Sep 8 2012: Ethnocentricty is harmful when it is used to create harm. It is beneficial when used to create well-being in any ethnocentric group. Let it not be at the expense and misery of another ethnocentric group! Isn't that what has happened throughout the ages? Might not we investigate who we really are not who we think we are...based, biased and boasted by our various cultures which by its very definition must include all the i-isms and -ologies shared -in- common but not considered for any modicum of universal truth? ... Why would any of us choose to serve a ranking system/hierarchy that is the very result of these-isms and -ologies?
Yes, *you and I* know why, don't we?
Why can't we *grow up* to evolve as a species? And what might that look like in the real world? One of the reasons why is that we are still programmed by our roots....including what it means to be a husband and a wife.
Sep 6 2012: I was born in post-war Germany of Austro-Hungarian roots. I have a son whose father is Peruvian and daughter whose father is half Choctaw Indian. My only grandson is part Delaware Indian. It's been interesting but never dull. Where we always all agree is in human rights. How did that happen? Perhaps I was blessed. And perhaps it just takes an open mind and an open heart, firmly rooted to Mother Earth and Father Sky, so to speak. .
Human rights of course takes into account all humans regardless of sex, ancestry, race, colour, creed, national origin, sexual persuasion, ethnicity, familial status or education & economic/social standing.
It's really simply to be ethnocentric and have globally-conscious values, I think and usually it takes a lot of soul-searching into the question: "Who am I?*
Sep 6 2012: I neglected to thank you for asking the question, Mr. Anjorin. It is in asking questions such as these,....the ones that beg us to contemplate on who we think we are, and in so answering who we think the other is--that human beings learn critical thinking and reasoning skills.
If we never question our assumptions about what we think we know and why, who we think we are, and how we came to these rock-solid conclusions of ourselves, each other and the world, well... the results are evident to those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Yes? No? Perhaps?
Wisdom comes at a price. Letting go of what we think we know is the *only* truth. From here we can enter into and conduct a dialogue consistent with *human values* under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United nations on December 11, 1948.
The unfortunate and fortunate thing is that those of us who are familiar with TED already are on the cutting edge of things...the ones dancing to a tune that *others of us* who haven't escaped *our boxes/paradigms* have yet to hear. ;-)
Sep 6 2012: Ethnocentrism has been expedient for the propagation of our species. A necessary survival tool. We all know how that is played out in the real world... wars, systematic annihilation and/or assimilation of the *other* under some banner of politics and government.
However, it is in the evolution of our *humanity* which creates and recreates a world in which survival of our species is possible in this time period--with the possible destruction of the world as we know it. It's a choice we must make individually and collectively.
Beyond ethnocentricity is a world that embraces its ethnocentric roots but sees itself as a global village. Compassion and a sense of shared humanity are its hallmarks. It's living beyond the survival game/meme. Us and them. We have very little experience in the bounty of this type of shared experience of existence.
Jan 2 2012: In severe irreversible brain injury, there is no brain activity and therefore no *life* per se.....i.e. consciousness-awareness or awareness of consciousness.
Whether there is awareness that precedes or continues after the brain-death of the entity/person, I don't know. How could I? I can, however, point to the fact that we all are conscious of the same things, dependent on our abilities to perceive, cognize. So I can deduce from this that the map of consciousness is the same for everyone though the content and description is highly individual, based on many factors. .
Awareness seems to be what the universe is all about...from the smallest living thing, all creatures great and small are endowed with the rudiments of self-awareness: the will to survive. So we ARE our chemicals and much more.
The problem as I see it, is that one needs to see something as a *problem* to even consider let alone suggest any possible *solution*.
Phase 2 is getting together (THANK YOU TED TALKS!) like-minded folks who, though coming from varied backgrounds, nationalities, religions, education, etc. DECIDE to *talk* about it--address these concerns.
Phase 3 is a must--effectively identifying the problem so that there is NO MISUNDERSTANDING.
Phase 4 is taking the show on the road, so to speak and getting & giving solid, substantial ideas/actions to undertake to be EFFECTIVE to/and DEAL with identified ISSUES.
Individually, we may not be able to see a *Practical solution that can solve the current issues*; however, we just might collectively once we have worked through the phases of our endeavors, which btw, may not come in the suggested order.
Jan 2 2012: I sent this Ted Talk to my sphere of influence. Many of us are activists, Don Bryant who spearheads many peace walks, talks, meetings, speakers and bus trips to Washington, etc. said "I'm not buying a new phone."
It's wonderful to see you participate in these conversations, Mr. van Heerden; thank you.
I would like to ask you the following because sometimes I am overwhelmed at the enormity and the complexity of issues. Raise one and one must look at & deal with a dozen more. (Like Cerberus & Hydra of mythology.)
What initialized your path? Was it an experience of cosmic unity, was it simply knowing there has to be a better way of living that will grant all peoples (corporations are not people, no matter what the Supreme Court decided; however corporations are created by people and are run by people, including shareholders, investors, etc.) the same rights, the same pursuit of happiness, including the right to clean water, air and resources without losing an arm & leg, so to speak, without having to sacrifice their lives for those who already possess more riches than is necessary to live a *good life*?
Jan 1 2012: Let's agree that neither science nor religion nor language can elucidate morality. Why, because it is precisely individual. Both science and religion have conducted incalculable *immoral* experiments, all in the name of their religion, be it Abrahamic in origin or scientific. .
Let's say that there is already in place a unified code of conduct, of morality, and let's call that the UN Declaration of Human Rights. And then let's ask the last time religion,corporation, government, or science have conducted themselves within a morality that serves all--that isn't self-serving to a few at the detriment of many. Which might you consider to be the least harmful in this venue?
I do not see any thing of recent history that is trustworthy in economics, politics and government even as I trust that the sun is still shining behind the greyest of skies.
That being said, the release of oxytocin, is as good as it gets in the human anatomy
and its conscious-awareness....It doesn't take much to understand that meditating monks
are different than a group of testosterone-driven men shouting their hatred, waving guns in the air.
TEDCred score: +0.60 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.
A comment on Conversation: Is it possible for an individual to be without ethnocentrism?
Yes, *you and I* know why, don't we?
Why can't we *grow up* to evolve as a species? And what might that look like in the real world? One of the reasons why is that we are still programmed by our roots....including what it means to be a husband and a wife.
A comment on Conversation: Is it possible for an individual to be without ethnocentrism?
Human rights of course takes into account all humans regardless of sex, ancestry, race, colour, creed, national origin, sexual persuasion, ethnicity, familial status or education & economic/social standing.
It's really simply to be ethnocentric and have globally-conscious values, I think and usually it takes a lot of soul-searching into the question: "Who am I?*
A comment on Conversation: Is it possible for an individual to be without ethnocentrism?
If we never question our assumptions about what we think we know and why, who we think we are, and how we came to these rock-solid conclusions of ourselves, each other and the world, well... the results are evident to those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Yes? No? Perhaps?
Wisdom comes at a price. Letting go of what we think we know is the *only* truth. From here we can enter into and conduct a dialogue consistent with *human values* under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United nations on December 11, 1948.
The unfortunate and fortunate thing is that those of us who are familiar with TED already are on the cutting edge of things...the ones dancing to a tune that *others of us* who haven't escaped *our boxes/paradigms* have yet to hear. ;-)
A comment on Conversation: Is it possible for an individual to be without ethnocentrism?
However, it is in the evolution of our *humanity* which creates and recreates a world in which survival of our species is possible in this time period--with the possible destruction of the world as we know it. It's a choice we must make individually and collectively.
Beyond ethnocentricity is a world that embraces its ethnocentric roots but sees itself as a global village. Compassion and a sense of shared humanity are its hallmarks. It's living beyond the survival game/meme. Us and them. We have very little experience in the bounty of this type of shared experience of existence.
A comment on Conversation: is consciousness a brain chemical reaction?
Whether there is awareness that precedes or continues after the brain-death of the entity/person, I don't know. How could I? I can, however, point to the fact that we all are conscious of the same things, dependent on our abilities to perceive, cognize. So I can deduce from this that the map of consciousness is the same for everyone though the content and description is highly individual, based on many factors. .
Awareness seems to be what the universe is all about...from the smallest living thing, all creatures great and small are endowed with the rudiments of self-awareness: the will to survive. So we ARE our chemicals and much more.
Consciousness is highly individual.
A comment on Talk: Barry Schwartz: Our loss of wisdom
The problem as I see it, is that one needs to see something as a *problem* to even consider let alone suggest any possible *solution*.
Phase 2 is getting together (THANK YOU TED TALKS!) like-minded folks who, though coming from varied backgrounds, nationalities, religions, education, etc. DECIDE to *talk* about it--address these concerns.
Phase 3 is a must--effectively identifying the problem so that there is NO MISUNDERSTANDING.
Phase 4 is taking the show on the road, so to speak and getting & giving solid, substantial ideas/actions to undertake to be EFFECTIVE to/and DEAL with identified ISSUES.
Individually, we may not be able to see a *Practical solution that can solve the current issues*; however, we just might collectively once we have worked through the phases of our endeavors, which btw, may not come in the suggested order.
Anna R.
A comment on Talk: Auret van Heerden: Making global labor fair
It's wonderful to see you participate in these conversations, Mr. van Heerden; thank you.
I would like to ask you the following because sometimes I am overwhelmed at the enormity and the complexity of issues. Raise one and one must look at & deal with a dozen more. (Like Cerberus & Hydra of mythology.)
What initialized your path? Was it an experience of cosmic unity, was it simply knowing there has to be a better way of living that will grant all peoples (corporations are not people, no matter what the Supreme Court decided; however corporations are created by people and are run by people, including shareholders, investors, etc.) the same rights, the same pursuit of happiness, including the right to clean water, air and resources without losing an arm & leg, so to speak, without having to sacrifice their lives for those who already possess more riches than is necessary to live a *good life*?
Thank you for your work and your diligence.
~Anna R
A reply on Talk: Paul Zak: Trust, morality -- and oxytocin?
Let's say that there is already in place a unified code of conduct, of morality, and let's call that the UN Declaration of Human Rights. And then let's ask the last time religion,corporation, government, or science have conducted themselves within a morality that serves all--that isn't self-serving to a few at the detriment of many. Which might you consider to be the least harmful in this venue?
I do not see any thing of recent history that is trustworthy in economics, politics and government even as I trust that the sun is still shining behind the greyest of skies.
That being said, the release of oxytocin, is as good as it gets in the human anatomy
and its conscious-awareness....It doesn't take much to understand that meditating monks
are different than a group of testosterone-driven men shouting their hatred, waving guns in the air.