THE TELEOLOGY OF ACTION
If action is not pre-determined, if it is not 100% behaviorally conditioned, then it involves choice. Choice involves purpose. Purpose is the Why of What we do. There is a purpose to everything we do. In other words, action is teleo-logical, and relates to ends, goals, or purposes, whether we understand that purpose or not.
Consider a horizon. For the land-based primitive, it is definitional boundary of a landscape. For the Renaissance sailor, it is the infinite regressing marker of a goal on a journey. Note this though. Journey's ends can be found. But, the horizon can never be touched.
Goals are like horizons that lead us on to new worlds and new ends. But, those ends are attainable. Therefore, we have choice. We can stay where we are and the horizon will change subtly, like a series of landscape portraits by one artist whose style always has a similar range of pallet and brush technique. Or, we can journey to the horizon (by land or by sea, in any direction) to seek out the ends of the earth.
Whether we stay or go, we have choices. The first of which is to stay or go. Once we are moving in a direction, the choices become binary, tertiary, and more. And, as Casey Stengel might have said, when you come to a fork in the road, with 64 choices, choose it.
An action journey is the embrace of a direction towards a horizon of possibilities. Along the way we discover choices, and tools for handling choice.
Choice is the teleo-logical resolution of chance. How to decide on what presents itself, keep it in perspective, and move on. Or, stand pat. Movement seems to be the answer. Ceaseless choice, endless directions, continous action. Seeking the purpose. Teleology is the gestalt of purpose in our actions.
This is not the same as flow. Modern technologies and computer algorithimization of action tend to impose physical flow upon us in terms of a larger or "total" social or enterprise purpose, but take no account of individual purpose and choice.
This is about individual teleology and the right and duty of the individual to have one.
Consider a horizon. For the land-based primitive, it is definitional boundary of a landscape. For the Renaissance sailor, it is the infinite regressing marker of a goal on a journey. Note this though. Journey's ends can be found. But, the horizon can never be touched.
Goals are like horizons that lead us on to new worlds and new ends. But, those ends are attainable. Therefore, we have choice. We can stay where we are and the horizon will change subtly, like a series of landscape portraits by one artist whose style always has a similar range of pallet and brush technique. Or, we can journey to the horizon (by land or by sea, in any direction) to seek out the ends of the earth.
Whether we stay or go, we have choices. The first of which is to stay or go. Once we are moving in a direction, the choices become binary, tertiary, and more. And, as Casey Stengel might have said, when you come to a fork in the road, with 64 choices, choose it.
An action journey is the embrace of a direction towards a horizon of possibilities. Along the way we discover choices, and tools for handling choice.
Choice is the teleo-logical resolution of chance. How to decide on what presents itself, keep it in perspective, and move on. Or, stand pat. Movement seems to be the answer. Ceaseless choice, endless directions, continous action. Seeking the purpose. Teleology is the gestalt of purpose in our actions.
This is not the same as flow. Modern technologies and computer algorithimization of action tend to impose physical flow upon us in terms of a larger or "total" social or enterprise purpose, but take no account of individual purpose and choice.
This is about individual teleology and the right and duty of the individual to have one.
posted by TML at 5:16 AM
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