tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859567876135439896.post1544986553415782432..comments2024-03-12T04:56:36.742-04:00Comments on Minimizing Entropy: Some thoughts on motivation and responsibilityDMAKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10430943593190838423noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859567876135439896.post-30152957116581120612012-01-17T18:49:20.977-05:002012-01-17T18:49:20.977-05:00Elliot,
It's great to hear from you. You are ...Elliot,<br /><br />It's great to hear from you. You are right--I am talking about a sense of civic engagement and citizenry. And I agree with you that as social beings we are concerned about at least some people around us. Where I think things are interesting and always in flux are the boundaries you so delineate. <br /><br />It is particularly ironic, I feel, how individualism is such a core belief in the US, while many actions (such as military efforts) are taken in our collective name. At the same time, legally, the US actually has afforded more and more "rights" to more and more segments of our world. Women can now vote, as can African-Americans. Also, through policies such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act, environmental sensibilities are also part of our lives.<br /><br />In the end, though, I am always struck by the individual narrowness of our moralities. This is likely evolutionary, I do not doubt. However, given all of the "information" that is everywhere, we find ourselves utterly incapable of extending our feelings to others, and have a difficult time imagining where the objects of our daily lives come from. Right now, I can only conclude that from a very young age, we are taught to think "independently" and "for ourselves", to the detriment of being able to act as collectives, even small collectives. If we are only concerned with ourselves, and are always distrustful of others, we are more vulnerable to being manipulated by large structural forces. <br /><br />Ok, I sound pretty esoteric. I'll tone it down next time. :)DMAKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10430943593190838423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859567876135439896.post-40286981809884310132012-01-16T15:19:42.706-05:002012-01-16T15:19:42.706-05:00Great post. It sounds like you're talking abou...Great post. It sounds like you're talking about a sense of civic duty or civic engagement. I think its easy to be cynical about the state of civic duty in 21st century U.S. and decry people as generally "selfish". But if you talk to people and closely observe their behavior, I think you'll find that they're aware of SOME other people's feelings and plights and are willing to make sacrifices for SOME others. As to who those others are, I think that's what is changing. We used to be concerned with our physical neighbors and the imagined community of the country, but now, perhaps, our communities are more interest-driven. We care about those who share our outlook and our passions, and are indifferent at best toward those who do not. <br /><br />In terms of people's feelings of pride or responsibility and work: that's a tricky one. Its legitimate to think that a job is just a thing you do to make money, that one's spiritual and intellectual life is not tied up in it. If its not in their job description to stay after hours to fix a problem, then they don't owe it to anyone to do so. <br /><br />I look at the civic, neighborly world and the work world as two different cultures. The first isn't a rule-based culture: conversation, shared experiences, and compassion are part of the mix. Work is a rule-based culture: if its not in the rules for people to stay late to fix problems, change the rules so that employees know what they're signing on for. <br /><br />Thanks for the thought provocation!elliothttp://elliotpanek.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com