The World Needs a New Philosophy

Tango, as a drop in the ocean of human civilization, reflects both the beauty and the pollution of the world. The problems we face in tango today are not merely issues of the dance itself but mirror the challenges our world confronts.

Just as our perception of tango influences how we dance it, the way we perceive ourselves shapes how we behave and live. Over millions of years of evolution, we humans have gradually distinguished ourselves from beasts. The difference between us and animals can be encapsulated in a single word: humanity. Our understanding of humanity reached its zenith during the 14th to 17th centuries. Unlike the distorted portrayals of humanity in contemporary art, the Renaissance celebrated the dignity, nobility, and beauty of humankind. The elevation of the human spirit it brought about spurred rebellions against restrictions on human liberty, the establishment of democracy, the unleashing of our creativity, the advancement in science and technology, and the flourishing of modern civilization.

However, in the course of this progress, humanity has become alienated from itself. We have left footprints on every corner of the Earth. Farmlands replaced forests, cities supplanted farmlands, pollution displaced purity, materialism overtook idealism, extravagance superseded simplicity, competition replaced cooperation, stress overshadowed enjoyment, monopolies usurped sharing, corruption supplanted integrity, legalism overrode common sense, and individualism displaced fraternity. Self-interest and personal entitlement have undermined communal interests and collective causes. Sexual liberation has challenged marriage, transgender identities have emerged in contrast to natural genders, and single-parent and same-sex families have redefined the traditional family. GMOs and synthetic foods have substituted real nourishment, the virtual economy has overtaken the real economy, games have replaced classics, artificial intelligence has surpassed human intelligence, and machines have displaced people. Modernization has led us further and further away from both nature and humanity. The ecosystem has been ravaged, the environment irreparably damaged, natural resources are depleting, traditional morality has been subverted, and individuals, genders, races, interest groups, political parties, and nations are locked in conflict. It seems that human liberty, the very force that has propelled mankind to prosperity, now drives us towards division, conflict, war, and self-destruction. (See Tango Is the Search for a Dream.)

Someday, I hope, ideas such as returning to nature, conservation, environmentalism, humanism, collectivism, equality, fraternity, solidarity, cooperation, shared interests, teamwork, and harmony will replace the ideals of egoism, liberalism, individualism, feminism, materialism, capitalism, self-interest, competition, aggression, power politics, conquest, and winning. But by then, it may be too late.

The world needs a new philosophy—not one characterized by narrow-minded, self-centered, and unbalanced ideologies, but one of idealism that can lead mankind towards fraternity, solidarity, magnanimity, cooperation, and harmonious coexistence. Hopefully, tango will play a positive role in the return of humanity, because it embodies the values that make us human. (See Philosophies that Separate Two Worlds.)