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Friday 26 November 2021
THE TRANSACTIONAL SOCIETY
QUEST FOR MATURITY
I wrote this article more than 32 years back.In pre-internet days .It is seeing light of the day today.I hope it helps make some journeys worthwhile.
For this is the journey that men
make: to find themselves.
If they fail in this, it doesn’t
matter much what else they find.
-JAMES MICHENER “The Fires of Spring”.
The significance and indispensability of this
quest is undoubted. That man must live as a fully rational, independent and
progressive being is a self-evident axiom which can be achieved by reflecting
on the essence of man – to discover it and to act according to it. What then is
maturity? – It is REALIZATION OF A HUMAN BEING’S ESSENCE. The inevitable
question that arises is: what is the essence of a human being? What is it which
makes man a man? It consists of three basic principles: Reason-purpose-self-esteem.
“Reason” is man’s only tool of knowledge. “Purpose” is his choice
of the happiness which that tool must proceed to achieve. Self-esteem is
his inviolate certainty that his mind is competent to think and his person is
worthy of happiness. These three values imply and require all the man’s virtues
– RATIONALITY, which implies that the mind (reason) is one’s only judge of
values and one’s only guide of action; Independence – which is recognition of
the fact that yours is the responsibility of judgement; HONESTY – which implies
that one calls an A and A and never attempts to fake reality in any manner;
JUSTICE – is truth in action; it is the recognition of the fact that every man
must be judged for what he is and treated accordingly; PRODUCTIVENESS – is the
recognition that productive work is the process by which man’s mind sustains
his life; PRIDE – implies that as man must
produce the physical values he needs to sustain his life, so he must
acquire the values of character that makes his life worth sustaining (For a
detailed discussion see “Atlas Shrugged” and “The virtue of selfishness” by AYN
RAND)
In this quest, hereunder are a learner’s
suggestions which would hopefully be illustrative of what is required to be
mature: the foremost is a constantly enquiring and progress desiring mind.
Even when one is clear about the basic norms that must govern human life, one
must constantly apply them in newer situations, discover subtler nuances and
hidden dimensions – through questioning every significant fact/issue. Socrates
prescribed the same duty for himself – to, question the assumptions that
underlie one’s supposed knowledge – in his case, his fellow Athenians. Aldous
Huxley said it well that a majority of young people seem to develop mental
arteriosclerosis forty years before they get the physical kind. This is due
to lack of doubt, lack of the curious sense. Also it is not sufficient to
merely get the answer right; you must be qualified to make good the guarantees
you offer. Once reason’s supremacy is granted (and I can’t see how it can be
denied) the significance of CAUSAL ANALYSIS (This – therefore that) becomes
indisputable. Here one must be clear about two things – one, the reasoning
process is VALID and two, the premises are sufficient and requisite for the
conclusion.
Constant learning is
another beacon – reading, hearing, reflecting applying – that’s the way great
mind “become”. One must also give due consideration to what others
do/say/undergo – but all such information is subject to the test of a thorough
critical examination before it becomes knowledge. (Ultimately it is a question
not of personalities but of facts. We must learn that we can’t cheat. You can’t
lie to life. What WE haven’t learnt leaves a hole that nothing but learning can
fill and no amount of covering up can disguise. Facts become problems if
they aren’t faced) Even the unwise assertions help – one gets to know what
stupidity means! However one must learn from experiences only the wisdom
inherent or else, as Mark Twain said, you would be like the cat that sat down
on the hot stove – lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove lid again-but
neither will she on a cold one anymore! Mahomet puts it this way – “There
are two things which I abhor; the learned in his infidelities, and the fool in
his devotions.” Logical consequences, you see friends, are the scare crows
of fools and the beacons of wise man. To this end in particular one must
constantly educate oneself – It is not merely fact cramming. S.M.H. Burney
wrote once that “Education is not merely technical efficiency or provision for
avenue of promotion in society, but is a process which produces independent
minded citizens uncontaminated by narrowness of outlook.” Of course
knowledge is power – but only wisdom is liberty. Be sure in giving yourself an
education you would commit mistakes – acknowledge them and correct them. We do
not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err
because this is more comfortable. Next, truth must be really believed in
– it must become a matter of life and death. Your convictions must become your
life and vice-versa.” It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong as long
as you are merely using it to tie up a box. But suppose you had to hang by that
rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then discover how much you really trusted
it?” (C.S. Lewis) – An associated virtue is unflinching intellectual
integrity. One must never lose the sense of wonder, the eager curiosity to
know and find out for oneself by observation and experiment, the truth of the
near and the far. We owe our reverence to the seekers of truth who conquer our
minds by the spirit of truth, and not to the conformists, who enslave our minds
in the name of tradition. Tradition cannot ever supersede truth, conscience
cannot be silenced by scripture. Right and wrong exist in the nature of things.
Things are not right because they are recommended not wrong because they are
prohibited. A is A. Don’t be afraid either of the tyranny of public opinion nor
of the EASY–NESS OF THEIR path. Josh Billings says it well – “the road to
ruin is always kept in good repair, and the travellers pay the expense for it.”
(The associated issue is of circumstances. Cowper said that man is the
genuine offspring of revolt. Tough times never last, friends – but tough
people do. History is the record of an encounter between character and
circumstance. Attitudes create events.) And when you do win, don’t relax. A
constructive dissatisfaction only can ensure perpetual progress. Edison said
that restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress. Develop
a killer instinct too – winning is not everything but I see no honour in
defeat and nor should you, if worthy of your salt. However one must remain
cool – losing your temper is like a sharp nail that tears the threads of
something durable and lovely. We may use every bit of our patience and skill in
mending it but we can’t make it like new again. The darned place will always be
conspicuous. A good sense of humour (and not a crude sense of the comic) helps.
Laughing is a dead serious matter – it takes some learning. “A day is wasted
without laugher”, said Chamfort. And Alan Paton attaches so much
significance to it that he says – “Cherish above all, your sense of humour;
if you lose that you are in danger of losing your cause too.”
You must be sure of your priorities. The
trouble with our age is that it is all signposts and no destination. You must
have goals in due order. Visions and dreams are the thing. I’d rather have
wonderful dreams that would never materialize than be afraid to dream. Cherish
your visions. In all ages, men have fought most desperately for beautiful
cities yet to be built and gardens yet to be planted. But also remember that
the best way to realize your dreams is to wake up! H.E. Fosdide says well that
“No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever
turned into light and power until it is tunnelled. No life ever grows until it
is focused, dedicated, disciplined.” Mere talents plus dreams aren’t enough –
focused work it THE KEY. Make use of TODAY. Yesterday is cancelled cheque,
tomorrow is promissory note; today is the only cash you have – so spend it
wisely.
You’d do well if you don’t repeat even
sincere mistakes. An ancient Chinese proverb sums it up well –
The
first time you slap me,
it
is your fault;
The
second time you slap me,
it
is my fault.”
This is it then, ladies and gentlemen. You
can add to this list as per your lights. Life is a promise – you must fulfil
it. Let’s say once again, with Robert Frost –
“The
woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But
I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.”
Tuesday 23 November 2021
THINKING
A great story I read somewhere.
Change
Your Thinking
It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your
thinking..
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.
One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon
to help drain the fluid from his lungs.
His bed was next to the room's only window.
The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end.
They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their
involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..
Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit
up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he
could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods
where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour
of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.
Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats.
Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour and a fine view
of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details,
the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this
picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.
Although the other man could not hear the band - he could see it in
his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive
words.
Days, weeks and months passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths
only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died
peacefully in his sleep.
She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed
appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The
nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable,
she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his
first look at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.
It faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased
roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see
the wall.
She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'
Epilogue
There is
tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.
Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is
doubled.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that
money can't buy.
'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .'
Monday 11 October 2021
LETTING GO
I usually become a
ghost to those who no longer deserve my time. I’ve never seen a point in
explaining my absence to someone who failed to appreciate my presence. You
don’t owe any explanations to those who hurt you.
-R.H.Sin
My take:beware of Stockholm syndrome of love
There comes a point in your life when you realize who
matters, who never did, who won’t anymore, and who always will. And in the
end you learn who is fake, who is true and who would risk it all for you.
Not everyone who
desires access to your life, your heart, and your spirit are worthy of the
access they seek. Protect it. Your time is your most valuable asset. By all
means give it to those whom will appreciate it. But to continuously allow
yourself to be used and suffer through other’s actions, you’re doing no one any
justice. Take care of you first so that you can take care of your purpose and be
all that you were meant to be. Then you will be able to be there for
others.
~ Maritza Alvarez
When you give
yourself to someone who doesn’t respect you, you surrender pieces of your soul
that you’ll never get back. There comes a point when you have to let go and
stop trying with some people. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll
find a way to put you there. Sometimes you just need to let go and accept
the fact that they don’t care for you the way you care for them. Let them
leave your life quietly. Letting go is oftentimes easier than holding on.
We think it’s too hard to let go, until we actually do. Then we ask ourselves,
“Why didn’t I do this sooner?”
‘’The more chances you give someone
the less respect they’ll start to have for you. They’ll begin to ignore the
standards that you’ve set because they’ll know another chance will always be
given. They’re not afraid to lose you because they know no matter what you
won’t walk away. They get comfortable with depending on your forgiveness. Never
let a person get comfortable disrespecting you.’’
~Trent Shelton
I read somewhere something about love and self
respect.We often humiliate ourselves in trying to prepare ourselves for the so
called"right time" or "right moment" to bid goodbye.Save
yourself because it isn't coming.There is no perfect time to decide to start
respecting yourself.If its anytime ,its now.This is my view.
Now here is what I read:
‘’If love becomes too painful, then it’s time
to let that love go and save yourself. You have to keep this in mind because
you’ll be able to find another love but not another self.’’
Combine my thought with this.Many of you may
yet save yourself...Before saving yourself becomes irrelevant.
Wednesday 22 September 2021
COMFORT EATING AND STRESS
In the hustle and bustle of professional pursuits ,health often takes a hit.While diabetes,ulcers and B.P. are a given in such situations I was reminded of what my family physician told me more than a decade back:that skin itching and darkening of extremities esp.the hands,is a STRESS reaction!When going through a new article on covid obesity I was startled to find another,huge offshoot of stress:comfort eating.Stress releases the hormone CORTISOL in our bodies ,which INHIBITS THE BURNING OF FAT ,even if working out regularly.And eating in response to stress releases happy hormones.Over time,we unconsciously turn to these foods to deal with anxiety and stress.
This is a huge eye opener and should be to all of us .Racing for success and excellence is fine,but beware of this collateral damage.
OOops.I am so stressed writing and reading all this.Time to raid the refrigerator!!😊
Kidding!.Don't.
Sunday 12 September 2021
POST TRUTH
POST TRUTH
‘’Binary
pictures always failed to represent real-life complexity’’
1.Post Truth is an adjective describing a situation in
which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their
emotions and beliefs, rather than one based
on facts. In a post-truth
era, “alternative facts” replace actual facts, and feelings have more weight
than evidence.
1.1 Post Truth describes debate that is based
on passion and emotion rather than reason and evidence. It relates to or exists
in an environment in which facts are viewed as irrelevant,or less important than personal beliefs
and opinions ,and emotional appeals are used to influence public opinion.
2.The term post-truth was first used in
a 1992 essay by the late Serbian-American playwright Steve Tesich in The Nation. Tesich writes that following the shameful truth
of Watergate, more assuaging coverage of the Iran–Contra scandal and Persian Gulf War demonstrate that "we, as a free people,
have freely decided that we want to live in some post-truth world."
The term "post-truth politics" was coined by the blogger David
Roberts in a blog post for Grist on 1 April 2010, where it was defined as "a political culture in
which politics (public opinion and media narratives) have become almost entirely disconnected from policy (the substance of
legislation)". In contrast to simply telling untruths, writers such as
Jack Holmes of Esquire describe the process as something different, with Holmes putting it
as: "So, if you don't know what's true, you can say whatever you want and
it's not a lie. The Guardian,( 2016)
states this tellingly in context of political power: ‘’In this era of
post-truth politics, an unhesitating liar can be king. The more brazen his
dishonesty, the less he minds being caught with his pants on fire, the more he
can prosper. And those pedants still hung up on facts and evidence and all that
boring stuff are left for dust, their boots barely laced while the lie has
spread halfway around the world. ‘’
3.Wikipaedia describes this in detail.’’
Post-truth politics (also called post-factual
politics and post-reality politics) is a political culture in which debate is framed
largely by appeals to emotion disconnected from the
details of policy, and by the repeated assertion of talking points to which
factual rebuttals are ignored. Post-truth differs from traditional contesting and falsifying
of facts by relegating facts and expert opinions to be of secondary importance
relative to appeal to emotion. ……..As with other areas of debate, this
is being driven by a combination of the 24-hour news cycle, false balance in news
reporting, and the increasing ubiquity of social media. In 2016, post-truth was
chosen as the Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year due
to its prevalence in the context of that year's Brexit referendum and media coverage of
the U.S.
presidential election. ‘’
4.Social media adds an additional dimension, as user networks can become echo chambers . In this
environment, post-truth campaigns can ignore fact checks or
dismiss them as being motivated by bias. The digital culture allows anybody with a
computer and access to the internet to post their opinions online and mark them
as fact which may become legitimized through echo-chambers and
other users validating one another. Content may be judged based on how many views a post gets, creating an atmosphere that appeals to emotion, audience
biases, or headline appeal instead of researched fact. Content which gets
more views is continually filtered around different internet circles,
regardless of its legitimacy..The internet allows people to choose where they get
their information, allowing them to reinforce their own opinions. Hot-button issues in India illustrate this well.
5.Are we living in a
post-truth world, where “alternative facts” replace actual facts and feelings
have more weight than evidence?
5.1 How did we get here?Lee
McIntyre [MIT Press Essential Knowledge series] traces the development of the
post-truth phenomenon from science denial through the rise of “fake news,” from
our psychological blind spots to the public's retreat into “information silos.”
5.1 What, exactly, is post-truth? Is it wishful
thinking, political spin, mass delusion, bold-faced lying? McIntyre analyzes
recent examples—claims about inauguration crowd size, crime statistics, and the
popular vote—and finds that post-truth is an assertion
of ideological supremacy by which its practitioners try to compel someone to
believe something regardless of the evidence.. Add to this the wired-in cognitive biases that make us feel that
our conclusions are based on good reasoning even when they are not, the
decline of traditional media and the rise of social media, and the emergence
of fake news as a political tool, and we have the ideal conditions for
post-truth. What is ironic is that political
disagreements are couched almost always in the language of truth. We disagree
with each other because we do not want to rethink our fundamental beliefs but
express this always not in terms of ideology but truth. Our fights get out of
control because we make it a fight about two opposite truths and not about two
opposite opinions.
6. The Conversation,edition dated 23.1.2017
analyzes that ‘2014 can be marked as a significant inflection point in India for post truth
politics. India’s version of post-truth is different to its
Western counterparts due to the country’s socioeconomic status; its per
capita nominal income is
less than 3% of that of the US (or 4% of that of the UK). Still, post-truth is
everywhere in India.It can be seen in our booming Wall Street but failing main streets, our teacher-less schools and our infrastructure-less villages. We have the ability to influence the world without enjoying good governance or a
basic living conditions for so many at home.Nowhere is this more evident than
with India’s demonetisation drive, , against the advice of its central bank, and hit poorest people
the hardest,’ apart from failing to score against even the
shifted goalposts, and raising uncomfortable questions that remain unanswered.
7.Dissenting views to post truth concept
exist. The journalist George Gillett has suggested that the term
"post-truth" mistakenly conflates empirical and ethical judgements,
writing that the supposedly "post-truth" movement is in fact a
rebellion against "expert economic opinion becoming a surrogate for
values-based political judgements".
David Helfand argues, following Edward M. Harris, that "public prevarication
is nothing new" and that it is the "knowledge of the audience"
and the "limits of plausibility" within a technology-saturated
environment that have changed. We are, rather, in an age of misinformation
where such limits of plausibility have vanished and where everyone feels
equally qualified to make claims that are easily shared and propagated.
8.Yet the concept remains uncathed in decisively
large measure.In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries declared ‘post-truth’
the word of the year in response to a rise in its usage in relation to
political developments in the US for the presidential election and in the UK on
Brexit.
9.In her essay Lying in Politics (1972), Hannah Arendt describes what she terms defactualization, or the inability to
discern fact from fiction—a concept very close to what we now understand by
post-truth. The essay’s central theme is the thoroughgoing political deception that was unveiled with the leaking of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Arendt
distinguishes defactualization from deliberate falsehood and
from lying. She writes,
“The deliberate falsehood deals
with contingent facts; that is, with matters that carry no
inherent truth within themselves, no necessity to be as they are. Factual
truths are never compellingly true. The historian knows how vulnerable is the
whole texture of facts in which we spend our daily life; it is always in danger
of being perforated by single lies or torn to shreds by the organized lying
of groups, nations, or classes, or denied and distorted, often carefully
covered up by reams of falsehoods or simply allowed to fall into oblivion.”
She goes on,
"There always comes the point beyond which lying becomes
counterproductive. This point is reached when the audience to which the lies
are addressed is forced to disregard altogether the distinguishing line between
truth and falsehood in order to be able to survive. Truth or falsehood—it does
not matter which anymore, if your life depends on your acting as though you
trusted; truth that can be relied on disappears entirely from public life, and
with it the chief stabilizing factor in the ever-changing affairs of men.”
10.Lee McIntyre points out in his pathbreaking work about post truth that
[quote]‘’It is defined as ‘relating to or
denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping
public opinion that appeals to emotion and personal belief’. Harold Pinter
in his Nobel Prize in Literature lecture in 2005 spoke on “Art, Truth and Politics” and
argued, “The majority of politicians, on the evidence available to
us, are interested not in truth but in power and in the maintenance of that
power. To maintain that power it is essential that people remain in ignorance,
that they live in ignorance of the truth, even the truth of their own lives.
What surrounds us, therefore, is a vast tapestry of lies, upon which we feed.”
He says that many regimes now wage a war with truth
at a much more higher level than all of his colleagues. It is in nature of
their political realm to be at war with their historical legacy also which is
just an inconvenient truth in all forms. This method also shares a deep
correlation with fascist Nazi regime of Hitler whose Propaganda minister,
Joseph Goebbels famously said- If you tell a lie big enough and keep
repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” and “The bigger the
lie, the more it will be believed.”
11.According to the Washington Post, the US President had spoken 2,140 lies in public life after becoming the President of USA. Post 2014, the new trend of shaping public opinion by twisting factual history has begun. Likewise, fake news has gained more ground in Indian society and politics than ever.
Apart from history, the current political arena is
itself a big living example of establishments solely standing on misplaced facts,
fudged data, broken promises and false claims.
‘’The concept of post-truth- which is apparently true, becomes more important
than the truth itself. We need to demarcate between fact and opinion. Today,
unfortunately, opinion is taking an upper hand when it comes to reaching people
in one shot. The fundamental aim of the ruling establishment remains to control
how people think, what they talk by indoctrination and brainwashing.I must say, our history is under anachronism of the worst order.’’[source:internet
quote]
11. Historian Timothy Snyder wrote of the 2021 storming of the United States
Capitol:
‘’Post-truth is pre-fascism... When we give up on truth, we concede power to those with the
wealth and charisma to create spectacle in its place. Without agreement about
some basic facts, citizens cannot form the civil society that would allow them
to defend themselves. If we lose the institutions that produce facts that
are pertinent to us, then we tend to wallow in attractive abstractions and
fictions... Post-truth wears away the rule of law and invites a regime of myth.’’
12.And so it is with
post-truth politics. Mechanisms which seemingly
would have afforded protection against public lying have failed. Audio and
video recordings of crimes are quickly dismissed by claiming that they are
fabricated. Perhaps never before has it been so difficult to retain any meaningful
notion of truth in the public space. This is the contemporary condition
which has been to a large extent caused as much by media and technology as by a
fall in standards of public probity.George Orwell nailed it when he said
‘’In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary
act.’’
Ack: WIKIPAEDIA,Lee McIntyre and
oter research works,internet posts,press reports.