Limitations of theories and theses

A man who can write such words in the following comment is an uncommon man who is acutely sensitive to Man's wondrous gifts of self-control and will power. He is in some ways himself in touch with some qualities possessed by rare humans.

Wissai 

P.S.

A man must know who he is (identity) and where he stands in relationship to others (station in life). Of course, he does not have to accept who he is and where he stands. He can fight against himself and others to elevate himself, but the language he speaks, the facts he marshalls, and the logic he employs must be sensical and reflective of truths, otherwise he would project an image that he is a bitter and stupid fool. So many humans feebly and vainly assert themselves but they know and the world know they are truly nobodies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/opinion/04brooks.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

Dear all:

Huntington's clash of civilizations thesis has been used by bigoted "Westerners" to monger distrust and disdain of the Islamic world.

Likewise, Fukuyama's end of history thesis has been bandied about after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the apparent defeat of communism as an ideology. It appeared that for a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S.  was an uncontested world power and the world was not bipolar as before. But lo and behold, China is now emerging  not only as a rival to the U.S., but also as a replacement. Now books and TV and print pundits and even the common men in American streets are singing a song about the inexorable decline of the U.S. and the inevitable rise of China.

But, nothing is inexorable and inevitable about humans. They can change themselves and the environment around them if they make up their minds to do so. They have a mysterious but real gift called  will power; they possess what we call determination. They can transcend apparent limitations. If you have any doubts, look at the acrobatics, the martial arts feats, the walking on burning coals, the control of breathing utilized in meditation and in emerging  alive and unscathed after being buried six feet in the ground for a few hours. The wonderful thing about humans (and nations, by extension) is that they are not quite as deterministic as physical objects and thus their behavior, unlike their physical bodies, are not always subject to immutable physical laws. That's why there are so many different models and theories trying to explain and predict human behavior. Autocratic regimes tends to subscribe to behaviorism, thinking that they can eternally rule their subjects totally through fear and terror, through the appeal to the universal instinct  of self-preservation. But history throughout the ages has shown that Man is a wonderful and awe-inspiring animal because he has demonstrated time and time again that he does not just live by bread alone, and given the right circumstances, he is willing to fight and die for freedom and democracy, for self-respect and dignity.

Ideas and theories are useless if not consistently supported by facts and logic and realities ( all tied up with the principle of verifiability). Remember also religions are only ideas and many  wild and woolly claims and assertions associated with religions have NOT been verified and tested.