How Civilized Are We? -- Civilization

(Three Reasons That Burst Our Bubble)

We, of course, like to fancy ourselves as civilized creatures, flaunting our scientific and technological achievements and our perceived humanism, sophistication, worldly wisdom and our wonderful sense of morality. We blithely assert that to be human is to do all the good things humans do or are capable of doing. We stress our angelic part.

At the same time we tend to downplay the other inseparable part of our makeup: the ugly side, the devil in us, our destructive nature. And we have come up with a a good excuse for all the bad things we do, we say "I'm only human," "To err is human," "I just couldn't help it."

They say the meaning of civilization changes with the times and also depends upon whom you ask. So let's not waste our time buttonholing people and asking questions which they themselves may not be quite sure of the right answer.

Instead, we shall use this word in its most general and commonly employed sense, that is, to mean "not savage, not barbaric, not an animal, not superstitious." etc. Civilization is a moving goalpost or an ideal towards which we strive but never fully attain. This is because our human nature, genetically fused to our savage past, gets in the way.

Human nature is what causes wars and the slaughter of our fellow creatures the animals. It's what make us believe in religions and other kinds of superstitions. Human nature is the source of greed, ambitions, murder, rape, theft, lying, vengefulness, discord and destruction. In fact, human nature is the driving force of our behavior -- both for the good and bad.

Civilization is the product of what man has learned during his long march from primitivism to modernity. Civilization promotes worldly wisdom, sophistication and maturity of thought. It gives rise to a humanistic outlook, and it is the engine of our creativity.

One of the main goals of civilization is to tame or rein in the undesirable aspects of human nature and make our world a peaceful, happy and livable place. This is the most important factor in determining how civilized we are.

One last characteristic of civilization: It is achieved in stages and is not evenly distributed throughout the world. Different nations reach different stages of civilization or cultures inviting a violent clash of cultures.

Some people take an easy way out by claiming that since there is no consensus about what civilization, including morality, amounts to, everything is really up in the air. But I beg to differ. 

There are sane and sensible ways to tackle this problem by the use of knowledge, worldly wisdom and a sophisticated, mature and rational way of thinking that could point to better ideas and yardsticks of a civilized way of life. 

Unfortunately, our history and human nature tell us that our quest will likely be just a goal and a dream as long as we remain human beings. 

Here are three important and glaring examples of our irrational and anti-social behavior that man has always been guilty of:

1. War
2. Animal slaughter
3. Religion

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Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.
-- Arnold Toynbee

If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Civilization is a moving goalpost towards which we advance but never fully attain. (Me)