My faith in humanity is premised on the empirical observation that she still exists many millennia after the first self-aware hominids emerged on the scene, and that she even made much progress, not only in terms of technology, but also perception and general outlook on life. But if I were to make a judgment on humanity on the basis of my own personal experiences and observations, I would probably be tempted to conclude that humanity is overall decrepit and unable to survive for long. That’s why empirical evidence and objective analysis are far more relevant when drawing general conclusions about life and being than personal experience, which is often tainted and lacking. More importantly, this is exactly why one needs to look beyond oneself and one’s own experiences in life and try to communicate and learn from others. The same applies to groups. Indeed, groups that refuse to learn from others doom themselves to irrelevance and extinction. For survival and progress are collective AND interactive processes.
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 