A Wabash alumnus began his lecture by quoting the Bible: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knows right well” (Psalm 139:14). “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” was the basis of his explanation as a physician and scientist that each of us has a multiplicity of biological networks that share particles with every other human and all created things, even the dirt under our feet. We are all interconnected, and our biological makeup is changing all the time.
As a philosopher and ethicist (he has both an MD and a PhD in social ethics from the University of Chicago) he stressed that we are created as social creatures. We cannot exist without each other or without other created entities. Our social metrices are just as complex, interwoven, and fluctuating as our biological reality. Memories and stories we preserve and transmit structure our social reality and identities. No two individuals preserve the same stories and memories even if they have shared many experiences. Those are the basis for our individual and group identities. A cloned society of identical individuals would be boring and unsustainable. Indeed, a society without diverse groups with distinct identities would be equally boring and unsustainable. Biological diversity insures survival of some adapting species. Biographical diversity insures survival of communities.
Each of us and the groups we join live with the tension between the person’s and the group’s uniqueness and the necessity for relation with others. Groups naturally put screens around any diversity lest distinctions distract from the need to produce a well-defined group. We need to protect safe places for ourselves. We also need to associate freely with diverse individuals and groups so society and community can thrive. Pope Francis recently stated in his Papal Encyclical that contemporary individualism and solitude results in development of individual pathologies. Lonely people despair and distrust others. An unhealthy, strong ego can establish self-protection and enhancement as the primary goal. Exclusive isolation of groups facilitates broken relationships and social pathologies. Groups become suspicious of the other people due to ignorance, and spawn animosity and conflict. In short, distinct, isolated silos appear without windows or doors to permit fresh air or diverse viewpoints. Tense separation reigns rather than collaboration.
Another alumnus, also a distinguished professor at Indiana University School of Medicine urged development of healthy egos for individuals and groups. A mentor advised, “Remember, Bob, your ego is not on trial here.” That transformed his career as a physician and guided the program he developed to serve remote rural African villages. He urged the audience to imagine how the world would be different if each person left their ego at the door when they engaged in personal relationships. It would mean to listen carefully to learn how each person is uniquely themselves biologically and biographically before responding. A poet wrote that the fool does not see the same tree the wise man sees. One would be wise to associate with wise and good people who can assist in seeing things differently and constructing a more positive and attractive biographical self. At the least, we can practice civility and, as local yard signs urge, Be Kind to Each Other.
Lee Hamilton’s memorable phrase, “formidable for good,” is worthy of contemplation. Be formidable for good in personal conduct and community service! Another writer urged, “It is better to be a fountain than a drain.” Would that we all become shaped more by our healthy relationships and the blessings of cooperation among all our community leaders, churches, and organizations. Both our biological and our biographical realities would become more productive our flourishing in Montgomery County.
Raymond Brady Williams, Crawfordsville, LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities emeritus, contributed this guest column.
