Whither Progress?: Is Progress an Insupportable Myth?

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Londoner
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Re: Whither Progress?: Is Progress an Insupportable Myth?

Post by Londoner »

Nick_A wrote:Where at one time individuality was a valued trait....
Well, 'valued trait' is about right.

I can think of all sorts of somewhat contradictory things any society might list as a 'valued trait'; honesty, smartness, unselfishness, ambition, sense of humour, seriousness, thrift, generosity etc., so it isn't saying much. Occasionally the USA (like other societies) produces moral stories in which a selection of these things feature, but I do not see that US society has ever given any particular weight to any of them. Indeed, it might be that if a particular trait is particularly valued in a society it could be a sign that it has become rare.
Nick_A
Posts: 6208
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2012 1:23 am

Re: Whither Progress?: Is Progress an Insupportable Myth?

Post by Nick_A »

Londoner wrote:
Nick_A wrote:Where at one time individuality was a valued trait....
Well, 'valued trait' is about right.

I can think of all sorts of somewhat contradictory things any society might list as a 'valued trait'; honesty, smartness, unselfishness, ambition, sense of humour, seriousness, thrift, generosity etc., so it isn't saying much. Occasionally the USA (like other societies) produces moral stories in which a selection of these things feature, but I do not see that US society has ever given any particular weight to any of them. Indeed, it might be that if a particular trait is particularly valued in a society it could be a sign that it has become rare.
Do you perceive truth in the concept of metaxy (metaxu)? A society has a metaxy sustained by its values which serves to awaken its citizens to the value of becoming oneself as opposed to just an unconscious atom of the state. Can human being on earth move closer to higher consciousness and less animal? Would valued individuality as a quality of a society’s metaxu serve to raise the being of its citizens? If so, it is frightening what we are losing by the loss of values and the quest for individuality in the context of human consciousness – becoming oneself.

From Wiki:
Metaxy (Greek: μεταξύ) is defined in Plato's Symposium via the character of the priestess Diotima as the "in-between" or "middle ground". Diotima, tutoring Socrates, uses the term to show how oral tradition can be perceived by different people in different ways. In the poem by Socrates she depicts Eros as not an extreme or purity; rather, as a daemon, Eros is in between the divine Gods and mankind. Diotima thus exposes the flaws of oral tradition; it uses strong contrasts to express truth, thus revealing vulnerability to sophistry. This portion of the dialogue points to the idea that reality is perceptible only through one's character (which includes one's desires and prejudices and one's limited understanding of logic). Man moves through the world of Becoming, the ever changing world of sensory perception, into the world of Being—the world of forms, absolutes and transcendence. Man transcends his place in Becoming by Eros, where man reaches the Highest Good, an intuitive and mystical state of consciousness. Neoplatonists like Plotinus later used the concept to express an ontological placement of Man between the Gods and animals.[1] Much like Diotima did in expressing that Eros as a daemon was in between the Gods and mankind. Love (Eros) is the thing in between or child of Poverty (Penia) and Possession (Poros).[2]
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