One could argue that the city-states of ancient Greece, where our Western philosophy first took root, were the first places around here where food was not so much of an issue anymore. The city had its laws and rules and any citizen could expect, unless there was a war or any other pestilence ongoing, to live a life without the worry of dying of hunger. And without the worry of having no shelter. There was also some value placed on human life, particularly that of citizens. A member of a certain northern tribe wouldn't have had any of this, what we can call – a **luxury of the basics**. And the Greeks used having this luxury of the basics to think. One would likely survive. And since survival was not an issue anymore, some people would use the mental capacity freed up from the need to think of how not to physically die, to think of things beyond themselves. To think of whole communities. To think of the whole human species. To place themselves in its context. To make mental simulations. To try to see and understand patterns well beyond their immediate physical needs. And this brought mathematics. This brought ethics. This brought meaning. Meaning to so many things that a conventional barbarian of the era wouldn't even consider thinking about. And to their detriment, as the barbarian is gone, while the Greeks thought and wrote and we talk about them today. Fast forward a few thousand years and we as a human species have reached the 'luxury of basics' at a whole new paradigmatic level. What started in Western colonial capitals in the 19th century has now scaled up to almost the entire planet. Maybe the concept of the value of human life is lagging behind here and there, but that's nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of some good old thinking. And that's what, surprisingly, we still don't really want to do. Or can't. Judging purely by the attributes of life, we have reached and far surpassed the Greeks, but it appears that a combination of political and corporate greed, coupled with an interesting blend of post-Christian humility ("What are you thinking? You aren't the smartest around here!") and a certain misunderstanding of psychological phenomena (e.g. some might confuse the act of explorative, creative, productive thinking with rumination), has led us to just plainly not realize where we are. Not truly, deeply understanding and internalizing how far we've come. And that maybe, just maybe, it may be time to give back the odd local thinker their place in the community. The thinker is just that, the thinker. The thinker might err. The thinker might not have all the needed data, but as long as the thinker is both humble and at least partly respected for their thinking, they will keep doing it. The thinker is someone who questions quietly, slowly, relentlessly. In slow conversations, in cooperative wonder. Not aiming to gather crowds, not aiming for the next big thing, not aiming to fix everything or anything. Just quietly wondering at the fascinating complexity and beauty of being. And maybe in time they will see something others don't. And they will share it. And maybe some will listen and hear it. And all will benefit. 2025-07-01 [[of mere existence]]