No Good Thing Ever Dies

Maybe, we need a good thing

Should we credit our upbringing, education and social interactions for all we think and know about life?

If we do, we will be admitting that our ideas and concept of life and society aren’t innate but learned. We will be supporting the argument that our minds and brains were once in a blank state - void of theories and social contracts - but today, they are filled with complex ideas and beliefs.

It will mean that, unfortunately, some of our complex ideas, irrefutable beliefs and learned habits may be destructive to our society and the evolution of human intelligence. As such, after several years of learning and living, we may have to unlearn. If we don’t unlearn, we may risk being selectively discarded like Othello.

Othello is a black male character in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello. His efforts as an intrepid soldier allow him to earn his keep and place in society. He falls in love with and marries Desdemona, a charming, high-born Venetian woman whose loyalty to Othello is unmatched.

Iago, Othello’s flag-bearer and trusted advisor, feeds Othello porky pies and deceives him into believing Desdemona has been unfaithful. In a fit of rage, Othello kills his wife. When the truth is eventually revealed, Othello - distraught and devastated - kills himself.

Like Othello, many of us may be actively making decisions based on what we’ve been told by people, institutions and governments we’ve come to know, believe and trust. These people, institutions and governments are represented in our upbringing, education and social interaction.

Like Othello, our decisions may someday prove to be detrimental to those around us but mostly to ourselves. Our destructive ideas, beliefs and habits could be causing irreversible damage to our society and the evolution of human intelligence. In fact, it may be too late to save us.

Unlearning may be the only way to minimize the extent of the damage. Our ill-informed ideas and beliefs about racism, sexual abuse, consumerism, climate change, capitalism, nationalism, tribalism, economic freedom, institutionalized education, digital technology - and many more human concepts - could be contributing to the dissolution of our society as we know it.

John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding details his belief that, at birth, the human mind is a blank slate - void of theories and social contracts. Sigmund Freud’s Oedipus complex suggests that the nature of our upbringing determines our personality traits. These two philosophers, amongst many others, support the argument that our minds and brains were once in a blank state - void of theories and social contracts - but today, they are filled with complex ideas and beliefs.

By supporting this argument, these philosophers are suggesting that there may be a need to unlearn at certain points in our lives and return to a blank state of mind. From there, we can learn better and be better. They are suggesting that there is hope for humanity.

Should we credit our upbringing, education and social interactions for all we think and know about life?

We could but if we do, we would be acting from a place of hope. We would be admitting we are hopeful that, if we begin to unlearn destructive patterns, our societies will get better. We would be agreeing with Andy Dufresne, from Shawshank Redemption, when he said, “hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

Should we credit our upbringing, education and social interactions for all we think and know about life? Maybe.

Maybe, we should. Maybe, by admitting that we may have learnt amiss, we would be willing to learn afresh. Maybe we will do better as individuals and for each other. Maybe, we will be hopeful again.

Hope is a good thing. Maybe, we need a good thing.

Start here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/