In this inquiry, “adaptive” behavior or thought can be said to be that of our own design, aligned with our own values, an expression of that which we deem best – of our own true determination of merit.
It can be understood that “adaptivity” in any particular realm of our lives implies a degree of awareness and understanding of that realm. If one remains wholly ignorant in regards to a specific topic, then it seems “adaptivity” cannot most adequately be achieved. With more awareness and understanding in a facet of our lives, we are able to more adequately behave in regard to it with an expression of our own genuine “telos” – our purpose or our own highest ends.
One might come to believe that even if they have little awareness and understanding of a specific realm – let us use for an example; fashion – that their activity which involved apparel is adaptive because it is not contrived or mimicked, but expressed through the individual.
One’s genuine present action could be deemed “authentic” – but “adaptivity” implies relating to a realm of your experience in accord with your highest ends. It is an expression of you Telos in this sense, and could not be so if you nether understood it or had awareness of it. If something is never even given consideration, or if something is not even recognized, it cannot be said to be entirely “adaptive” – for it isn’t consciously aligned with one’s highest values – especially if it isn’t even “conscious” in the first place. One’s “adaptivity” in fashion, for example, would be an expression of one’s own values and merit in terms of what they deem to be the proper purpose and place of clothing in terms of functionality, comfort, appearance, etcetera. If the same garments are thrown on without any recognition of their purpose, or of our value of their functions, then our action in regard to fashion cannot be said to be a most genuine expression of adaptivity.
The same can be said of any realm or facet of our lives. Let us use the example of fitness. If one understands a degree of health principals, of physiology and of the effects of training, and uses one’s awareness in this area, one is able to hone one’s physical fitness – in regards to behaviors involving exercise, diet, and sleep – in the direction that one deems best on their own genuine values. In this respect one might deem hypertrophy and anaerobic capacity as the most congruent aims of fitness, given their values and beliefs. Another might come to be aware of an understanding of fitness sciences and by the evaluation of their own merit, deem fitness to serve the grandest purpose of preserving physical longevity and the high functioning of the mind – in terms of alertness and energy. In these respects, the two individuals both involve themselves in fitness in an adaptive manner – a manner of consciously taking understanding into consideration and transforming action in a way most congruent to their values.
I here only use the examples of “fashion” and “fitness” for illustrative purposes. It is obvious that the complexities of our experience do not have necessary, objective “categories,” but it is useful to use these to understand the relation of awareness and its role in our expression of our unique individual merit.
This correlation between awareness, understanding, and adaptivity may seem daunting, it may appear that so much of our lives are not adaptive since our awareness and understanding are finite. However, this realization needn’t be daunting. It may in fact be interpreted to be liberating and exciting. With every new item our mind comes to grasp, with all the new information we are able to take in about the endless aspects of our lives and of the universe, we are able to act in a way that we can more truly say is genuine as an outflow of that which we deem highest.
Of course we may have blatantly wrong understandings. For instance, one may have a specific belief related to proper diet requirements for health that are entirely false – such as a belief that saturated fat should compose 90% of our daily caloric intake. Our consistent experimentation and learning in these matters will likely bring us to more and more adequate understandings. It is certainly the case that we will all live and die with understandings that are incorrect. For thousands of years, people died believing that the sun rotated around the earth. This did not imply that their actions were any less adaptive than our own – they merely took different beliefs into consideration. So long as we are aware and taking perception into conscious consideration, we are able to strive for adaptivity on our own terms, be our views aligned with the unknowable “objective reality” or not. We still are able to align ourselves with what we deem highest and strive towards our ideals – wether our beliefs be false or not.
It must be noted, of course, that our beliefs and values will change with new information and perspectives – derived from continued awareness and learning. This churning and flowing process is the living sign of an examined life. With this ongoing cycle we strive for what beliefs and values we deem ideal, and what correlating ways of acting and thinking are best. In this way we come to find volitional alignment with our telos – our truest adaptivity.
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