What is Man?
By Norman Gonzales
As
we go through life we constantly strive to make ourselves better, to improve
upon the knowledge and virtue that we brought with us the day before. As parents we seek to have our children
accomplish greater feats and to rise to greater heights than we were able to in
our lifetimes. For those of us at John Adams Academy, we strive to develop
servant leaders and to “inspire” our scholars to become lifelong learners who
excel in their pursuits, to unlock the genius within every child.
Integrating
classics into our curriculum is one way that we do this. Socratic dialogue is
another. Classics contain and reveal
time worthy values and ideas that can inspire, enrich and entertain. They can also challenge and test. Sometimes they force us to re-evaluate our
positions, or ponder our previously held beliefs. Socratic discussions regarding these texts
can engage scholars, teachers, and parents alike.
One
such classic is a work by Mark Twain called “What is man?” This essay by Twain melds the two avenues I
mentioned; genuinely rich and weighty concepts written in the form of a
dialogue. As I read this essay it was reminiscent of Plato’s works in which he
delves into the topics through conversations of the characters.
It
is set up this way:
“[The Old Man and the Young Man had been
conversing. The Old Man had asserted that the human being is merely a machine,
and nothing more. The Young Man objected, and asked him to go into particulars
and furnish his reasons for his position.]”
After
a brief conversation between the two men regarding how a machine of steel is
created and operates they arrive from that analogy to their discussion of man. This provides the first hard idea.
“Young Man:
You have arrived at man, now?
Old Man: Yes. Man the
machine—man the impersonal engine. Whatsoever a man is, is due to his make,
and to the influences brought to bear upon it by his heredities, his
habitat, his associations. He is moved, directed, COMMANDED, by exterior
influences—solely. He originates nothing, not even a thought.”
The
next hard idea is that every action of man is motivated by an impulse for self
preservation and comfort, or in other words “securing his own approval.”
“Old Man:
Yes. This is the law, keep it in your mind. From his cradle to his grave a
man never does a single thing which has any FIRST AND FOREMOST object
but one—to secure peace of mind, spiritual comfort, for
HIMSELF.”
The
young man tries admirably, but never quite completely to overthrow the old
man’s propositions. Through the cordial
and prolonged interplay between the Old Man and the Young, Twain brings into
the discussion topics of temperament, creation, virtue, goodness, free
will. At first these arguments and
positions are shocking, maybe even appearing offensive to some, but are we to
be offended when our positions are challenged.
Does the challenge provide us the opportunity to strengthen and steel
our resolve? Do we ever really grow or
improve our knowledge and virtue if we refrain from exercising the intellectual
muscles of reflection and debate? For
example, assuming that the old man is correct and ‘Man’ has no ability for
thought or reason for moving that isn’t derived from an outside force, then
there must be something outside of man, outside of creation with independent
thought capable of moving man. Is this
an argument for divinity? If Man’s sole purpose for acting is to secure
personal satisfaction, then what does that mean for virtue, goodness and
character? Do we as teachers, mentors,
staff and board model the 10 core values? If so, do we because of an internal,
privately virtuous motive, or as Twain would argue, because of an internal
selfish one.
This
classic introduces the topics and allows for their discussion. It also forces us to reflect and review our
own positions and choices. In the end after reading this essay and debating its
merits, Twain would argue that this essay, not our own initiative, was the
outside force which compelled us to do so. What do you think?
Norman Gonzales sits on the Board of Directors for John Adams Academy. This was taken from the July 2013 board meeting thought of the day.
As always, we welcome your thoughts and comments.
