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Toward Human Emergence: A Human Resource Philosophy for the Future
Space Policy 26 (2010) 196–197
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Space Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/spacepol
Book Review Toward Human Emergence: A Human Resource Philosophy for the Future, Philip Robert Harris, HRD Press, Amherst, MA, 2009 (420 pp., ISBN: 978 1 59996 167 5) Preparing humanity for the future by providing it with the intellectual tools to take on the anticipated challenges has been a cherished goal of scientists and philosophers. The extent to which they succeed, of course, depends upon the degree to which future trends can be predicted, and thus the appropriate reserves and faculties of the human personality mobilised in preparation for them. Philip Harris takes on this task in his book, ‘Toward Human Emergence’. He is quite clear about his stated objective; he declares in his Preface that humanity is making a transition into a ‘new state of being’ and that his book is intended for educators and trainers, the human resource developers of the future. Harris’s essential thesis is that we are living in a time when there is a unique concatenation of possibilities, driven forwards by certain technological developments, such as computer technology, cybernetics and space exploration. These technical advances make possible methods of communication, cooperation and knowledge acquisition that will enable a new phase of human development. In his first chapter Harris takes a page out of Greek philosopher Heraclitus’s view by emphasising that adapting to the future is all about change. He discusses the external forces of change in our lives and, accepting that change is inevitable, he counsels that it is controllable; successful management is all about using our intellect to direct the world. It is at this stage in the book that I wondered whether we really are in a new state of being or whether his first chapter in fact illustrates quite aptly how little has changed – indeed it was Heraclitus himself who declared that change is the only thing that is constant. Harris states in his first sentence in the book, ‘For some 80,000 years, our species has been coping with change’. Harris illustrates this view with a chapter discussing how social and religious views have changed hand-in-hand with our changing knowledge of the cosmos, of its evolution and physical structure. This is a good example of the way in which, at least since the secularisation of knowledge in the Enlightenment, we certainly have had more control over human change through the instruments of scientific investigation, which ultimately determine our world-view. We have become less hidebound to prophesy and the dogma of divine destiny, which was a radical turning point in the Western outlook. The point Harris makes in his third chapter is, I think, one of the most important in the book, and it concerns humanity’s choice to use all this new technology at its disposal to advance itself or degenerate into a hedonistic mass of creatures merely using technology for their own self-gratification. When the use of computer technology in space technology, which is leading to commercial spaceflight, is compared to the virtual reality worlds in which some people absorb themselves into, I suspect, like most technologies, there will be elements of both effects. But Harris’s point that
doi:10.1016/j.spacepol.2010.06.006
there is a decision to be taken on this matter in the formulation of broad social policy is an essential one. Harris views this new state of society as being largely fashioned by the increasing tendency of human civilization to enlarge its inclusiveness, from tribal groups to nations, and now international organisations, such as the United Nations. This expanding realm of cooperation offers enormous potential, but at the same time brings with it great challenges. As the population becomes more integrated, in essence more efficient at communicating and interacting, so our resource use becomes more efficient, leading us to deplete our resources, increase our population and, paradoxically, to face potential fragmentation caused by these stresses on society. This dichotomy between the opportunities of planetary (and eventually interplanetary) cooperation and the burden of dealing with its negative consequences is one of the greatest problems now facing society. Harris’s book is certainly infused with a sense of utopianism, and perhaps even a mild sense of socialism. In Chapter five he declares that it is everyone’s ‘duty’ to participate in moral choices – I would say a sense of duty that has, in past human history, usually resulted in disaster when the state takes it upon itself to enforce this sense of duty on the population. He cites a reason for hope in the observation that the International Space Station is being constructed through international cooperation. He is correct in saying that cooperation between space agencies is a good thing. However, a cynic might say that the ISS is a behemoth of state inefficiency and that the hope rather lies with private spaceflight that will liberate humanity into space with greater certainty than vast supranational organisations. And in this rather negative quip I merely wish to point out that one should always be reminded, whilst reading Harris’s infectiously optimistic and insistent writing, that his view is a specific view. Directing humanity’s changes successfully ultimately requires that we have the intellectual tools to do this and, as Harris recognises, freedom of choice and educating people to use freedom of choice is an essential task. Social potential cannot be unlocked in a group of mentally withered human beings with little knowledge of how to effect change in the world. Herein lies a fundamental dichotomy between educating people to belong to a society and giving them the capability to think for themselves and to develop a vigorous independence of mind. This challenge has never been, nor will it ever be, easy, but it is a central problem of managing human societies. Here, Harris also touches on the way in which the role of women in society has improved over time and what significance this has for social development. The last section of the book is dedicated to exploring the choices that will lead to human development and integration and the factors that might lead to disintegration. He suggests numerous approaches to addressing this bifurcation in the future of humanity and discusses the role of the environmental crisis in this unfolding human drama. In the Epilog he suggests that space exploration may provide a way to develop a new view of life on the Earth.
Book Review / Space Policy 26 (2010) 196–197
Toward Human Emergence is a paean to social perfectionism. As a scion of Popper, Hayek and Berlin, I found myself constantly disturbed by Harris’s splendid, but in my view sometimes naive, utopianism. His invocation to us all to gain mastery of ourselves and our potential and direct it toward the development of humanity is a wonderful clarion call, but who is to decide what aspects of ourselves we should self-master? What are the best policies to achieve this and who is to decide how to implement them? I would have liked to see more recognition in Harris’s book of the terrible opportunities for tyrannical people to take hold of these new crises and problems as an excuse to direct human society toward one end. The book, which is the latest in a line of utopian visions of society running back to Plato’s Republic, is a laudable vision, but it illustrates all too well how very little has changed. The human future is as uncertain as it always was and it is, therefore, despite Harris’s long list of wonder technologies that are
197
now available to us, and the apparently integrated society we now live in, as ripe for utopianism and single vision doctrines as it always was. Harris does, however, fervidly uphold the importance of free choice as the means to developing humanity, an important section of his book. Harris’s writing is clear to understand and his book is also full of excellent quotes and citations. In the pantheon of discussions on how we should develop human society and what its potential is, his book is an important, fruitful and charming discussion. Charles Cockell Planetary and Space Science Research Institute, Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 7TJ, UK E-mail address: [email protected] Available online 13 July 2010
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Space Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/spacepol
Book Review Toward Human Emergence: A Human Resource Philosophy for the Future, Philip Robert Harris, HRD Press, Amherst, MA, 2009 (420 pp., ISBN: 978 1 59996 167 5) Preparing humanity for the future by providing it with the intellectual tools to take on the anticipated challenges has been a cherished goal of scientists and philosophers. The extent to which they succeed, of course, depends upon the degree to which future trends can be predicted, and thus the appropriate reserves and faculties of the human personality mobilised in preparation for them. Philip Harris takes on this task in his book, ‘Toward Human Emergence’. He is quite clear about his stated objective; he declares in his Preface that humanity is making a transition into a ‘new state of being’ and that his book is intended for educators and trainers, the human resource developers of the future. Harris’s essential thesis is that we are living in a time when there is a unique concatenation of possibilities, driven forwards by certain technological developments, such as computer technology, cybernetics and space exploration. These technical advances make possible methods of communication, cooperation and knowledge acquisition that will enable a new phase of human development. In his first chapter Harris takes a page out of Greek philosopher Heraclitus’s view by emphasising that adapting to the future is all about change. He discusses the external forces of change in our lives and, accepting that change is inevitable, he counsels that it is controllable; successful management is all about using our intellect to direct the world. It is at this stage in the book that I wondered whether we really are in a new state of being or whether his first chapter in fact illustrates quite aptly how little has changed – indeed it was Heraclitus himself who declared that change is the only thing that is constant. Harris states in his first sentence in the book, ‘For some 80,000 years, our species has been coping with change’. Harris illustrates this view with a chapter discussing how social and religious views have changed hand-in-hand with our changing knowledge of the cosmos, of its evolution and physical structure. This is a good example of the way in which, at least since the secularisation of knowledge in the Enlightenment, we certainly have had more control over human change through the instruments of scientific investigation, which ultimately determine our world-view. We have become less hidebound to prophesy and the dogma of divine destiny, which was a radical turning point in the Western outlook. The point Harris makes in his third chapter is, I think, one of the most important in the book, and it concerns humanity’s choice to use all this new technology at its disposal to advance itself or degenerate into a hedonistic mass of creatures merely using technology for their own self-gratification. When the use of computer technology in space technology, which is leading to commercial spaceflight, is compared to the virtual reality worlds in which some people absorb themselves into, I suspect, like most technologies, there will be elements of both effects. But Harris’s point that
doi:10.1016/j.spacepol.2010.06.006
there is a decision to be taken on this matter in the formulation of broad social policy is an essential one. Harris views this new state of society as being largely fashioned by the increasing tendency of human civilization to enlarge its inclusiveness, from tribal groups to nations, and now international organisations, such as the United Nations. This expanding realm of cooperation offers enormous potential, but at the same time brings with it great challenges. As the population becomes more integrated, in essence more efficient at communicating and interacting, so our resource use becomes more efficient, leading us to deplete our resources, increase our population and, paradoxically, to face potential fragmentation caused by these stresses on society. This dichotomy between the opportunities of planetary (and eventually interplanetary) cooperation and the burden of dealing with its negative consequences is one of the greatest problems now facing society. Harris’s book is certainly infused with a sense of utopianism, and perhaps even a mild sense of socialism. In Chapter five he declares that it is everyone’s ‘duty’ to participate in moral choices – I would say a sense of duty that has, in past human history, usually resulted in disaster when the state takes it upon itself to enforce this sense of duty on the population. He cites a reason for hope in the observation that the International Space Station is being constructed through international cooperation. He is correct in saying that cooperation between space agencies is a good thing. However, a cynic might say that the ISS is a behemoth of state inefficiency and that the hope rather lies with private spaceflight that will liberate humanity into space with greater certainty than vast supranational organisations. And in this rather negative quip I merely wish to point out that one should always be reminded, whilst reading Harris’s infectiously optimistic and insistent writing, that his view is a specific view. Directing humanity’s changes successfully ultimately requires that we have the intellectual tools to do this and, as Harris recognises, freedom of choice and educating people to use freedom of choice is an essential task. Social potential cannot be unlocked in a group of mentally withered human beings with little knowledge of how to effect change in the world. Herein lies a fundamental dichotomy between educating people to belong to a society and giving them the capability to think for themselves and to develop a vigorous independence of mind. This challenge has never been, nor will it ever be, easy, but it is a central problem of managing human societies. Here, Harris also touches on the way in which the role of women in society has improved over time and what significance this has for social development. The last section of the book is dedicated to exploring the choices that will lead to human development and integration and the factors that might lead to disintegration. He suggests numerous approaches to addressing this bifurcation in the future of humanity and discusses the role of the environmental crisis in this unfolding human drama. In the Epilog he suggests that space exploration may provide a way to develop a new view of life on the Earth.
Book Review / Space Policy 26 (2010) 196–197
Toward Human Emergence is a paean to social perfectionism. As a scion of Popper, Hayek and Berlin, I found myself constantly disturbed by Harris’s splendid, but in my view sometimes naive, utopianism. His invocation to us all to gain mastery of ourselves and our potential and direct it toward the development of humanity is a wonderful clarion call, but who is to decide what aspects of ourselves we should self-master? What are the best policies to achieve this and who is to decide how to implement them? I would have liked to see more recognition in Harris’s book of the terrible opportunities for tyrannical people to take hold of these new crises and problems as an excuse to direct human society toward one end. The book, which is the latest in a line of utopian visions of society running back to Plato’s Republic, is a laudable vision, but it illustrates all too well how very little has changed. The human future is as uncertain as it always was and it is, therefore, despite Harris’s long list of wonder technologies that are
197
now available to us, and the apparently integrated society we now live in, as ripe for utopianism and single vision doctrines as it always was. Harris does, however, fervidly uphold the importance of free choice as the means to developing humanity, an important section of his book. Harris’s writing is clear to understand and his book is also full of excellent quotes and citations. In the pantheon of discussions on how we should develop human society and what its potential is, his book is an important, fruitful and charming discussion. Charles Cockell Planetary and Space Science Research Institute, Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 7TJ, UK E-mail address: [email protected] Available online 13 July 2010