In what sense can we say that humans are uncomfortable with their own Essay

In what sense can we say that humans are uncomfortable with their own vision of the future and what mechanics do they use to cop - Essay Example But then, people would not consider this as the most normal attitude. In fact, the denigrating term ‘paranoid’ has often been applied to describe such individuals. Gripped in paranoia or not, the truth though is that people fear the future just as they fear the dark. This is because the future certainly has a darkness of its own. Even if people plan out in order to ensure that they gain success and happiness in the days or years to come, they are still not so sure about it. Therefore, they just do not seem to get contented with what they have done in preparation for the future. They continue to strive for means that would render them more capable for every possible challenge that the future brings. In Lauren Slater’s Dr. Daedalus, this point is well explained through the works and goals of Joe Rosen, a surgeon that dares to engage in plastic surgery not just for aesthetics but for new physical attributes to enhance the capabilities of man. Slater’s article apparently dwells on the positive effect of anticipating the future. However, fear of the future also has its negative implication. Obsessed with preparing for the future, man tends to reduce opportunities to be happy in the present. This is the argument raised by Adam Gopnik in his article Bumping into Mr. Ravioli. Both articles by Slater and Gopnik may not be entirely dwelling on the issue of the fear of the future but these can give valuable insights that point out how uncomfortable people can be with their visions of the future and how they try cope with it. People’s fear of the future is not without bases. First of all, even if the future does seem dark, there are reasons why people speculate. A number of times the speculations could be accurate, especially because of the well-developed characteristic of observing the way things and events evolve according to the law of motion. The sciences have also progressed greatly through the years, allowing people to grasp the poss ibilities based on current realities. In Dr. Daedalus, Slater discusses about the goal of Joe Rosen to develop wings for man. Slater obviously appreciates what Rosen is doing for people with deformities but even she could not help but take an ambiguous position regarding the aim of creating a winged man. Slater writes that Rosen’s â€Å"ideas of altering the human form are repugnant and delicious, and that’s a potent combination to unravel.† (321) Acknowledging the fact that man is perpetually in search of means to make life more convenient, Rosen sees the future in which the desire for easy travel is realized by having wings. This is indeed a wonderful prospect but the idea can also be absurd and even unacceptable if man also considers the body as sacred according to the tenets of his religion and traditions. Here lies one of the bases for being uncomfortable about the future; even as the future is inevitable, man simply cannot face it with an attitude devoid o f concepts that are much linked to the past. In fact, people even find it difficult to face the present in a more liberating manner because of influence or ideas that have been embedded in the mind for centuries already. The state of being busy is the sum of past and current attitudes as Gopnik explains. Gopnik writes that â€Å"busyness is felt so intently here because we are both crowded and overloaded† and that â€Å"we exit the apartment into a still dense nineteenth-century grid of street