead by René Descartes who had said “What I see through my window are hats and coats covering automatic machines.” as a result we have witnessed the triumph of mechanism and reductionism. From then on scientists, mathematicians, physicists and inventors were on the high. The Earth became a playground for science. Man was overcome by the wonderful feeling when he had discovered something new. Man started reasoning more, knowledge was power, science was the beginning and the end.
But Goethe, known more for his literary works than his successful pursuits in the field of science felt upset with the limitations of the Newtonian physics. For Goethe, “science is as much an inner path of spiritual development as it is a discipline aimed at accumulating knowledge of the physical world. It involves not only a rigorous training of our faculties of observation and thinking, but also of other human faculties which can attune us to the spiritual dimension that underlies and interpenetrates the physical: faculties such as feeling, imagination and intuition.” Science, as Goethe conceived and practiced it, has as its highest goal the arousal of the feeling of wonder through contemplative looking, in which the scientist would come to see God in Nature and Nature in God.
Now I could say that the path which we have chosen compared to the path shown by Bernardone, Francesco Pico, Giordano Bruno and Goethe, They are two different worlds. How vast the difference would have been.
But take the world we live in. We have reached science’s limitations almost. We have concepts to economize our lives. Systems to maintain balance. But are we successful entirely? Manfred points out that man is still missing something. He feels poor, and what Manfred is trying to implicate is that man lacks spiritual power. He compares the situation to love. We can have numerous studies on love from many perspectives. But scientifically we only attain knowledge, but not understanding. We have to experience love to understand it. Thus Manfred points out that the completeness of our being might rely on the relation between science and spiritualism. Science makes man think, gives him a medium to explore. Man might have just not explored spirituality yet. Now even thought man had a balanced approach towards this point there is still poverty, war and many other hazards. What if another path had actually found ways of bringing truth and peace through understanding.
That is what Manfred makes us realize. Our pursuit of knowledge has postponed our navigation towards understanding. Maybe the inner peace that Goethe is talking about might actually help in solving the confusions through attaining understanding of everything around us. He also proposes an idea to change the language. What if man realized the miracle of life, his perceptions would change drastically. This change could make a beginning, A new path.
Manfred first discusses how we got here. “Here” in terms of Time. How important was the journey here? Well, after I had a read through, I’ll say It is as important and précis as it gets. In a nutshell, An action, statement or say even a word could have changed you, your beliefs and also your very existence. One tiny little change in the past would make hell of a difference in our time. Therefore a small change you make now makes a huge change in the future. As Spanish Philosopher José Ortega y Gasset had said “I am myself and my circumstance.”
12th century, Italy, Giovanni Bernardone or shall I say Francis of Assisi referred to a world full of love and relation within every being. Man would have had feelings for all that is there around us. But a little later in Italy, Machiavelli’s stated “It is much safer to be feared than to be loved” . He had made a statement sharing his views. But he had actually created a new world, a new direction. The gravity of the situation makes a huge impact when we think of it now. The reason? Well we chose to follow Machiavelli and thus came up with concepts for our social, political and economical concerns.
Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola faced this world, but wanted to attain spiritual renovation and believed it could reconcile humanity. Did he set a new path? Not really. Francis Bacon suggested we explore nature. The more we unravel about the nature the more we unravel about ourselves. Now the people chose to believe this, and from then on research and knowledge was everything needed to know. But Giordano Bruno in 1600 AD believed that Earth and everything in it had life, that earth had a soul. Was it going to make a change?
There was change, but it was towards the path lead by René Descartes who had said “What I see through my window are hats and coats covering automatic machines.” as a result we have witnessed the triumph of mechanism and reductionism. From then on scientists, mathematicians, physicists and inventors were on the high. The Earth became a playground for science. Man was overcome by the wonderful feeling when he had discovered something new. Man started reasoning more, knowledge was power, science was the beginning and the end.
But Goethe, known more for his literary works than his successful pursuits in the field of science felt upset with the limitations of the Newtonian physics. For Goethe, “science is as much an inner path of spiritual development as it is a discipline aimed at accumulating knowledge of the physical world. It involves not only a rigorous training of our faculties of observation and thinking, but also of other human faculties which can attune us to the spiritual dimension that underlies and interpenetrates the physical: faculties such as feeling, imagination and intuition.” Science, as Goethe conceived and practiced it, has as its highest goal the arousal of the feeling of wonder through contemplative looking, in which the scientist would come to see God in Nature and Nature in God.
Now I could say that the path which we have chosen compared to the path shown by Bernardone, Francesco Pico, Giordano Bruno and Goethe, They are two different worlds. How vast the difference would have been.
But take the world we live in. We have reached science’s limitations almost. We have concepts to economize our lives. Systems to maintain balance. But are we successful entirely? Manfred points out that man is still missing something. He feels poor, and what Manfred is trying to implicate is that man lacks spiritual power. He compares the situation to love. We can have numerous studies on love from many perspectives. But scientifically we only attain knowledge, but not understanding. We have to experience love to understand it. Thus Manfred points out that the completeness of our being might rely on the relation between science and spiritualism. Science makes man think, gives him a medium to explore. Man might have just not explored spirituality yet. Now even thought man had a balanced approach towards this point there is still poverty, war and many other hazards. What if another path had actually found ways of bringing truth and peace through understanding.
That is what Manfred makes us realize. Our pursuit of knowledge has postponed our navigation towards understanding. Maybe the inner peace that Goethe is talking about might actually help in solving the confusions through attaining understanding of everything around us. He also proposes an idea to change the language. What if man realized the miracle of life, his perceptions would change drastically. This change could make a beginning, A new path.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Recalling The Route; the forgotten map
The path that were defined earlier makes other to follow, preaches us guides us. So the decisions made are taken on the decision made earlier, which clearly implies that this is not the only path. Our community, society, civilization also get affected by this kind of bifurcations. May be this was one those paths which is not suppose to be taken. At a particular moment in once life when a given situation occurs may effect on rest of his life. Now what matters a person matters a whole group a society. As we know our so-called Judeo-Christian civilization is result of this bifurcation, it would have been something else.
Francis at Assisi related his surrounding and all worlds as a family, Machiavelli on the other hand not only described world but also created a world. Similarly we did not navigate the route of Bruno, which says everything is life. So clearly as I think, there was one side, which had feeling, imagination, intuition, and emotions art, and there was other side as, mathematics, practicality, economy reality…basically a side to choose between philosophical belies and scientific applications and implementations. The direct and indirect impact is what we see as in how the world has turned out to be.
Last but not the least, the author states that there is a vast difference between knowledge and understanding and that we must experience to understand whereas knowledge is detached. Understanding is the membrane that connects knowledge into something more organized I’d rather say something more complete and solid.
Maybe the time has come when we need to reflect n rethink not only on what we have done and the path we have taken but also all that we have missed out on,to amalgamate the both and complete our world.
So lets recall the forgotten map........
Francis at Assisi related his surrounding and all worlds as a family, Machiavelli on the other hand not only described world but also created a world. Similarly we did not navigate the route of Bruno, which says everything is life. So clearly as I think, there was one side, which had feeling, imagination, intuition, and emotions art, and there was other side as, mathematics, practicality, economy reality…basically a side to choose between philosophical belies and scientific applications and implementations. The direct and indirect impact is what we see as in how the world has turned out to be.
Last but not the least, the author states that there is a vast difference between knowledge and understanding and that we must experience to understand whereas knowledge is detached. Understanding is the membrane that connects knowledge into something more organized I’d rather say something more complete and solid.
Maybe the time has come when we need to reflect n rethink not only on what we have done and the path we have taken but also all that we have missed out on,to amalgamate the both and complete our world.
So lets recall the forgotten map........
Forgotten map
THE FORGOTTEN MAP
The route that are created earlier makes other to follow, so the decisions made are taken on the decision made earlier which may be the path which is not suppose to be taken. At a precise moment in once life when a given situation occurs may effect on rest of his life. Now what holds for an individual’s holds for communities and whole societies as well.
Our so-called judeao-christian civilisation is result of this bifurcation it say the west would have been something else if not what it is now. The changes that Giovanni bernardone (francis of assisi) took in his life when he referred to the world about describing the world where love was not only possible but made sense and had a universal meaning. Whereas Machiavelli describe it has it is much safer then to be in loved. So where we live today is the world of Machiavelli from which we have constructed social, political and economic conceptions.
With the routes of Descartes we witness the triumph of mechanism and reduction. So every route that we consider has impact on next route we select.
Considering Newton and Galileo for them mathematics was the way to express, whereas for Goethe literature and arts so his scientific contribution are overshadowed by Newton’s and Galileo. Economics is also overshadowed by mathematics .The navigated path gets successes while the route not navigated stays in book.
There are lot of things to study but we lack practically because there is difference between saying and understanding. We only understand the things of which we become part .so looking at different perspective and to learn in order to achieve completeness of our being.
The way country put there dominating language it becomes that of economics as there writing mainly promote true development and overcome poverty.
Finally no matter how far succeed we are incomplete and this gives poverty that makes us realize our existence in world. So we have opportunity to analyse the truth and navigate the map as any path we take there will be hazards and successes. But that will give world an option to decide their route on map. And there can be rescue solution to come out of confusion.
Every route that we take on map should be taken in consideration with respect to all aspect which will make a shift in world. And looking the world with wide understanding.
Tejesh Goregaonkar
(PGDPD)
The route that are created earlier makes other to follow, so the decisions made are taken on the decision made earlier which may be the path which is not suppose to be taken. At a precise moment in once life when a given situation occurs may effect on rest of his life. Now what holds for an individual’s holds for communities and whole societies as well.
Our so-called judeao-christian civilisation is result of this bifurcation it say the west would have been something else if not what it is now. The changes that Giovanni bernardone (francis of assisi) took in his life when he referred to the world about describing the world where love was not only possible but made sense and had a universal meaning. Whereas Machiavelli describe it has it is much safer then to be in loved. So where we live today is the world of Machiavelli from which we have constructed social, political and economic conceptions.
With the routes of Descartes we witness the triumph of mechanism and reduction. So every route that we consider has impact on next route we select.
Considering Newton and Galileo for them mathematics was the way to express, whereas for Goethe literature and arts so his scientific contribution are overshadowed by Newton’s and Galileo. Economics is also overshadowed by mathematics .The navigated path gets successes while the route not navigated stays in book.
There are lot of things to study but we lack practically because there is difference between saying and understanding. We only understand the things of which we become part .so looking at different perspective and to learn in order to achieve completeness of our being.
The way country put there dominating language it becomes that of economics as there writing mainly promote true development and overcome poverty.
Finally no matter how far succeed we are incomplete and this gives poverty that makes us realize our existence in world. So we have opportunity to analyse the truth and navigate the map as any path we take there will be hazards and successes. But that will give world an option to decide their route on map. And there can be rescue solution to come out of confusion.
Every route that we take on map should be taken in consideration with respect to all aspect which will make a shift in world. And looking the world with wide understanding.
Tejesh Goregaonkar
(PGDPD)
The Forbidden Map
“The century maybe dying but the hope of a better world is not.”
Max Neef has the remarkable ability of getting his readers to question their existence: ‘Why are we here?’, ‘Where are we now?’ and ‘Where do we go from here?’ trying to get them to navigate their correct path from knowledge to understanding.
WHY ARE WE HERE? Life is an unending sequence of bifurcations. The decision I make implies all the decisions I did not make.
We hardly ever hear history described as infallible these days. We are well aware by now that history makes mistakes, that is gets distracted, falls asleep and loses its way. The official history is a mutilated memory, a long ceremony of self praise of those who call the shots in this world. Their reflectors just illuminate the peaks but leave the base in the dark. We chose to live in fear in Machiavelli’s perception of the world rather than love in the world created by Francis of Assisi.
The civilization that confuses clock with time also confuses nature with postcard. We have exploited Nature and just dwelt on a single aspect of science. Science is not only physical but also involves spiritual maturity of faculties such as feeling, imagination and intuition.
Pico della Mirandola, Bruno, Francis, Goethe may have been invisible but the usual invisible beings form part of the scenery of history, like Bollywood extras. It is they, the actors in the real history, the denied, hidden protagonists of past and present reality, who embody the splendid fan of another possible reality.
We are so disillusioned in our present mundane world that the hope of a Utopian world does not astound us but we rather look at ways of escaping into a prison of only virtual realities.
WHERE ARE WE NOW? We have arrived at a point in our human evolution where we know a lot but understand very little.
The progress we have made in the last century has been remarkable, yet we function mainly as machines, trying to guzzle down as much knowledge as we can, thinking its going to fill the void we feel inside. Knowledge itself is not enough. We have to learn how to attain understanding in order to achieve the completeness of our being.
We have been enslaved by the rising economic liberalism and before we realize it, the shackles maybe too difficult to break.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? There is a tendency to perceive ourselves as members of a successful culture. However, the truth is that no matter how much we extend the concept of success, we are still incomplete beings, materially overdeveloped and spiritually impoverished.
If we are ever to feel complete again, maybe we should
‘ dive into the depths of time,
And bring from out the ages that have rolled
A few small fragments of those wrecks sublime
That human eyes may never more behold
And let the guerdon of my labour be: my complete self ’
And bring from out the ages that have rolled
A few small fragments of those wrecks sublime
That human eyes may never more behold
And let the guerdon of my labour be: my complete self ’
Maybe the miracle that we all have been waiting for is us; to open our eyes and take the road less traveled.
Mitsu Shah
the forgotten map
The forgotten map introduces a completely new ,or probably old but neglected approach to understand science . It compels us to look back to our past and rethink if decisions we took then is the reason for the global crisis we are facing today . It suggests an alternative route for a new language that opens the door of undersatnding .
We have constructed our social ,political and economic conceptions on the basis of science which believed that 'nothing that cannot be measured is important'.they never trusted Giordano Bruno's belief that 'the earth is life and has a soul' . Everything is a manifestation of life .
Maybe if we would'nt have discarded his ideas and navigated the materialistic route shown by Newton and Galileo,we would have learned to respect nature instead of torturing her in order to extract from her what we believe is the truth .
Gothe believed that science is not just the accumulation of knowledge of physical world but it is an inner path of spiritual developement and its goal is to arouse the feeling of wonder through contemlative looking and seeing gos in nature and nature in god .
Inspite of the fact that the route we chose had its own fascinating and spectacular achivements and there is much to be admired ,but we are actually accumulating virtual knowledge without understanding .
Knowledge and understanding are two separate things . Knowledge is the information as in definitions and formulas . We can achive knowledge of everything we want while Understanding
is the result of integration and can only be experienced or felt. like we can know as many definitions of love as is given by different people but we can understand it only when we fall in love and actually experience the feeling. Knowledge and understanding are two inseparable aspects and are incomplete without each other .
Although we are proud of our succesful culture but actually we are incomplete beings. Materially overdeveloped and spiritually poor.
Exploiting both people and natural resourses,destruction of the ecosystem and biodiversity ,and extreme poverty is not the sign of a succesful culture .
Its high time now to we need to realize and act. To analyze all the hazards and sucesses , tragedies and glories of the route we adopted in our past . Perhaps this will be helpful to imagine and believe that the earth has a soul and that everything is a life .
We need to adopt a new approach to life ,which is based on understanding and not merely knowledge . May be this new approach could give us the satisfaction of having brought about a new centuary worth living in .
.
We have constructed our social ,political and economic conceptions on the basis of science which believed that 'nothing that cannot be measured is important'.they never trusted Giordano Bruno's belief that 'the earth is life and has a soul' . Everything is a manifestation of life .
Maybe if we would'nt have discarded his ideas and navigated the materialistic route shown by Newton and Galileo,we would have learned to respect nature instead of torturing her in order to extract from her what we believe is the truth .
Gothe believed that science is not just the accumulation of knowledge of physical world but it is an inner path of spiritual developement and its goal is to arouse the feeling of wonder through contemlative looking and seeing gos in nature and nature in god .
Inspite of the fact that the route we chose had its own fascinating and spectacular achivements and there is much to be admired ,but we are actually accumulating virtual knowledge without understanding .
Knowledge and understanding are two separate things . Knowledge is the information as in definitions and formulas . We can achive knowledge of everything we want while Understanding
is the result of integration and can only be experienced or felt. like we can know as many definitions of love as is given by different people but we can understand it only when we fall in love and actually experience the feeling. Knowledge and understanding are two inseparable aspects and are incomplete without each other .
Although we are proud of our succesful culture but actually we are incomplete beings. Materially overdeveloped and spiritually poor.
Exploiting both people and natural resourses,destruction of the ecosystem and biodiversity ,and extreme poverty is not the sign of a succesful culture .
Its high time now to we need to realize and act. To analyze all the hazards and sucesses , tragedies and glories of the route we adopted in our past . Perhaps this will be helpful to imagine and believe that the earth has a soul and that everything is a life .
We need to adopt a new approach to life ,which is based on understanding and not merely knowledge . May be this new approach could give us the satisfaction of having brought about a new centuary worth living in .
.
The Forgotten Map
The author has put forward an interesting statement in the beginning itself. He talks about life being a result of bifurcations that are constantly being made. In a sense it is true. I mean, we are what we are because we chose to do something at a particular point and place in time. And that having done something else may have totally changed the course of our lives forever. I candidly must confess to not being an avid reader. I am not using it as a tool either for defending my ignorance of the existence even of most of the great men that have been mentioned in the extract provided. I first of all must apologise for this as I do realize these people have shaped history or have played a prominent role in it indirectly even if it may be so. For instance I particularly liked what the great Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset said about his perspective on life
"I am myself and my circumstance"
The author has clearly listed out a lot of bifurcations that our ancestors made that has led us to this point in life that the author describes to be that of utter chaos and confusion. Well I do agree with the author on many points but do feel that he has gone a little overboard with his emotions. With due respect, I do not think economics distorts reality totally to an extent that the author describes it to be. I feel it is economics on the other hand that has led to the development of science and technology by leaps and bounds for that matter of fact. It was man's realization for the development and implementation of economics in for example, manufacturing processes itself that sped up the industrial age. Before responsible economics was developed, manufacturing plants all across the globe were running on heavy losses until Fredrick Winslow Taylor, (though his ideas were not completely original) came up with the concept of Industrial Engineering. Industrial Engineering basically involves the optimization of processes in a manufacturing facility and that directly relates to economics. The revolution that took place after companies started incorporating the use of Industrial Engineering has been profound and undeniable. It has brought in a lot of revenue for the companies and understandably the revenue of a company is proportional to its investment in research and development. This is how science has taken those giant leaps and bounds in the last 30-40 years in my opinion. Well then again it's all a matter of perspective. Its ones temperament that has been developed over the years due to this surroundings, upbringing and so on that determines his/her perspective in the end. And every person may choose to have a different perspective on the subject. But I feel what the author is trying to communicate is in fact valid. I do to a certain extent feel that knowledge does not necessarily imply understanding. It is also true when he says that understanding is holistic and that knowledge is fragmented. But I do not feel knowledge is a result of detachment. I mean it is true that science leaves no room for conscience and spirituality and that everything in science is a result of thoughtful reasoning but that does not imply only understanding can solve a problem holistically. Understanding again is a result of perspective. It is a point of view that one has on a particular subject. Take for that matter, the extract where the author talks about science and its attempts to decipher the emotion called "love". Yes, science cannot provide a holistic answer or explanation to it, but can the author actually claim that understanding really explains love? Two people need not have fallen in love in similar situations. Doesn't that also mean that the understanding of love that each one of those people have about love may vary according to the situations that the person has been through and the temperament that the person is made of? Like I said, it again comes down to a matter of perspective. Understanding of a situation is subject to the perspective of a person.
I do not exactly agree with the author's claim of the different languages that apparently prevailed in different periods of time. This may tend to project my ignorance on a larger scale if I were to discuss what I actually feel about the topic, but I would rather not vouch for something that I am not sure of. Which is why I am not disagreeing with him aggressively. Spirituality is another topic the author talks about in his extract. I am truly not very religious but do not deny that spirituality is quintessential in this world. I do agree that if it weren't for that, the world would have ended long back. It is probably the fear of an entity we call God that probably stops a good number of us from committing a lot of sins every day. Did we choose a wrong path all along? I am not quite sure. I do agree detaching spirituality and conscience from science was the wrong path chosen for science, but I do not honestly feel that is the root result of what the world is right now. One instance where I felt that the concept of spirituality and science actually made sense is when I happened to read the book "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown where he has seamlessly integrated the story and concept of antimatter with the creation of the world itself. I mean many of us tend to reason things out. It may be as a result of science and the way science eventually functions. This is how we have been taught in classes since our young age. For example in a laboratory test for the cations and anions in a chemical mixture we tend to reason out the possibilities of the various chemicals present in that mixture by reasoning it out via certain tests. That is how we have been taught. I am not trying to be an atheist and that I am not. But how can be possibly incorporate spirituality in such a scenario where logical reasoning is the only way out? But I also agree there are many fields of science where spirituality could play a positive and responsible role like the rampant destruction of rain forests and ruthless slaughtering of the whales and so on.
Having said that I would like to conclude by saying that the extract provided was interesting and very thought provoking all though I would not exactly accept all of it written in it.
Reflections...
The forgotten map
It is all about the choices and decisions that we make. Life throws up a lot of problems and challenges. The way we tackle them depends on us. The decisions that we make have long standing implications….. Selecting a way also includes those ways that I refused to select. As to why I chose something that I chose is a question we all need to ask ourselves if we want the betterment of our lives and the others. Being at a particular place ,at a particular time might be a matter of chance but what we make of it is completely up to us.
The rules that hold good for an individual ,are true for a whole community or society as well. Every generation has its ups and downs. What we need to do at present ,is to sit back and analyze the decisions that were taken or the routes that were chosen by our fore fathers . Have they done us more harm than good? During the discussion ,when we were asked to name some events important to us as individuals or as community ,we more or less mentioned wars ,independence struggles or some kind of revolution. Another major thing for us is the industrial revolution and scientific and technological advances that have made our lives easier( have they really done so is something that we really need to think about). Somehow I feel that it has ended up in making our relatively simple lives complicated. It has caused an imbalance in nature where everything big or small has a role to play and still everything exists in perfect harmony and balance.
Man has been chasing after knowledge for centuries and has amassed great deals of it. But the question that needs to be asked us here whether have we acquired the understanding to integrate all that we know to good application. We cannot understand until we are a part of something or some experience. Understanding is a holistic view. We need to really delve in all kinds of aspects of a situation from materialistic to spiritual, from technological to natural ,if we want to bring ourselves out of the mess that we got ourselves into because of our pursuit of progress or evolution sans understanding and consideration.
We need to look at sustainability in all walks of life. We need a change in viewpoint. Because without it we will be ruining the lives of our generation and as well as that of the coming generations. We need to show the next generations that sustainability is the way of life if they want to improve this current scenario where there is of fragmented knowledge, distortion of realty and confusion in our priorities. It has been proved over time that sustainable development is the most effective form of development.
Devika Singh
Product design
Sem III
GDPD
It is all about the choices and decisions that we make. Life throws up a lot of problems and challenges. The way we tackle them depends on us. The decisions that we make have long standing implications….. Selecting a way also includes those ways that I refused to select. As to why I chose something that I chose is a question we all need to ask ourselves if we want the betterment of our lives and the others. Being at a particular place ,at a particular time might be a matter of chance but what we make of it is completely up to us.
The rules that hold good for an individual ,are true for a whole community or society as well. Every generation has its ups and downs. What we need to do at present ,is to sit back and analyze the decisions that were taken or the routes that were chosen by our fore fathers . Have they done us more harm than good? During the discussion ,when we were asked to name some events important to us as individuals or as community ,we more or less mentioned wars ,independence struggles or some kind of revolution. Another major thing for us is the industrial revolution and scientific and technological advances that have made our lives easier( have they really done so is something that we really need to think about). Somehow I feel that it has ended up in making our relatively simple lives complicated. It has caused an imbalance in nature where everything big or small has a role to play and still everything exists in perfect harmony and balance.
Man has been chasing after knowledge for centuries and has amassed great deals of it. But the question that needs to be asked us here whether have we acquired the understanding to integrate all that we know to good application. We cannot understand until we are a part of something or some experience. Understanding is a holistic view. We need to really delve in all kinds of aspects of a situation from materialistic to spiritual, from technological to natural ,if we want to bring ourselves out of the mess that we got ourselves into because of our pursuit of progress or evolution sans understanding and consideration.
We need to look at sustainability in all walks of life. We need a change in viewpoint. Because without it we will be ruining the lives of our generation and as well as that of the coming generations. We need to show the next generations that sustainability is the way of life if they want to improve this current scenario where there is of fragmented knowledge, distortion of realty and confusion in our priorities. It has been proved over time that sustainable development is the most effective form of development.
Devika Singh
Product design
Sem III
GDPD
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