Savage or Civilized?
Civilization. What is it? Does it really have a meaning or is it just a term that we use to justify ourselves of what we, as humans, are today? What is it that differentiates the savage from the civilized? - Science? Education? Technology? Philosophy? Spirituality? Culture? How different are we from the so-called savage? What acts of ours differentiates us from the savage?
Who is a savage? - Webster gives the following meanings to the word savage:
1a : not domesticated or under human control 1b : lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings 2 : wild, uncultivated 3a : boorish, rude b : malicious 4 : lacking complex or advanced culture
Lacking restraints normal to civilized humans? Is that something defined by ourselves? So, one of us came up with the list of restraints that are normal to civilized humans. And those who lack these restraints are savage!
Lacking complex or advanced culture? What is a complex, advanced culture? So again, one of us wrote a set of rules that decides if a culture is advanced or not? And someone not belonging to any such culture is savage!?
Somehow, everybody has built a notion that differentiates the savage from civilized? In our attempts to justify ourselves that we have progressed as a race, that we have become so much better in some sense or the other than our savage ancestors, have we turned our heads away from the unbelievable reality that we are no different from them in our savageness!!?? What the hell am I talking about!!??
The average savage man, much like an animal, did things that he needed to. His necessities were food, water, shelter, comfort, happiness and the likes. What are the desires of an average civilized man? Not very different. The means of acquiring the same necessities have changed. Instead of simply going into the jungle and hunting down the first beast that catches the eye, today we educate ourselves, get jobs and earn money to buy these necessitites. So, how different are we from the savage ones?
Yeah. We have respect for others, some form of bonding at various levels. Self, family, friends, neighbourhood, community, culture, country, ethnicity and finally the species. We have a prioritized preference level with which we subscribe ourselves to these categories dedicating ourselves to the betterment of one category... possibly at the expense of another!! There you go!! It finally boils down to the same basic instinct - survival!
After all these years, decades, centuries of so-called civilization, we still cater mostly to the most innate instinct of ours. So, what is that differentiates the savage from the civilised? Still in search of an answer...
Who is a savage? - Webster gives the following meanings to the word savage:
1a : not domesticated or under human control 1b : lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings 2 : wild, uncultivated 3a : boorish, rude b : malicious 4 : lacking complex or advanced culture
Lacking restraints normal to civilized humans? Is that something defined by ourselves? So, one of us came up with the list of restraints that are normal to civilized humans. And those who lack these restraints are savage!
Lacking complex or advanced culture? What is a complex, advanced culture? So again, one of us wrote a set of rules that decides if a culture is advanced or not? And someone not belonging to any such culture is savage!?
Somehow, everybody has built a notion that differentiates the savage from civilized? In our attempts to justify ourselves that we have progressed as a race, that we have become so much better in some sense or the other than our savage ancestors, have we turned our heads away from the unbelievable reality that we are no different from them in our savageness!!?? What the hell am I talking about!!??
The average savage man, much like an animal, did things that he needed to. His necessities were food, water, shelter, comfort, happiness and the likes. What are the desires of an average civilized man? Not very different. The means of acquiring the same necessities have changed. Instead of simply going into the jungle and hunting down the first beast that catches the eye, today we educate ourselves, get jobs and earn money to buy these necessitites. So, how different are we from the savage ones?
Yeah. We have respect for others, some form of bonding at various levels. Self, family, friends, neighbourhood, community, culture, country, ethnicity and finally the species. We have a prioritized preference level with which we subscribe ourselves to these categories dedicating ourselves to the betterment of one category... possibly at the expense of another!! There you go!! It finally boils down to the same basic instinct - survival!
After all these years, decades, centuries of so-called civilization, we still cater mostly to the most innate instinct of ours. So, what is that differentiates the savage from the civilised? Still in search of an answer...
posted by Swami at 12:03 AM
1 Comments:
I really like your theme for the blog. The concept of midpoint of science, Spirituality and Philosophy was beautiful. Its nice that all our chaotic discussions are coming out in teh form an organised blog.....
Keep up the good work...
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