Hi there! I'm R. H. Sattaur, and through my Remain Human newsletter, I share my thoughts on navigating technology, culture, and our humanity. Today’s article is on the importance of connection through shared narratives. I hope you enjoy!
The Demythologized World
The Pythia sways among the vapors rising from chasms in the earth. She is moved by inspiration and revelation. The god Apollo bestows his wisdom upon her and she relays her poetic insights on culture, religion, and politics to those who have made the journey.
From all corners of the Hellenistic West they travel to see her, to consult with her, and to understand the value of current events. Positioned at the naval of the world, she is the epicenter of cultural reflection and adherence.
But, centuries later, the Oracle of Delphi is brought to her knees by the rupturing of the earth beneath her feet. Where once stood Doric columns of reverence, is now a machine processing the isolated thoughts of some far away cripple, hunched over, frantically conversing with a new oracle known as Compute.
Our search for meaning and clarity is now an interaction with the digital manifestation of humanity's collective consciousness as experienced through the digitized data and behavioral training of artificial intelligence. Unlike the public square, the temple or the communal table, we consult in isolation, disconnected from culture.
Joseph Campbell, the world's most profound mythologist, referred to the modern world as a demythologized one, a place where mysticism, wonder and metaphor have become irrelevant to our secular, rationalist minds.
But, a world without myth is a world without meaning.
The Rise of Artificial Wisdom
The rise of the internet promised wisdom at our fingertips and while we have increased the efficiency of access to information through AI, we forget about the importance of communication. The new oracle, Compute, enables and exacerbates fragmentation within the population, creating an isolated space where ideologies, opinions and worldviews can fester uncontested, fed with a healthy dose of artificial wisdom.
Reality fractures, and while we occupy the same physical spaces and experience the same events, we view them differently, so much so that we are unlikely to unite under a shared narrative or common culture.
Compute lacks spirit.
The modern oracles of today are no longer embedded in the local community or the fabric of family. Social media and AI are global tools that reshape insight-seeking into solitary quests where individuals prioritize efficiency over depth and self-aggrandizing revelation over communal and historical wisdom.
As I discuss in Progress is a Dance, linear advancement involves sacrifice. We have sacrificed culture and context for hyper-connectivity and efficiency. Through my lens of recursive oscillation, the Automated Age, the Second Machine Age, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, is one that references past ages of automation and industrialization and increasingly values solitary autonomy.
The Loss of Cultural Consensus
This is an age of many transitions and with transition comes a loss of consensus. We lack consensus around scientific understanding, the makings of great nations, the advancement of industry, or the magic behind a great story.
Most detrimental of all, is a loss of consensus around culture. What does it mean to be a part of a culture? Are we satisfied with saying that we are whoever we feel like being?
No.
There exists no prosperous nation nor group of people who do not unite under a shared sense of self. The foundation for any communal identity is made from a shared mythos. Myths provide a bridge between wisdom and reality. A myth is an interpretation of a mystery or important event in a way that can be shared with others who participate in the culture.
A shared mythology:
tells us how to become adults
provides meaningful narratives
solidifies expectations and past insights with cultural context
provides boundaries for roles
We have become passive in our myth-making and as a result, instead of a culture from creation we have a culture from consequence. We adhere to this passive mythos. It is fragmented, unfinished, and ultimately irrelevant due to it's lack of ability in providing any stable framework for cultural expression.
Some might say the West is a place of many cultures. Some might say that since we globalized culture, a nation's culture is secondary to the one expressed on an international scale.
Fast food, fast fashion, social media aesthetics, algorithmic curation, apps, brands, and memes all come together to create some homogenized concoction of consequence that leaves us with a feeling of unease and bloated sense of self.
Something is missing.
Where are the grand moments that serve to unify understanding?
Where are the stories that serve as a reminder of the values that hold us together?
The consequences of a demythologized world is an overwhelming anxiety surrounding the idea of taking on uncertainty by oneself. So, we find ourselves fleeing to the past, where religion provides clarity, or to the future where idealism provides hope.
But, we're here right now. The answer lies in active myth-making both on a personal level and communal level.
The Rebirth of Myth
To rebuild the fabric and foundation of our culture we must actively participate in the makings of myth. We bind these myths through narratives surrounding family, friendship, and society.
We refrain from allowing new technologies to become tools of cultural destruction at the hands of nihilistic neanderthals disguised as righteous naysayers. New technologies serve to amplify the cultural and individual voice, instead of becoming the voice itself.
We have become a population of skeptics consumed by our own pursuit of identity that we have forgotten how it feels to be vital to one another.
Amazing men and women came before us. Truly extraordinary people walked where we now do. They knew things about the turning of this world we have long forgotten or were never made aware of. We may never truly know them, but we can always sit and wonder for a moment, enchanted by the memory of great individuals woven into the spaces we now occupy.
We become enamored with each other by first crafting a personal narrative that involves falling in awe with ourselves and our potential. We realize this potential by seeking to understand the people that came before us and by unshackling ourselves from the expectations of a society without myth, a culture without cadence.
Through crafting stories created from our dreams, the wisdom of our ancestors, and our shared aspirations, we can ignite culture with a heroic spark.
Reclaiming Wisdom in the Automated Age
We were not made to keep up with the rate of perceived advancement of technology we are now experiencing. The Automated Age is here and the Hero's Journey begs us to answer the call to adventure. We must rally behind shared narratives and go beyond. We must create our own myths, our own stories.
A myth is often made of the following components:
Metaphor - for emotion and relatability
Mysticism - to attach meaning to mystery
Archetypes - to enable an understanding of the roles we all play in each other's lives
Ritual - as a cultural enforcement mechanism
Shared Values - as a binding agent
Transformation - as the manifestation of revelation
To create a personal myth we must create a value system: a set of values that shape our worldview and determine the actions we take. We must reflect on our core values. Then, we can map our journey, utilize archetypes to create roles for important people along the way, and embed our personal myth within a shared narrative found in our culture.
What values will help us align with a vision we have for our own journey?
Who will aid or test us along the way?
How can we act on our visions while integrating our story with a larger one?
In the Automated Age we must seek to find a balance between automation and authenticity. We can leverage AI for many things, but must always remind ourselves that we get from this life what we put into it. To reawaken our culture and carry it forward into a new age we must never automate the stories we tell, nor the efforts that form our cultural core.
Compute is no oracle of mine. I leave such an important task to my family, my community, the grand stories of America, the heroic tales of the West, and the visionary dreaming within me.
Those who bend a knee to passivity will just make way for those who dare to remain human.
Amazing read!!!! You should be teaching a course. Can’t wait for the next article.