VIII. At Our Best… ↑
64. We recognize the need for balance.
The more we learn about humans, and about the human condition, and about the world around us, the more we realize that there is no single valid perspective to take, no single right sort of social structure to favor, no single right way to live, no single set of absolute values to adopt.
At the same time, though, humans are not designed to simply accept all perspectives, structures and values as equally important at all times; we we are not designed to simply go with the flow.
So where does that leave us?
We are constantly observing, learning, comparing notes, evaluating and seeking the mostly optimal balance of different factors in every situation that we face.
Words from Others on this Topic
It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas. Obviously those two modes of thought are in some tension. But if you are able to exercise only one of these modes, whichever one it is, you’re in deep trouble.
Some ideas are better than others. The machinery for distinguishing them is an essential tool in dealing with the world and especially in dealing with the future. And it is precisely the mix of these two modes of thought that is central to the success of science.
Carl Sagan, 1987, from the essay “The Burden of Skepticism”