Manyuputra Musings: The Golden Mean Of The Human Condition

There’s always a simmering tension in the human condition. On the one side, the human is after all an animal with animalistic instincts. On the other side, he has evolved himself into a social entity with complex hierarchical structures.

If the animal instincts take over completely, the rawness destroys all norms and mores. Rapacious conquerors are born but they create nothing of enduring beauty.

If the social instinct wins completely, such a group may touch great heights but cannot last long since they’ve compromised on fitness needed to survive.

Finding this complex equilibrium and maintaining it builds a vital but great and enduring culture. Eventually a balance has to be struck and this balance, mind you, is not a static equilibrium but a dynamic one.​

Our ancestors managed to be close to this elusive golden mean for millennia before the vagaries of time and complacency wreaked havoc.

Do we even know such a golden mean exists? Do we have the stomach to get there?