Diversity

Introspection as a method failed at the time of positivism because it could not provide uniformly consistent results. Yet we witness extraordinary results of inner workings in science, art, business, technology ... Not a single discovery would be possible if there were no insights of individuals that rearranged "their description of the world and themselves within it". Things somehow click and hang together in a new, unexpected but beautiful way.

Although "our descriptions of worlds and ourselves within them" have a lot in common - they differ. Each of us evolves our own, unique "description of the world around us and himself within it" from the moment of conception when our own, genetic makeup is constructed. As newborns, we are guided in adding to it and refining it by adults and peers of a particular culture, of a particular language, of a particular time... But all the time it is our own, unique "description of the world around us and ourselves within it" that we will pass to our children and our grandchildren and our grand, grandchildren...

Our "descriptions of the world and ourselves within it" is not only inherited and passed to future generations. As we interact, some aspects of "descriptions of the worlds of others and others within it" may impact ours with sometimes very deep consequences - even maybe at the genetic level. But the most valuable impact (with a lot of hidden dangers) can be expected when we give a good hard look at our own and try to rearrange it, giving it a beauty, humour and a sense of well-being.

The multitude of "our descriptions of the worlds and ourselves within it" (although synchronised on a number of levels) allows for improvements and should be cherished. Consequently, the introspection must yield inconsistent results, but those inconsistencies may tell us a lot about inner workings of "our description of the world and ourselves within it", even down to the genetic level.

In a similar way we should cherish the cultures we grew into and respect others we did not grow into. Nowadays, many cultures are endangered by emergence of the global civilisation that is more imposing than incorporating - thanks to the approach many members of dominant cultures have. Little, if anything has been learned from the fate of many Australian aborigines, for example, that found themselves in a limbo between two worlds (one of which is quickly disappearing or has already disappeared). I would suggest that we need to offer some room in our civilisations for these endangered cultures to evolve into.

Should we look into "descriptions of the world around other species and themselves within it" as well? I think we should. Although it might be possible to a degree only, the results might give us a better understanding of our own.