Incrementalism
Parliamentarism defeated communism and fascism in the Long War (1914-1990). In the process isms have gone a little bit out style, and they've deservedly gotten a checkered reputation. We only have to think of the ugly cousins, Racism and Sexism, to realize that isms have an uphill battle to repair their tattered image. Well, here to even the playing field is Incrementalism
I am exploring a new (to me) ism, and with very positive results. Incrementalism is the doctrine of slow, steady and directional change. Change is a constant in our lives, and yet change is so often left to its own devices; unchecked, uncontrolled.
The moral concept of free will defines us as perpetual choosers. As choosers, our consciousness is not constant. Some moments we are intensely aware of our choices, and other moments we are robotic in our execution of subconscious decisions. All of our choices operate in a multi-dimensional plane, with cause and effect rebounding throughout our lives in ways as complex as the displacement of warm water currents through the great oceans.
When we grasp the causes and effects long enough to identify our desires and goals, we can predict future choices and their consequences. Linking these choices and consequences often leads to resolutions. But the drive to self-reform is encumbered by the inertia of the deeply carved canals that channel our present mindframe and personality. To reroute these canals is as complex a task, at times, as digging into permafrosted bedrock. And this is why free will as a moral concept is contentious.
We can constantly evaluate ourselves, our choices. We can be our own fiercest critics. We can also ignore ourselves. Yet, the unexamined life is usually nasty, always brutish and often short. Self-criticism is the truest art, because it strikes at the heart of our own knowledge. Everyone's last frontier is their own minds. Yet, we live in such proximity to our own consciousness. Often, we are as miners sitting idly atop an untapped vein of gold, looking at faded pictures of foreign shafts.
The drive for self-improvement presupposes certain judgements about good, bad and ugly. Try as we might, these judgements are rarely avoided. Incrementalism is the principle of small changes. Baby steps. Minor adjustments. Yet like a sailor who veers slightly off course, the velocity and vector adjusted with small changes will take us to entirely new places. This course will be charted over long periods of time. The power of incrementalism is exponential and compounding.
So do a little bit, now.
I am exploring a new (to me) ism, and with very positive results. Incrementalism is the doctrine of slow, steady and directional change. Change is a constant in our lives, and yet change is so often left to its own devices; unchecked, uncontrolled.
The moral concept of free will defines us as perpetual choosers. As choosers, our consciousness is not constant. Some moments we are intensely aware of our choices, and other moments we are robotic in our execution of subconscious decisions. All of our choices operate in a multi-dimensional plane, with cause and effect rebounding throughout our lives in ways as complex as the displacement of warm water currents through the great oceans.
When we grasp the causes and effects long enough to identify our desires and goals, we can predict future choices and their consequences. Linking these choices and consequences often leads to resolutions. But the drive to self-reform is encumbered by the inertia of the deeply carved canals that channel our present mindframe and personality. To reroute these canals is as complex a task, at times, as digging into permafrosted bedrock. And this is why free will as a moral concept is contentious.
We can constantly evaluate ourselves, our choices. We can be our own fiercest critics. We can also ignore ourselves. Yet, the unexamined life is usually nasty, always brutish and often short. Self-criticism is the truest art, because it strikes at the heart of our own knowledge. Everyone's last frontier is their own minds. Yet, we live in such proximity to our own consciousness. Often, we are as miners sitting idly atop an untapped vein of gold, looking at faded pictures of foreign shafts.
The drive for self-improvement presupposes certain judgements about good, bad and ugly. Try as we might, these judgements are rarely avoided. Incrementalism is the principle of small changes. Baby steps. Minor adjustments. Yet like a sailor who veers slightly off course, the velocity and vector adjusted with small changes will take us to entirely new places. This course will be charted over long periods of time. The power of incrementalism is exponential and compounding.
So do a little bit, now.
posted by Lt Smash at 12:34 PM
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