The importance of Why?

[smoothmoniker]

I think the “why” is the human distinction. The strength of the human mind is its ability to systematize data, to reduce it to a principle (the why) and then apply that principle to new situations.

When we sense our limitations at this basic task, it’s important to remember that we only hit a wall at really complex systems. We’re great at answering the “why” for physical interactions, many social interactions, planetary systems. Where we fail are at the point of vast Universals, attempts to systematize and draw source principles from the whole of morality, for example, or the sum of human motivation. Think for just a moment about how complex those things are.

On the whole, I’d say we’re pretty good at most of the “why”, just not the big “why”.

-sm