Sustainable Civilizations

A General Critical Theory
Based on the Innate Values of Homo Sapiens

———
An Introduction to Planetary Management

By Daniel Raphael, Ph

ABSTRACT
By its nature a General Critical Theory would provide a means for understanding all separate Critical Theories, many of which have already been discussed by other authors.  If a General Critical Theory is accurately developed it would apply to all areas of human behavior, and offer a mechanism by which all Critical Theories could be explained.  For this paper, the emphasis is on what works to “liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them,” to quote Max Horkheimer of the Frankfurt School.

Several Critical Theories exist under the umbrella of this General Critical Theory that are based on the innate values of Homo sapiens. One of those is a unified theory of human motivation, and another is a unified normative theory of ethics both of which are described in the text.  

This paper presents a General Critical Theory without arguing for its existence, as it is a natural development of the seven innate values of our species.  These values and their characteristics are also described early in the text to help the reader grasp their significance from parenting to the development of ethical Artificial Intelligence programs.  

For readers who are also interested in A General Critical Theory, what is provided in the text brings together almost all of human interaction into a holism that supports the social sustainability of societies and civilization from the individual/family to organized associations of nations, and the sustainability of our planet.

For some, Critical Theory may be new.  

Wikipedia:
Critical theory is the reflective assessment critique of society and culture by applying knowledge from the social sciences and the humanities. As a term, critical theory has two meanings with different origins and histories: the first originated in sociology and the second originated in literary criticism, whereby it is used and applied as an umbrella term that can describe a theory founded upon critique; thus, the theorist Max Horkheimer described a theory as critical insofar as it seeks "to liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them."

NOTE to the Reader:
In the tradition of Max Horkheimer, the following paper exhibits the characteristics of his Critical Theory by providing conceptual and practical information to “liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them.”  In the case of this paper, its all inclusiveness of “all things of people” earns it the title as “a General Critical Theory.”  ##

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