Self-improvement is not only a possibility for human beings;
it is a necessity. That has always been the case. Even our hunter-gatherer
ancestors weren’t born knowing instinctively how to survive in the wild. It
took years before individuals learned everything they needed to know to be
contributing rather than dependent members of their families.
That we can augment and override natural instinct is one of
the most significant distinctive characteristics of human beings. Our ability
to learn and to pass on what we have learned to successive generations is what
has enabled the human species to live, build communities, and thrive in almost
every habitat on the planet. It’s not that we lack instinct. We do have instincts,
but they seem to be more complex, subtler, and more pliable than those of other
animals.
It is as though we have an instinctual appetite for participating
in the communal production and distribution of tangible and intangible
resources that make survival possible and desirable. The experiences of acquiring
new understandings, learning new skills, developing new insights, and sharing
accumulated knowledge with others are deeply satisfying.
Since a community of learners and teachers is about simultaneously
preserving what is already known and
discovering new possibilities, what is required is a blend of conservative and
progressive values. We need both perspectives. Not only do we need the
contributions from each camp; we need to recognize that it is not possible to
be exclusively one or the other. Each of us individually is a blend of both. None
of us can reject either.
It is not possible to get by without the benefit of
accustomed ways of doing certain things, but since the vast majority of what
any of us knows was new at some point, no one can say they what is new is
inherently bad. What we need is balance. Each of us defines that differently,
but all of us have to find a way to welcome what is new and helpful, even as we
count on being able to continue doing what we know works.
It would be foolish to precipitously trash the solid wisdom
that comes from traditional sources, but there is always room for improvement. In
fact, some of the problems that the global human community currently faces will
only be solved by making improvements to our familiar ways of doing things. We
are responsible for our own choices. Refusing to accommodate change is at least
as harmful as the destabilizing impact of challenging that which currently
seems unquestionably true and necessary.
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