Fireblade said:
Tell me, tell me true, what nobility is left in spent humanity?
The same nobility that there has always been, if you believe that there ever was any. I believe that there was and still is, because I am a pessimistic-optimist. Humanity is not spent, just more populous.
I don't believe in some intervening supernatural power, good or bad. Developments are the result of chance and the collective behaviour of humanity. It is not an entity with a conscience, but a collection of individuals going about their daily lives. I exist because of highly sophisticated evolutionary processes and because I say so. I don’t think everyone has a purpose really (see homosexuality), but that some people need purpose in their lives. I try to make a difference and be a force for good, even though I am sure some of my activities are wrong from a moral, logical or environmental point of view, even though I am not directly aware of them. Although I try to recycle, support charities, my local communities and other such things, I am probably eating more food than I need, taking more space and other wasteful consumer behaviour as a member of Western society to name but one harmful example. I feel good when I help a person in need but I also feel that it is what should be done. The relief of man’s estate is our own responsibility. The fact that I have a conscience allows me to try to do the right thing, a wonderful result of sentience that is one reason why humanity is worth saving. I have hope that most problems can be solved with great difficulty but will be negotiated. Things can always get better as long as someone has the means to change things for the better, alone or with others. (I don’t like resorting to simple cliché, but it is sometimes useful.) Faith need not be in God.
I would assume that Fireblade is clever enough to make a very good case for goodness and faith in humanity that would be better and more coherent than my own. I have personally experienced many examples of people trying to make the world better and help others. If you haven’t experienced this, get out more. I greatly value the arts and intellectual curiosity. Music, humour and literature are some very human creations that are well worth fighting for.
But I do believe in evil, the descriptive term as you use it. Most purely it is doing the wrong thing according to my own values (sure its relative) when you share that values system but do it anyway. Different values systems cause problems, but I will use mine as a reference point, again because it is the only one I can and should. But many problems are caused by forces such as stupidity, ignorance and laziness, which are not examples of evil, but can magnify it greatly. The problem is that all people have these flaws to some extent. I sure do. This allows a smaller example of evil, such as greed, in conjunction with apathy, ignorance and stupidity, to enable others to do great damage, such as commit genocide or destroy the environment for a quick buck. Because there are more people and higher communication technologies it can seem like evil is happening on a larger scale to a greater extent. But I don’t really think so. We have a better life than the average person hundreds of years ago in part due to technology and greater knowledge.
The injustices of the world make me most sad, but I have hope for the future as well as enough selfishness and intelligence (shallowness?) to allow me to be happy while millions live in poverty. With better education and technology, humanity can try to make things better, solving some of the problems that make people miserable and angry.
I have the slightly illogical but useful belief that there is balance between good and evil, but that our other flaws can compound acts of evil and make it seem like the world is totally stuffed. I am able to be positive because of a genetically happy (if slightly dark) personality, a reasonable knowledge base (compared to average), a good standard of living and strong emotional support from family and friends. What might also help is regular exercise and a healthy diet.
If you need purpose, have hope and try to make a difference, however small. Then be fair on yourself and understand that a little bit of selfishness is sometimes necessary, although too much breeds evil. No individual can solve all the world’s problems.
These are my own beliefs.
