Philosophy on Basil Labib

How to Take Correct Decisions

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 10:33:32 +0530

Prologue

The other day, my sister and I were having this rather enlightening and philosophical conversation on how to navigate life. We’re almost adults so it’s high time we learn things that schools and parents won’t teach us.

The Problem

A human life is a game of decision making. It is analogous to a video game with opportunities and options at every turn and the chosen options leading to other opportunities, good or bad, but completely alienating us from the opportunities we have missed.

I aptly quote Shakespeare here,

We know what we are but know not what we may be.

The billionaire and the broke, the successful and the failure, all consequences of one’s life is solely a function of their decisions. I treat this as an axiom. Thus, to lead a good life, we have to make good decisions. That is the essence of human existence. Taking good decisions.

It can be a matter of life and death as in our prehistoric ancestors who survived wild animals because they learnt how to use a spear and thus pass on their genes or modern day recruitment procedures or even day-to-day wardrobe selection that have an effect on how colleagues and strangers perceive us. The setting may be different but the dynamics are still the same. This question stirs me to quite an unrest. But sadly, no one has an answer to it: how to take correct decisions?

Lemmas

It is not worth doing anything if it isn’t better, or at least at par with what is considered on the frontier of that expertise. Paint a picture or design your room. Then ask a painter and an interior designer to do them respectively. They’ll generally do a far better job than you. It’s because they are trained. It is not possible to excel at anything without training.

Secondly, people who win in the sense of winning a competition or successfully wooing a sought-after partner, are only slightly better and more skillful than their competitors.

Perspectives

Thus, the only practical way to take good decisions is to gather as many perspectives as one can. When one can evaluate a situation from different perspectives, they can have a much sound understanding of what it entails and what it holds for them and others involved. Most wrong decisions are taken today, by people or the government or any party in authority, because they lack perspective and knowledge. The rationale being our actions are not taken in a vacuum. They play out in the real world. They have real world consequences. I think it is a sin to only ever carry one prism in one’s pocket and act solemnly.

What does the future looks like?

Societies have increasingly become more intertwined and it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Advances in science drives technology which fuels economies, ramp up globalisation and make the global village a reality. Local news is insufficient and even common people must become increasingly aware of international news and politics to navigate their lives. Firms are developing radically new solutions and products to maximise their profit and become more risk averse. That invites consumers to access art and design in unlikely places. Gradually, a knowledge of that proves invaluable too. Social life has increasingly become digital (for better or worse). A knowledge of popular culture will be indispensible in being perceived as social. Culture, namely arts, music and literature will provide the much sought-after company that intellects will crave having exhausted their understanding of the theologies. They will find it in nature and the human psyche and in the stars when they look up.

Study of evolutionary biology is central to understanding almost every aspect of biology. It helps us understand where we come from, who we really are, what our priorities were, and instills in us a sense of humility for the vastness of which we are a passing flicker. Anatomical biology helps in better understanding what is inside us so we can better govern and streamline our lifestyle to suit our objectives. History is indispensable in a lot of ways. Understanding the culture, geography and politics of civilizations of the present and the past helps us in making sense of what goes on today and anticipate what the outcome might be. Notwithstanding the awe and wonder that comes with knowing the greatness of those from whom we have descended but it ignites a spark within us to uphold that grandeur in our lives and the posterity that will follow.

In Closing

Disciplines of studies will become interdisciplinary and the so-called boundaries seperating these domains will dissolve. To become valuable in the future will be to become more open to learning than ever before. To quickly re-engineer oneself based on the demands and whims of the society. And that requires an open and inquisitive mind which we must strive to cultivate at the earliest. Herbert Spencer’s, “The survival of the fittest” will hold true than ever before, albeit in a slightly twisted way, when a projected population of ~9 billion will be competing for the already strained resources of Earth in the 2050s and beyond.

Think, Wait and Fast

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Sun, 06 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In the book “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse – the protagonist, who is a Samana (a homeless hermit), is enchanted by the beauty of a woman named Kamala. On their first discourse, Kamala asks him what is he capable of doing that he can trade for money, pretty clothes, shoes, sweet perfumes and gifts for her. To which Siddhartha replies,

“I can think. I can wait. I can fast.”

I think that is a very profound answer and it will do ignorant fools like us much good if we make an attempt to comprehend it.

“I can think”

What does Hesse mean by “think”? Here’s my two cents: “think” is a metaphor for everything we can affect. The universe may be unforgiving and wild but our minds do have a certain say in certain matters. It is our responsibility to seek education, contribute to the productivity of the community, demand reward in return of our efforts, tie in matrimony with suitable partners, rear children et cetera(The pedantics may take to the comment section to tell me how wrong I am. We can sort it out there). All these worldly responsibilities cannot be fulfilled if we are selfish. Running away from them, seeking happiness in isolation and frugality is a valid (and selfish) way of life but in my opinion, not a optimal one. Just because the world is dying of global warming and degradation doesn’t mean we use fancy terms to run away from our duties. If we turn something bad, it is our duty to mend it, not run away from it (Footnote 1).

Herein lies a caveat though, engaging in worldly activities invariably implies invitation to negative emotions like desire, greed, jealousy and so on. By clear and rational thinking, we can be sure to not pursue a path of unfairness and uphold our modesty, chivalry and conviction while being gentle, kind and honest to our immediate brethren. Thus, it is prudent and crucial that such capability of thought be actively cultivated in minds, young and experienced alike.

“I can wait”

Hmm, here we enter the territory of the spiritual. I hold that there is indeed a way of life that is meaningful, fulfilling and full of happiness (Footnote 2). It involves plucking many ideas from many different trees in the garden of the collective human thought and preparing a recipe (Your author here is still in pursuit of that recipe, however). One of these ideas is waiting. A metaphor, of course.

Waiting for what? Nothing. And everything. Lao tzu talks about it beautifully in “Tao Te Ching”. Frankly, the idea bears quite resemblance to Lao’s scheme. It is the realization that you are nothing but a fool in the grand scheme of things (Reading astronomy at a young age helps in this realization, I have found) and subsequent acceptance that you, as a spectator, can only watch as things unfold before you. The world composed of other ignorants like you can exercise such a effect on you yet individually, we end up being at their mercy. Don’t believe me? Then, why do people get late for office meetings? If they really are so powerful, why not stop all the traffic in the first place? Or why is it that most people fail miserably in relationships that they try to actively seek out? (Naive examples but I cannot think of better ones at the moment).

Most importantly, desperation is never an answer. And neither is shouting or rage or profanity or the myriad of others, all of them offsprings of desperation.

“I can fast”

“Fasting” is a metaphor for restrain and abstinence. It is indeed a simple idea. What will make you restless if you have nothing to be restless about? Isn’t that powerful?

There is a bit of a contradiction here, perhaps my pedantic readers will notice. Engaging in society means desiring materialistic wealth and chasing romantic oppurtunities. How can one fast then? That is the beauty of it. Tzu uses the phrase, “To stand at the center”. Yes, to experience everything, good, evil, pure, noble, unchaste, corrupt, sinful and yet, not be moved by anything at all.

Conclude

Most fundamental ideas are beautiful. And beautiful ideas are utterly simple. Is this the ultimate guide to life? Far from it. Learning is not the recitation of words written down or the memorization of facts but the courage to question them and find even simple answers. May this serve as an inspiration to those who listen and set them on their own journey of finding their answers.

To perpetual learning.

Footnote 1: The pace at which modern society has evolved is blistening. Since the Information Age, we have developed far faster than we are capable of comprehending. This blinding growth (both numerical and technological) is at its worse, a recipe for disaster. Ignorance is evil, it always has been. But today, how to make sense of the information explosion? So most people don’t. What hurts most is not the absence of knowledge but partial knowledge. That is indeed the case today. Access to information should be coupled with education in order to yield it effectively. Impulsive youth can easily be swayed by baseless arguments and stage upheaval. Prudent assessment of all facts is key to survival and flourishment of us. Today, it makes us both vulnerable and powerful than ever before.

Footnote 2: And today, more than ever in our history, it is possible to achieve that.