Several years ago, I saw a bumper sticker that said, DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK. At first, I laughed at the absurdity of that phrase, but after some thought I realized that it was good advice—so much so that I ordered one to put on the wall of my study.
Respecting one’s ignorance is an acknowledgement that there is much more that we don’t know than we know. That doesn’t imply any sort of anti-intellectual attitude. Rather it is pro-wisdom. After all, a characteristic of wisdom is being able to see the world from different viewpoints, of recognizing that Truth, such as it is, comes in many forms and not just in one’s own particular version.
In this post, I want to apply the idea of respecting one’s ignorance to the issue of climate change.
While I strongly believe that climate change is caused by human activity, right now I want to suspend judgement and take an agnostic approach—to see what the consequences might be based on two assumptions: (1) climate change is caused by human activity and we can ameliorate its effects by our actions, and (2) climate change is not caused by human activity, so we can do nothing about it.
Assumption 1: Climate change is caused by human activity
If this assumption is right, and if individuals, businesses, and governments take action to reduce the amount of CO2 that humans emit into the atmosphere, then we might reduce the worst effects of climate change, saving lives, property, and perhaps our species.
On the other hand, if we are wrong in assuming that climate change is caused by human activity and take action anyhow, we nevertheless might abate some effects of nature-caused climate change and in the process encourage innovation that might help us reduce pollution and use resources more efficiently.
Assumption 2: climate change is not caused by human activity
If this assumption is correct, and we take no action, then the only consequence would be a debate about the validity of science to predict natural events.
If we are wrong, however, and take no action, then the consequences could be dire, including enormous damage to the biosphere, the world economy, nation states, and our very species.
This is all good in theory, but the world is not led by theoreticians who are respectful of what they don’t know. Rather, for the most part it is run by people who know the Truth, a Truth based on their own biases, insecurities, and arrogance. While that has always been the case, there is a fundamental difference between the past and the recent present that has made the Truth-knowers so dangerous. In the last few decades our species has amassed technologies that are so powerful and complex that they exceed our ability to truly understand much less control them. On a societal level, the consequences of the use of these technologies are too often unintended.
With these technologies so pervasive, the ignorant egoism of Truth-knowing leaders poses a clear and present danger to us as individuals and citizens, and as a species. We need leaders who humbly acknowledge and respect their ignorance and who understand the dangers of hubris and certitude.
Although I am inherently an optimist as far as my own journey through each day, I am deeply pessimistic about our species. Given the arrogance of so many of our leaders who know the Truth, I fear for the welfare of my children and for those who will come after.
The social evolution unfolding at this time will be a major leap forward, for those that survive. Those who wield wealth and power of Old World are fighting to the death to hold their social wealth, status and control. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
A not insignificant part of “the problem” is that we don’t know what we don’t know. High intelligence in the absence of wisdom may yet prove an evolutionary dead end.
I agree about high intelligence in the absence of wisdom being an evolutionary dead end. The situation is exacerbated by other factors such as apathy, distraction by our infotainment society, and solipsism which seems at times to be epidemic..
Of course, high intelligence is an ambiguous term given the complex ways in which intelligence manifests itself. Many of us know the geek who has enormous talent in one area, e.g,, computers but who is deeply ignorant of much outside of that.