The Currency of Reflection

Tonight I experienced another round of an ongoing conversation.

A friend and I sometimes talk about evolution and history.

I typically insiste that human life demands consideration in its own terms.

They think that reflection on human life can benefit from knowledge of the natural world and human evolution

To put it simply, we disagree about how heavily we are to favor culture or evolution.

I want to ask, How does one go about actually reflecting on their life?

Because this is the problem: Self-knowledge and action.

How do we go about using what we know about ourselves to decide what we want to become?

The most practical form of self-knowledge, I believe, is a personal, cultural, historical understanding, and not a scientific or evolutionary understanding.

Science tends to generalize. History tends to particularize.

Reflection is about particularity.

I'm not sure what I'm saying.

But this is a problem.

And I still think the question is one of reflection.

What do we think about when we think clearly about our lives?

What do we think about when we see our own lives clearly?

I think we think particular thoughts about our particular time place and situation.

When I reflect on my life, I never reflect on hunter gatherer tribes or the evolutionary psychology of attraction.

I think of the communities that really exist around me and the beautiful women I actually see.