Verified by 
Yesterday, January 7, I read three articles that buoyed my sagging spirit. The January 1 editorial in Nature, the prestigious magazine that publishes mainly research in the natural sciences, urged more support for the social sciences. The author argued that the discoveries of natural scientists cannot help people unless they possess a better understanding of societies and their members. Amen! I was also surprised by reading on the same day separate op-ed pieces in The New York Times by David Brooks and Roger Cohen containing related ideas. Brooks wrote on the human need for meaning and Cohen waxed nostalgic for an earlier era when there were no apps, gratifications were usually delayed, a majority thought they knew the difference between right and wrong, and loyal friendships were not rarities. What is going on?
How can it be that the 2 billion humans who enjoy the longest lives, best health, most gadgets, and a surfeit of food and entertainment are filled with a vague unease they do not understand? According to the smartest economists and some philosophers, they ought to be the happiest generation that ever lived. The ancient Greeks and Chinese would understand this apparent paradox because they knew that humans had an irrepressible need to believe they were valued objects, meaning they were good. This very personal evaluation required satisfying at least one of three conditions.
The person has to believe that one or more persons required their presence, love, help, or friendship, their talent and effort produced an outcome for which they could be proud, or they were certain of the moral truth of their beliefs and the virtue in their actions. Contemporary life has made it difficult to meet all three requirements. Too many adults work in large bureaucratic organizations in which their contribution is easily replaced. The cult of narcissism that grew out of an exaggerated self-interest resists total commitment to any relationship and, therefore, hard to convince the self that someone else depends on their existence. “No, no, no it ain’t me babe, it ain’t me you’re looking for babe.” The glut of machines reduces the likelihood that one mind or one set of hands could make a product that brings a smile of pride. The press writes about the Hadron Collider, drones, robots, chips that read genomes, and driverless cars, not the men and women who dreamed up the idea or built these things.
The most pressing problems a century ago were psychological - psychotics, criminals, alcoholics, and retarded children. These problems are still with us, but they have been trumped by global warming, nuclear waste, garbage, cybercrime, and dirty bombs. These are material problems requiring material solutions. And the benevolent consequences of socializing our children to be tolerant of all value systems and to award dignity to all individuals exacted a cost. Too many youth are not sure which imperatives they must honor under all circumstances. That is why the editors of Nature wrote the editorial, and Brooks and Cohen penned their essays.
A feeling of well-being requires a belief in illusions. The conditions of modern life ripped away the old illusions and we have to invent a new set. Machines can’t do that task, only minds.
