I'm just SO TIRED

[Tommymac]

46. Progress has always been 2 steps forward and at least 1 back.

One generation advances progress, then the next yearns for the 'good old days' and attempts to go fully back to it, but never quite gets there as this locks in the interim step so the 3rd generation starts again from an advanced position compared to Gen 1.

A very good philosophical novel that explains this process very well is 'Lila: An Inquiry into Morals ' by Robert M. Pirsig.

Yes - the same 20th Century philosopher who brought us "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". In fact Lila is the 'sequel'.

Lila is a much harder read and not nearly as popular as Zen, however if one takes the time to read and comprehend what Pirsig is trying to tell us it is actually the more powerful of the set.

I would recommend reading Zen first to fully understand the foundations of the philosophy Pirsig is attempting to develop, but it is not required.

From Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals :

Another theme analyzed using the Metaphysics of Quality is the interaction between intellectual and social patterns. Pirsig states that until the end of the Victorian era, social patterns dominated the conduct of members of the American culture. In the aftermath of World War I, intellectual patterns and the scientific method acceded to that position, becoming responsible for directing the nation's goals and actions. The later occurrences of fascism are seen as an anti-intellectual struggle to return social patterns to the dominant position. The hippie movement, having perceived the flaws inherent in both social and intellectual patterns, sought to transcend them, but failed to provide a stable replacement, degenerating instead into lower level biological patterns as noted in its calls for free love.

On Edit: Found this gem (to me), though he has left this world in 2017, Pirsig's Third book is out: "he co-authored ... 'On Quality: An Inquiry Into Excellence: Selected and Unpublished Writings' (2022) along with his wife (now widow) and editor, Wendy Pirsig"