4-Modernity

Definition: Modernity - A troublesome concept in our social order In a different essay I said we should have an egalitarian attitude about our ancestors and be open-minded to learning from them. To read that essay, click here. In contrast to the description of Certitude on this page, René Descartes (1596 – 1650) famously said "cogito ergo sum" which is to say, he thought therefore he existed. The fact of his own thought was the fundamental thing that he knew for certain and from there the rest of human knowledge followed - or so he thought and wrote. I don't remember who made this point - But someone said that modernity itself grew out of Descartes' philosophical pronouncement. All of this frenetic hubbub that surrounds us today that we think of as "modern" is the result of Descartes' philosophy that over the course of roughly 380 years has trickled down and permeated our Social Order such that we deem it "normal" to believe that our knowledge is - and ought to be - grounded purely in one's self. "Me - my feelings, my thoughts, my words, my actions - I am the ground of everything I know," is what many if not most modern people seem to say to justify whatever they feel, think, speak or do limited only by vague, flexible notions of the other person's rights. "But then again, maybe not so limited if I have more clout than you to take away, ignore or deny your so-called rights." One can think of many contemporary examples of this thinking. Peel away the facade of "rights" and this way of thinking is exposed as nothing but a will to power that in the extreme leads to a fascist state, Nazi Germany being a prominent example. In any event, thinking so highly of oneself has consequences. It simultaneously leads to hubris and does away with Tradition and that has consequences, as I have suggested. Let's move on - I doubt Mr. Descartes' mother agreed with him. "You exist, René, because I gave birth to you," I imagine her saying. "Oh, what am I to do with this son who wants fame and fortune as a philosopher? He passes over the obvious." Ten thousand years earlier I can well imagine men and women having a basis for their knowledge that was very different from Mr. Descartes and from us today. I can imagine them saying, "I have Courage, therefore I am," which makes a lot of sense given the Circumstances then prevailing. (See Figure #1) Figure #1 Certitude 10,000 years ago "I am courageous, therefore I am" Saber toothed tigers were like wolves They hunted in packs You never ran into just one of them Certitude today René Descartes and the rest of us modern folk have the luxury of thinking our thoughts because - for one thing - our mothers gave birth to us, nursed or otherwise fed us and among many other things our distant ancestors took care of the saber-tooth tiger Extraordinary Problem. We have it easy. We can sit around, think, write and make a living out of such passive activities. Still, the question remains - How do we know anything? Philosophers today - not to mention marketers and other experts - have many answers. Each competes for your attention. Which product, Ideology or philosophy will you choose? I say for purposes of Cohesion USA we should put all experts to one side at least momentarily. Recall that when you and I think about or otherwise respond to experts we are wearing Hat 'A.' Today's experts are fine as they are, I suppose. They can take care of themselves, I am sure. I have no particular grudge against them. But I say we should periodically put on Hat 'B' in Cohesion USA and think of our Bodies as passing through Certitude with regard to the thing that we are knowing. This movement through the continuum of Certitude, which begins, by the way, in the gleam in a man's eye and a woman's "come hither" look, culminates in the Person taking Action which may range from "a feeling felt, a thought thought, a word uttered or a deed done." It is this range of Action that allows us to know that we are knowing - which is not too far off from Mr. Descartes' truncated statement. It is not just that "I think, therefore I am." It is that one's entire Body does a range of things - such as visiting with one's mother - and it is this range of Events that let's one know that "I am" and am knowing something in particular. The Degrees of Certitude is what this page is about. It is the way we know - at least when we are wearing our Cohesion USA Hat 'B'.