Wavelength: The Higher Principle
by Robert Troška (Sr.) The Czech Committee for Scientific Management – Prague
Wars have gone on since ancient times with an aggressor on one side and an invaded land on the other. Humans are no different from animals in this case. Based on an objective analysis, it is doubtful whether the modern person, despite all technological progress, uses intellectual intelligence – one of the pillars of the homo sapiens species. History has been written in blood, i.e. constant conflicts that have no end. So how can this viscious cycle be broken?
The answer rests in using the higher principle – logically distinguishing between good and evil and controlling one’s thinking using one’s conscience. The higher principle is the solution to the famous quotation of Shakespeare’s Danish Prince Hamlet, “To be, or not to be – that is the question”. If humanity as a whole rejects the aforementioned higher principle, then the human race will cease to exist due to conflict.
There is a three-step explanation:
The first step is to stop and start thinking when confronted with information; i.e. not to accept automatically and comfortably the opinions, news and statements presented by journalists, newscasters, or politicians. Just ‘use your head’. The goal is to form one’s own opinion. This means to:
- Detach oneself from emotions and feelings and to evaluate the issue or event as a third party that is uninvolved. Compare it to observing a scene in theatrical production.
- Objectively analyse and examine the motives of both (or other) parties and ask the following questions: “Why is he/she saying these things? What does he/she want to achieve?” At least make an effort.
- Use critical thinking and try to estimate what percentage of facts are actually communicated to me about the issue or event and avoid jumping to conclusions. An example is the comparison of information related through mainstream and alternative media outlets followed by journalists and whether they constantly provide negative commentary regarding specific persons or if they aspire to make an objective assessment; which media outlet they belong to, i.e. who they are paid by.
The second step is to learn a lesson from history. An old saying says that one cannot understand the present without knowing the past. It is important to note that there are not only two sides to a conflict – there is a third that is overlooked today by the leaders of both enemy parties, as if it does not exist. But they are wrong.
How do the soldiers of both ‘enemy’ parties in each conflict think and what are their opinions? Each one of them has parents at home, some of them have a wife or other people they care for. History provides an answer to this question: The Christmas Truce at Ypres in 1914.
On Christmas Eve of 1914, an event took place in a few places along the Western Front which has later come to be known as the ‘Christmas Truce’. The spontaneous ceasefire and friendly gathering of soldiers in no man’s land has become a legend. Peace lasted anywhere from a few hours to a few days. An improvised football tournament was supposed to have taken place in one case between England and Germany. The book Forgotten Voices of the Great War tells the story of British soldier, Frank Sumpter: “We were back in the same trenches…[when] we heard the Germans singing ‘Silent night, Holy night’…While they were singing our boys said, ‘Let’s join in,’ so we joined in and when we started singing they stopped. And when we stopped, they started again…Then one German took a chance and jumped up on top of the trench and shouted out, ‘Happy Christmas, Tommy!’ So of course our boys said, ‘If he can do it, we can do it,’ and we all jumped up. A sergeant-major shouted, ‘Get down!’ But we said, ‘Shut up Sergeant, it’s Christmas time!’ And we all went forward to the barbed wire. We could barely reach through the wire…so we just shook hands and I had the experience of talking to one German…The officers gave this ‘No fraternisation’ order and then they turned their backs on us. But they didn’t try to stop it because they knew they couldn’t. We never said a word about the war to the Germans. We spoke about our families, about how old we were, how long we thought it would last…Most of the boys stayed there the whole day…”.
Soldiers, or rather all of the inhabitants of a conflict’s parties, are not interested in killing each other. In other words, it is a matter of upholding the higher principle, which was also professed by Sir Nicholas George Winton (1909- 2015), who saved the lives of 669 children from concentration camps in 1939: “If you believe in God, then I don’t understand why there’s a difference in believing as a Catholic, Jew or Muslim. The foundation of all religions is goodness, ethics, not to kill, and to care for one’s parents – it’s the same. I think that people should care less about what divides them in religion, but rather about ethics.” Naturally, his comment also applies to atheists. The higher principle means to distinguish logically between good and evil and to control one’s thinking using one’s conscience.
The third step is achieving the harmonious coexistence of all races, nations and religions.
A person receives 34GB of information over a span of 24 hours, i.e. through sight, hearing 105 000 words, in the form of pictures, games, etc. It is thought that 100 years ago, the same amount of information was received over the course of about a year. The result is a loss in understanding the realities of the present world. That is the reason why people are not aware of three growing disparities in the world:
The first disparity is the increase in the world’s population. In March 2022, the global population was 7.9 billion (compared to 1.6 billion in 1900). The current annual increase is about 83 million. Experts estimate that the planet Earth is able to sustain approximately nine billion people. Neither the UN nor any other organisation is officially dealing with the issue of the Earth’s overpopulation and the resulting negative impacts.
The second disparity is the difference in standards of living. Approximately 130 million people in 42 countries of the world require humanitarian aid. This follows from the data of the United Nations.
The solution to the first two disparities comes from experience – as standards of living rise, fewer children are born. This would mean to implement the following in these countries:
- Industrialisation, craftsmanship production and agricultural projects and, at the same time,
- A focus on upbringing and increasing the level of education (as was the case with Tomáš Baťa, a member of our committee in Czechoslovakia during the 20th century).
The third disparity is that the development of human consciousness is lagging behind technological development. This means that the personal philosophies of all nations, races and religions must be cultivated and enriched. It is a long-term process that requires the cooperation of intelligent people from all around the world. THE QUESTION IS “WHY?”
All races, religions and nations declare that their actions and deeds are ethical. Ethics is, therefore, a possible tool to solving the world’s problems; only everyone must agree on the same principle and interpretation of ethics.
It is expected that after the Fourth Industrial Revolution (using cyber and physical systems), production, transportation, services, etc. will be fully automated. Some estimate the completion of this phase to be within 70 to 80 years. However, the question remains whether conflicts will eradicate the human civilisation before that time. Neither politicians nor the financial elite have the necessary motivation and skills.
Therefore, the solution rests with ordinary intelligent people, who will understand, contemplate and act based on three statements which they will adopt as the fundamental rules for decision making.
- Ancient quotation: Ignorance is the root of all evil.
- Higher principle: Distinguish what is good and evil based on your reason and conscience.
- Old truth: Listen to your heart and follow your dreams.
After reading the above-mentioned text, the reader may think that this is an idealistic idea, but it is just the opposite.
The first reason is the common archetype of all people; whether a murderer or saint, everybody wants to be understood and loved. The second reason is the experience that when someone is dying, he/she realises that the most important thing in life is love. The third reason is the possible, yet logical explanation of Fermi’s paradox, based on the mathematical probability that the cause of our loneliness in the universe is the underdeveloped civilisation on planet Earth.
Conclusion
The higher principle is basically a concept encompassing the fundamental pillars of the rules of life following the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This article is aimed at intelligent people who are the decisive force of the world, they just do not realise it. If everyone was to adhere to the higher principle, wars would cease and Earth would be a pleasant place in the universe. To summarise, the higher principle is a possible foundation for building a society filled with creative and wise people.
The Czech Committee for Scientific Management is a non-political, non-governmental and non-profit institution that co-founded CECIOS (European Council Management) in 1926 and continues to deal with specific tasks within the EU till this day. Czech president T.G. Masaryk and American president Herbert Hoover actively supported the creation of the committee and its activities. The members of the committee were creative thinkers with a sense of instituting new scientific methods of management, e.g. Tomáš Baťa, Jan Baťa and others.
Wavelength provides a platform for everyone to be heard. We would value your input and enjoy sharing in this timeless, conscious, holistic and eco-savvy publication with you. Ed.
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