The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World

In his first lecture Davis overviews modern genetic findings that confirm the overwhelming similarity among populations of humans. He reasons that “all cultures share essentially the same mental acuity, the same raw genius” (18). The ensuing lectures work to dispel the concept that modern Western cultures have any actual claim to advancement over cultures traditionally seen as primitive. The accomplishments of the West “do not make the Western paradigm exceptional or suggest in any way that it has or ought to have a monopoly on the path to the future” (194). Citing the technological advances that have occurred since the scientific revolution, Davis explains how other cultures also centralize around specific technologies that situate them in perfect balance with their surroundings. For the San, this is the arrow: a central facet of their economy, ritual, lifestyle, and identity. For the aboriginals of Australia and the Barasana of the Colombian rainforest, religion itself is a mental technology that protects the entire world.

Each culture speaks a complex language. Each culture invests in symbolism and has traditional legislations for dealing with others in the social realm. Each culture as such articulates a unique relationship to existence founded of equal merit to all others.