We are facing new requirements-those
of parallelism, non-linearity, multi-valued logic, vagueness, and
selection among options. Programming, never subject to wrong or
right, but to optimal choice, and always subject to further
improvement, is becoming a requirement for many practical
experiences, from the arts to advanced science. Requirements of
globality, distribution, economies of scale, of elements
pertinent to engineering, communication, marketing, management,
and of service-providing experiences need to be met within
specific educational programs. The fulfillment of these
requirements can never be relegated to literacy.
We have seen that the broader necessity of language, from which
the necessity of literacy is derived, is not defensible outside
the process of human self-constitution. Language plays an
important role, together with other sign systems, subordinated to
language or not. In retrospect, we gain an understanding of the
entire process: natural instincts are transmitted genetically
and only slightly improve, if degeneration does not occur, in
the interaction among individuals sharing a habitat. The
conscious use of signs takes newborns from the domain of nature
and eventually places them in the realm of culture. In this
realm, life ceases to be a matter of biology only, and takes on
non-natural, social and cultural dimensions. To live as an animal
is to live for oneself and for very few others (mainly
offspring).
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