Mistakes Humanity made that the Na'vi avoided (a society comprison)

[Banefull]

I am confused as to what you mean by a mistake or whether you are just simply comparing humanity with the Navi. To be honest, what constitutes a mistake varies from person to person. Some people can look outside and see skyscrapers. Some would call that a mistake, others would call it an achievement.

Really it would be improper to call it mistakes; we just simply see the world through a different lens than them. We perceive the cosmos differently.


Any discussion comparing two cultures has to take into account their values. The spectrum of beings that we call Humanity is a varied sort so I have to limit it to Western culture. In other words a militia.

Now when most of us think of western civilization, we tend think of mass capitalism, freedom, human rights, but these are rather recent developments. They are not what defines the West. They are not what separates us from other societies.

Every society has its values. In particular there are certain qualities that the "ideal" member is supposed to strive for. Western civilization has seven virtues.

the four Greco/Roman Virtues:
Fortitude (Courage) - never giving up.
Justice - being fair and equitable with others.
Prudence - care of and moderation with money
Temperance - moderation of needed things and abstinence from things which are not needed.

With the three Judeo-Christian virtues
Faith - belief in the right things. (i.e. there are universal morals)
Hope - taking a positive future view, that good will prevail.
Charity - concern for, and active helping of, others

These qualities are very prevalent even today.


From watching Avatar, here is my impression of what the Navi virtues are.

The Navi Virtues:
Fortitude (courage) - never giving up. "You have a strong heart no fear."
Loyalty (to the people) - devotion. Think of Tsu'tey as a role model
Harmony - living in peace together and with nature "A network of energy."


Basic Cosmology:
The West: science: The universe is governed by certain fundamental laws. The universe is not chaos.

The Navi: Life lives in constant balance. Eywa oversees that this balance is maintained.


Warfare:
The West: Citizen soldiers: Generally Western civilizations did not have large professional standing armies. Most soldiers were peasants, farmers, and tradesmen billeted into service.

The Navi: Hunters: The Navi in a sense has professional soldiers in the sense that a large majority of individuals are trained from a young age. They hunt and provide defense in the event of an attack. That is their profession.


I could keep going on about the differences but my point is to show that when you have two different groups a mistake in 1 group's view may be perfectly fine in another. For example, the Aztecs before a great battle would sacrifice a great general. In our view this is a mistake in the sense that they are killing off their most talented but in their view, it was perfectly legitimate. I've seen some people on AF frown upon the concept of Iknimaya. To them it seemed as if they were unnecessarily putting people in danger. It shows how different we think. Life is very important to us. Its something that we in the West do all we can to preserve. To the Navi, it does not matter as it is a test of bravery.

Within individuals, the variety becomes so much greater. Think of what virtues would be expected of an Academic. Grace said herself that she didn't believe in fairy tales. She was logical. Look at what is expected if you are serving in the military. Colonel Miles Quaritch is perhaps what every Marine commander wants to be (atrocities and insanity aside).

If you are looking for pros and cons, you only capture only one viewpoint of the world. I would suggest you do it from two subjective points of view, from the perspective of your average human living in 2154 and the perspective of your average Navi.

[Rainbowhawk1993]

Originally Posted by Banefull

I am confused as to what you mean by a mistake or whether you are just simply comparing humanity with the Navi. To be honest, what constitutes a mistake varies from person to person. Some people can look outside and see skyscrapers. Some would call that a mistake, others would call it an achievement.

I just wrote the title that way to get the users' attetion and interset to read the thread. I do know the perspectives of human and Na'vi, I just want to include the Na'vi so we can use some of their Ideas in our socity. I will share my opinons when I have the time.