Homo Ethos

The Ethic of Human Repair

By Richard Messing, World Ethics Organization

When we face an unwanted recurring situation, we typically try to fix it ourselves first. If we fail, we turn to trusted friends or advisors. Failing that, we consult conventional ‘subject matter experts’, then perhaps the unconventional. When all efforts fail, we often surrender to the problem, accepting it as the “new normal.”

Over time, persistent problems—especially those lasting generations, centuries, or millennia—can achieve the erroneous status of ‘human nature’. This resignation gives rise to coping industries, such as psychotherapy, pharmaceuticals, and a flood of technological “solutions” that manage symptoms of the new normal instead of eliminating the root cause.

Chronic human problems that resist conventional methods and interventions often lead us to adapt rather than persist in seeking a true solution. The chronic, unethical nature of the human condition is one such example. We tend to view unethical behavior as inevitable, so instead of seeking a solution, we seek ways to manage and cope.

But what if we’re wrong? What if the chronic, unethical condition of humanity isn’t normal but is a result of something fundamentally broken? And if it’s broken, then—like anything else—it can be repaired, provided we understand its design and how it functions.

This is the premise of The Ethic of Human Repair: the human condition isn’t normal—it malfunctions and is repairable. Its longevity as a problem doesn’t prove inevitability; it only indicates our lack of understanding thus far.

In the next article, Homo Ethos will begin to introduce a new paradigm that transforms our understanding and capacity to address chronic human problems—a language and logic that reimagines the paradoxical nature of ethics, freedom, and behavior. Since January 2021, this content has been available to the public through The Change Agent, a free educational program.

Richard Messing, Founder | World Ethics Organization (WEO)

Website: https://worldethicsorganization.org/

Tags: #richardmessing, #ethics, #humanrepair, #WEO, #homoethos

Note: Homo Ethos is a series of articles about how to solve chronic human problems that resist conventional methods and interventions, based on the paradoxical nature of the human condition, freedom and ethics.