So if we reject the idea that a transcendental force has predetermined what should be the human condition; when do we begin the conversation about what we think it should be?
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.We are creatures of nature, like slugs, or peanuts or dandelions. We have an illusion of free will. We live basically to procreate. We have evolved in order to do just that, to keep our offspring alive and invest our energies into them. We die and for a couple of generations a few people remember us. But that is it. No purpose, no design, no afterlife.
Amisja
Level 8
Oct 23, 2018
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You and I differ. I cannot understand my life as a breeding mechanism. And what about those who for one reason or another do not breed. Are their lives meaningless. I ask you to think hard on your position and let me know if you really are happy with the idea of being a Mare for some Stud.
The human condition is fine with me. Transcendent or not, we are subject to the workings of nature. Things are the way they have to be IMO, and it is neither good nor bad.
WilliamFleming
Level 8
Oct 23, 2018
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I am not sure I understand what you are saying. Could you please explain your position in more detail. Do you believe in some sort of destiny?
@hwgoldson Actually I don’t believe in much of anything except maybe optimism. I don’t think things are predestined but we do have to work within the laws of nature, including society, etc. But within that framework we have choices. Our bodily instincts, learning, reasoning power, etc. keep us on track and alive most of the time. Lots of the things that affect us are pure chance. All that is handled by the subconscious.
I personally lean toward the concept of universal consciousness: if things start to go sour consciousness leaps in and coaxes the body in a new course of action. In that theory our bodies have no conscious awareness or free will. Our true Self is shared by all.
When I said that things are the way they have to be, I meant the human condition in general. For example, war is an integral part of the human experience. That kind of competition is very important in the evolutionary process. All the things that people think are heavenly or terrible are just part of the natural environment—neither good nor bad IMO.
A few thousand years ago maybe, when philosophers started to think about morality.
Don't conflate "what should be" with "what is predetermined to be". The first is a moral question the latter a question about what is the case or will be the case. Even if things are predetermined we can ask ourselves what the best thing is to do, because we don't know how events are determined to play out.
So what should be the human condition? I think we should strife to create a society where nobody dies of hunger or preventable deceases, where everybody has a chance to life to their full potential and nobody gets exploited, where we don't destroy the environment and can discover the deepest scientific mysteries. Even if we never reach such a society we should try our best to get to the closest approximation to this goal.
Dietl
Level 7
Oct 23, 2018
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I agree with the goals you listed although I might expand the list. The question is when and how do we do it? Can this conversation be a starter in such a direction?I love philosophy, but as Hannah Arendt argued it must result in action.
I did not intend this to be a complete list, so sure there definitely is more. All we can do to make this a reality is incremental steps. Vote for the right people, organize for the right cause, argue for what you think leads to this goal, help others, consume less meat, use less plastic products, use your bike when you can, hold big corporations and elected officials accountable for what they do, ect. We all have the responsibility to inform ourselves what effects our actions have on others and the environment. Everybody can make a contribution even if it's just spreading the message on an internet forum or debating disillusioned people on the street. And when we see injustice in front of our eyes we have to speak out. I agree with Arendt we have to do something when we want a better world.
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