Aurelius' Razor?

For years, I have been quietly advancing the notion that the world would be a better place if everyone looked out for the common good. But sharing what seems to be an obvious idea has been an unexpectedly bumpy road--mostly because my words lacked the clarity of an ancient philosopher king.

Today, I stumbled upon the words 

I can now only wish I had chosen myself.

Photo by Eric Gaba
Wikimedia Commons user Sting, CC BY-SA 3.0

"Let every action aim solely at the common good."

--Marcus Aurelius

The reason my heart stopped when I read the above quote was that I had been trying to say the same thing for years, but my attempts lacked clarity and punch.

Inspired by Occam's Razor, my first attempt states that, when choosing between two courses of action, pick the one that has the best social outcome. With uncharacteristic hubris. I dubbed this idea Doane's Razor and waited for the royalty checks to come pouring in...

But of course, I never really thought Doane's Razor was sufficient. It's too vague. Actions come down to individual predictions of future outcomes, and under that "razor" nearly anything can be justified.

The next iteration came along with my re-reading of Robert Pirsig's classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I read it as a teenaged cyclist and rediscovered it as a motorcyclist, many years and many miles later.

"The place to improve the world is first

in one's own heart and head and hands,

and then work outward from there."  

--Robert M. Pirsig

Somehow when I was 17 I overlooked Pirsig's pearl of wisdom. But with the benefit of experience, the value of the approach became clear. If you desire to make the world a better place, start with examining your personal values. Make plans that are consistent with those values. And then spend time doing the things that will make your values come to life. The things you do and say reflect your thoughts and plans, and ultimately reveal your values.

It's my opinion that Marcus Aurelius captured the meat of this idea more succinctly than I ever did. Using the law of parsimony, I hereby suspend Doane's Razor in favor of a new, superior one which I now dub Aurelius' Razor.

"Let every action aim solely at the common good."

--Marcus Aurelius

Does this make sense to you? Are you willing to give it a try in your personal life? Share thoughts in comments!

We can learn much from the writings of the likes of a Roman soldier, statesman, orator, emperor, and Stoic philosopher named Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (26 April 121 – 17 March 180 AD). Here is a link to a previous post featuring his timeless wisdom.

Enjoy!

'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' Author Robert M. Pirsig Dies at 88

Author Robert Pirsig and his son Chris in 1968.

I am saddened to learn about the passing today of Robert Pirsig, author of one of my all-time favorite books. I read it first when I was a teen, and my idea of a cross-country trip on 2 wheels was #RAGBRAI.

Many years later, I re-read the same dog-eared copy as a 50-year-old cancer patient with a broken marriage, an unfinished dissertation, and a glorious #Road_King.


Reading a book the second time can be an amazing experience, particularly if the intervening years had some character-building experiences...

In my youth, I latched on to the lighter part of #ZAMM which deals with adventure--the open road, and a mechanic's appreciation for the well-engineered machine. 

My second exposure occurred many hard miles later. At that time, Pirsig's dark and desperate struggle to find truth, keep his sanity, and add value to the world--all of that absolutely pierced me. 

I am grateful for my life and all of its lessons. I am grateful that every time I was ready to learn, a teacher appeared.

Thank you, Robert, for so much wisdom lurking behind the veneer of a travel story. You taught us to not merely exist but to truly "be in the scene." May your heavenly highways be full of twisty turns. In the afterlife, may man and machine work as one, evermore.



Links for further reading:

• NPR broke the story of Pirsig's passing at 88 years of age
• Here is an idea for a course I'd love to teach 
• Here is my 83rd birthday tribute to Robert Pirsig
• Here is a post containing my favorite Pirsig quote

Positive Social Change and Diversity

Creativity and innovation depend upon diversity of thought. Diversity of thought follows from diversity of experience. If one is never forced to look at a familiar situation from a radically different perspective, it's much harder to appreciate the valid aspects of opposing points of view.

When there is no diversity, there is no change. no progress, no improvement. If you want to make the world a better place, you'd better embrace diversity. Whether you are looking to adapt through evolutionary change, or pursue a more radical, revolutionary change agenda, begin with your values, and then make your plans, and finally put your plans into action.

“The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.”― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

I value diversity and am committed to challenging my own deeply held beliefs on a frequent basis. This political season is giving me plenty of opportunities to test just how open-minded I truly am.

Are you open-minded? Do you rigorously examine your own beliefs? I offer the following test. Visit the Facebook pages of each of the four presidential candidates. I have copied the links below. On each page, note how many of your friends have decided to follow each of them. My hypothesis is that the most open-minded people would have diversity in this measure, whereas the more closed-minded among us would tend to associate only with like-minded folks.

Here are the pages in alphabetical order by last name

• https://www.facebook.com/hillaryclinton/ 
• https://www.facebook.com/govgaryjohnson/
• https://www.facebook.com/drjillstein/
• https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/

In my case, only 13.7% of my Facebook friends had made such a declaration for a particular candidate. However, the distribution of those choices reflects something interesting about the diversity of my friends.

Here are the results, in descending order:

• Clinton 47%
• Trump 31%
• Johnson 19%
• Stein 3%

This post  has nothing to do with who I'll vote for, or who I think you should vote for. I believe you can search your heart and do your job on election day with no help from me. In fact, I am counting on it! Likewise, I am not in need of unsolicited partisan propaganda from others. I'll make up my own mind, thank you.

Rather, this post is about the relationship between positive social change and diversity. Do you value diversity? How do you demonstrate this value in the world?

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”― Jim Rohn

The Role of Goals

"Robert M. Pirsig, in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, describes joining a group of elderly Zen monks mountain-climbing in the Himalayas. Though Pirsig was the youngest member of the expedition, he was the only one who struggled; he eventually gave up, while the monks effortlessly ascended to the peak.

"Pirsig, focused on the goal of reaching the peak of the mountain and overwhelmed by what lay ahead, was unable to enjoy the climb; he lost his desire--and his strength--to carry on. The monks also focused on the peak, but only to make sure they were staying on course, not because reaching the peak itself was most important to them. Knowing that they were headed in the right direction allowed them to focus their attention and enjoy each step, rather than be overwhelmed by what lay ahead.

"The proper role of goals is to liberate us, so that we can enjoy the here and now."


                                                     --Tal Ben-Shahar, Happier, pp. 69, 70

Running a marathon is not about crossing the finish line so much as it is about learning to find joy in each stride taken from the first day of training right up until the goal is achieved. One foot in front of the other. Stay the course, and the finish line eventually comes to you.