Means Without Goals
Results of surveys taken in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan to determine the effects of technological progress and the steadily rising standard of living on human health and happiness were essentially the same in all the wealthy industrial nations. While many believed that knowledge and the state of health had improved, a large majority felt that inner happiness and peace of mind had diminished. Something is fundamentally wrong.
In stark contrast to our measurable achievements, a quality of life for which we long remains distressingly beyond our reach. It is the essence, the very nectar of existence that remains stubbornly elusive. It is a quality of life that can provide us with mental and physical well-being and lead to fewer troubled relationships. It is the unfulfilled half of our potential of which our higher selves are mindful. It lays dormant, awaiting release and expression like a genie trapped in a bottle.
World-renowned scientist, humanist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rene Dubos writes, “Technological societies know how to create material wealth, but their ultimate success will depend on their ability to formulate a postindustrial humanistic culture. The shift from obsession with quantitative growth to the search for a better life will not be possible without radical changes in attitudes. The Industrial Revolution placed a premium on the kind of intelligence best suited to the invention of manufactured articles, as well as to their production and distribution on a large scale. In contrast, a humanistic society would prize more highly skills facilitating better human relationships and more creative interplay between humankind, nature, and technology.”
Where once our abundance of natural resources counterbalanced our limited vision, today we find ourselves in a new arena. Now the limitations of our resources and the extraordinary growth of our population must be compensated for by an expansion of our vision. Similarly, we find that we can no longer engage in our primitive form of conflict resolution, warfare, lest we risk our very existence. We have neither the resources nor the space to repeat the mistakes of our past. To do so would be to exhibit an archaic mentality likely to return a few survivors to an archaic time.
Expressing his concern for what he considers to be a central problem of modern civilization, Dubos notes that “science and technology provide us with the means to create almost anything we want, but the development of means without worthwhile goals generates at best a dreary life and may, at worst, lead to tragedy.” A stark example is the discovery of nuclear fission, which was first used to make tens of thousands of thermonuclear warheads.
Today, we stand on the threshold of comprehending the oneness and the interlocking whole of which we are a part. It informs us that life is not assured—it is dependent upon the interrelationships by which it is sustained. Because these interrelationships are as fundamental as natural laws, our problems are like those we might suffer by arrogantly defying the law of gravity. An understanding of the significance of our connectedness and interdependence can serve as a powerful change agent. It goes to the philosophical heart of our decision making process.
Attitudes among individuals and institutions must change to recognize the balance in life and the sacredness of mutually beneficial life forms. We are connected. Life is fragile. This understanding is the prerequisite to the next step on our evolutionary journey. Given the complexity of our world, it is a giant step on a continually arduous journey.
Filed under: quality of life
