This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »
Human beings are still in their adolescence. What will it take to have us grow up?
One way we can transcend our challenges as a species is to consciously evolve by choosing adulthood over our present adolescent state. It is time to grow up as a species and assume responsibility for how we relate to each other and our planet.
John Renesch
In my observations I see our culture filled with adolescent indulges, behaviors and attitudes that prevent us from evolving into responsible adulthood as a species. Each of us can probably recognize some personal indulgences that "entertain" our adolescent, serve to distract us from more meaningful things we might be focused on that could move our society closer toward a healthier way of relating to one another and our environment. I assert that obsessions and addictions of all types are adolescent indulgences that prevent our adult from engaging the world responsibly, as are fundamentalism of all kinds, exaggerations, gossip, short-term thinking, egocentric points of view and any other sparkly and shining distractions that take us away from responsible engagement of our social challenges. These indulgences keep us separate from one another at a time when we need to be collaborating. They keep us polarized in our separate identities and ideologies, including nationalism which Einstein called an "infantile disease."
Dan Willis
inthegarden beyondthecave
If they are young people, don’t they understand that it is their future already at stake? If they are members of older generations, then why do they not commit themselves to protecting their children’s or grandchildren’s future. I routinely hear adults say that they love nothing more than their children, but if that is so, why is not the threats that we face move them to join the call to action? And if they feel that way about their children, how do they think their children will feel about their own children? No matter how far in the future the crisis will come, we are connected to the generation that will face the end of civilization by this chain of love for children.
So if any of you support doing something, why not stand up and be counted. Are you willing to commit to the future of our species, why not say so and get others to stand up and be counted, too. Lets put an end to the excuses and let each other know that we are ready to stand together to find ways to make our lives more sustainable.
I think that one of the greatest barriers to working out our future is a sense that not enough of our contemporaries are willing to cooperate. That is why I think we need to declare our willingness.
Lee Wilkinson 20+
pearl feldman
K JAI
To 'grow up''?
I believe babies suckle naturally from their mothers
I do not see them crawling over to suckle a cow
As it is obviously 'wrong and not natural at all
Why are we as humans conned into living and consuming things obvious example 'milk
Cows naturally produce milk for their calves yet why do we have god only knows the number of cows kept unnaturally pregnant so that the masses of people that went from babies to believing they should and need to consume cow milk
Children I have noticed are almost always fascinated and love all animals, I observe their parents patting baby lambs watching their children hold baby chickens not one dares tell them 'let's go home and eat a piece of that because the children would be horrified
I think we grow into this adolescent state as it's referred to because we, most of us, the human race do not think for ourselves.
We lose our basic instinct of what is right and what is wrong
Children can look over at the mist/smoke that comes billowing out of a coal power plant and I believe their natural reaction is yuk
If you tell a little person do you want dirty air or clean air they would naturally say 'clean"
I think we need to get back to very basic commonsense
I also believe when we start valuing and appreciating all life, the air, the water and our planet 'only then will we be responsible.
Dan Law
At the moment this is centred on the individual, and notion that members of species are 'essentially' the same. A different model is to put our being a social species at forefront - we cannot survive independent of community, and diversity and difference working cooperatively is essential for success (as show for example by Meredith Belbin). To take this further, could consider our social species to be akin to insect colonies; only now with globalisation, these are perhaps merging. Seen in those terms, we might reassess and better understand and manage our behaviours. 'Our challenges as a species' may arise because our concept of nature of our species is a paradigm that has become a counterproductive anti-pattern.
The question of the nature of our species is one which might be debated further - but point here is to suggest an answer to question: such a change might occur with a paradigm shift in how we think of ourselves as a species.
Amily shaw 10+
- what you mean "in adolescence"?
- what makes us grow-ups?
Philip Crume
1) Human beings don't perceive reality as it is. Each person projects outward his own perceptions of what he thinks is real while filtering out everything else. We each live in our own filtered bubble of perceptions. We don't see one another colors, we see the colors we project onto others. You might recall how babies perceive everything and as they continue to age, they start filtering things out and making choices about what's "important."
2) Human beings don't perceive the world rationally. We perceive it emotionally and justify things later logically, and sometimes even distort logic to fit our emotional frames or sometimes don't even bother to use logic at all. Emotions are our primary cognitive mechanism for overcoming our reality filter. Bear in mind that nearly 90% of what is communicated is nonverbal. The OP at one point became emotionally bought into commerce and felt that it was beneficial, then evolved a whole chain of logic to support those emotions.
3) Knowledge and information is imperfectly received, imperfectly stored, and imperfectly transmitted. We receive information through a mental filter where we select only what we are interested in, then we fail remember most of what gets through, we're terrible at transmitting our experiences to others, and are terrible at learning from the experiences of others.
Of course never say never. Maybe we'll develop technologies that allow our brains to overcome these disadvantages.
account removed
Nicholas Lukowiak 50+
When one idea is thought about, practiced and traditionalized it becomes an ideology it is then that ideology is more accepted because it can be embedded into culture, belief systems and alter peoples ability to be open minded. Nationalism and religion do more destruction than people can ever do, a person dies, an idea can be practiced for ever if it isn't changed.
I think for humans to grow up immediately would be to have a common goal. An event or happening that requires everyone to set aside everything and grab the nearest person and get working to help.
The day we do not need to fight is the day we will not be savage animals, there is no reason to kill with technology. transhumanism is a great ideology to introduce into anyone train of thought. The reason futurist care so much about togetherness of the planet is easy, because if we are not together there will be no future. We need to drop petty ideologies that are destructive and clash every idea together until we have the best of every thought combined. That is how government should work, it is how people should work, and it would only better ourselves and the everyone around us to do so.
Psychologist will agree you need an equal balance of self and external connections. It is humorous because for humans the more we care about ourselves ultimately becomes caring what others think and cannot be isolated for too long. We need people for everything, just because they do not speak your language, know your customs, enjoy the same food, does not mean that a stranger could not know you are tired, hungry, sad, happy, or curious. Human beings need to stop thinking of the specifics and look at the whole picture.
LastlyI think the biggest step in growing up will have to be the end to any religion that claims absolution, that claims to know the answers to life's biggest mysteries.
Laurens Rademakers 50+
Ehm, what's wrong with eternal youth?
Your starting point assumes that we are conscious human beings who can consciously grow up by consciously changing our behavior.
I think the contrary is true: like a real adolescent, you become adult because all kinds of processes happen outside of your control and will.
Humanity will be "whipped" into adulthood, if at all it makes it to that stage.
Perhaps we'll simply die young, like all wreckless heroes in history.
In any case, I don't think mankind is capable of reflecting deeply enough on itself. I think we belong to the dumber class of animals: those who don't really have a clue about what they're doing.
Nicholas Lukowiak 50+
Ved Topkar
As a species, our adolescence can only be overcome when the global community realizes that we must, as a race, band together to ensure that every human being lives comfortably and within reach of ample education to spur innovation and self-improvement, even when it is easier to simply embrace selfishness and forget about the suffering millions right on our porch steps.