Consider: We are powerless to solve the world’s problems. The deficit grows every day. Nuclear weapons proliferate every year. Another person is murdered, raped, or abused every moment. Another right is being violated and another wrong is being committed as you read this. The Republicans blame the liberals. The Democrats blame the conservatives. People argue about what should be done, and become outraged about what isn’t done, yet no matter what is done, problems are not solved – suffering persists. “If only we could keep out those immigrants.” “If only we could silence that religious right.” “If only we could ban abortion, and gay marriage, and guns, and racism, and fast food, and all those other things we don’t like.” “If only, if only, if only, if only, if only – if only we could do all these things, we’d solve our problems.” But our problems persist, and will persist no matter we do.
Consider: All we are is dust in the wind. (You know the song and what it means.) Duuuuust in the wind. All we are is dust in the wind. Everything you do will be forgotten. Everything you create will be destroyed. You’ll die, eventually. Tomorrow you will do stuff, acquire stuff, and influence stuff, as you will the next day and the next day after that. But the things we influence will fade in time. The things we acquire will eventually be lost. The things we do will be history the moment after they are done. Nothing is permanent.
Consider: Everyone suffers. You will probably get sick this year – several times. More so as you grow older. You will lose the things you love. You will lose the people you love. You will experience pain, regret, sadness, anger, and all those things everyone hates to experience. Just like the world’s problems, we are powerless to prevent our own suffering. And for most of us, our suffering is nothing compared with what else is felt by many in the world.
Consider: You will ask questions, but you will never really know the answers – at least not in this world. Science can offer theories at best. Religion requires faith. Philosophy will only help you understand the questions you are asking better – it won’t give you certainty that you don’t already have. We can tell ourselves we know things, that we are wise and smart, or that we have this world under control – but at best we speculate. We are left fundamentally uncertain.
We are not short on things to complain about.
So, allow me to speculate on why human existence is good – keeping in mind that it really just my own personal speculation, based on what I see as evidence and on what I have faith in. I believe in God, but I also believe God is good, so I don’t believe He would create human existence unless it too was good, in of itself. I believe that we, including both the religious and nonreligious, should be able to see the value in our own existence. And I think, given the problems I listed above, that the value of our existence rests especially on one specific human virtue:
Enthusiasm.
It comes in different forms and variations, under different names. Enthusiasm for a thing or idea is also called Passion. For a person it is called Love. For a religion it is sometimes called Faith. For a belief it can be called Conviction. For a dream it is called Hope. Whatever you call it, it is the human capacity to assign meaning and value to something that otherwise would not have it. I believe it is the creation of meaning from scratch. No matter how fleeting something is, people can choose to make it meaningful, and in doing so make the world more meaningful. No matter how trivial, or unimportant, or silly something is, we can choose to make it valuable, and in doing so make the world more valuable. I believe that it is because of this ability that, despite the suffering of the world, despite our inability to solve that suffering, despite our inability to do anything truly permanent or immortal, and despite our ultimate ignorance on most things, our existence is still made good – by our own choice to be enthusiastic about it and the things in it.
God may have created us, but I think we (in turn) create the meaningfulness of our lives, through our capacity for enthusiasm.
Look at the games people play. Look at March Madness. Millions of fans cheering, celebrating, pulling with everything they’ve got for a team to put a ball through a hoop. It solves no world problems, and it will be forgotten in time, but because people choose to be passionate about, it adds meaningfulness into the world. The choice to be enthusiastic transforms a game into something that can change the world. That enthusiasm will have been felt no matter who remembers it in one hundred years.
Look at love. Look at a girl or boy having their first “crush”. Will they get married to that person someday? Probably not. Will they end up finding out their “crush” doesn’t feel the same way back? More likely yes than no. Such feelings create complications, troubles, and much suffering – but in the end those feelings make life valuable. Even if only for days, the ability to care strongly for someone brings value into the world, because you have chosen to assign that value to someone. And if, later, one finds a permanent mate to have such feelings for, it only adds that much more meaningfulness to one’s life, the life of your partner, and the life of everyone else who your relationship will touch.
Or look at death. The feelings of loss. It is suffering, but it also reflects something positive –every feeling of loss corresponds to a passion once held and still held for that person. If people are saddened by your passing, that means you have been loved. If you are saddened by someone else’s passing, that means you have cared for them. And it means you still care for the memories you have of them, and probably always will. In a twisted sort of way, isn’t this a good thing? I would rather death be felt like that, than as it is in Brave New World, where the dead are taken away without consideration and are calmly forgotten.
I believe the failures of the world reflect the value that we have created with our own enthusiasm and passion. I believe the suffering of the world serves to reflect our desire to overcome that suffering, our passion for life itself. The desire to overcome obstacles and difficulties is the greatest mark of real enthusiasm for something. I’m not certain you could really be passionate without it. I believe our inability to solve the world’s problems eflects the enthusiasm of those who still feel passionately about trying anyway, if only to get slightly closer. I believe the impermanence of the world serves to illustrate that the meaningfulness of it all is not in the achievement of some end far in the future, but rather in the feelings we have towards the temporary achievements of the present time. And finally, the uncertainty of the world and our inability to find answers serves to illustrate how deeply we care about the questions, that we would keep asking them anyway. We try hard to overcome the troubles associated with life, and I think this trying is the manifestation of our enthusiasm.
So, this is my request: Be enthusiastic. I like enthusiastic people. When you get the chance, cheer for something – it doesn’t matter that much what. If you get the chance to appreciate someone, do so. If you get the chance to try something or enjoy something, do. Even if you can’t be anything else, be enthusiastic.
Will you?
I try, I think, but a lot of time I get distracted or tired or whatever. It’s not as easy as it seems like it should be. I really do admire those people who never lose their enthusiasm, even if they aren’t broadcasting it to the world every second.
This short rant is in part inspired by one particular person whose enthusiasm I admire, whose enthusiasm rubs off on all those around - someone who has also recently suffered the sort of loss I have described above. I hope that loss doesn't dissolve that enthusiasm. I hope it strengthens it.
posted
Well, I disagree with that - although I suppose the irony is that his enthusiasm about the issue is still probably a good thing.
Posts: 8120 | Registered: Jul 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I love enthusiasm. It makes life worth living despite how much it sucks. That's why I am always looking for good music and powerful stories... Keeps me going even when there seems like there's no good reason to.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Tres, how often is it that we agree? Almost never I think... But this was a good post.
About the nutter who wants to kill 90% of us...
If we were to do that we would have a drastic reduction in the quality of life for the surviving 600 million people.
Civilization requires people to make it work. VAST numbers of people. Technology, the basis of our civilization, requires people.
Look around you. Everything you see was made by someone who knew how to make it. The people who knew how to run the machines. The person who designed it. The beurocracy that sits on top of them both. The Sales and Marketing people. Sounds like a lot of people because it is.
But remember, Everything is made up of smaller bits. And those bits are made up of even smaller bits. Leading all the way back to the people who took the raw materials out of the ground, be they mineral, petrolium, plant or animal. Each step along the way requires the people who figured out how to do it, the people who run the machines, the beaurocracy and the S&M people to sell it.
And packaging. And Transportation. And the machine tools to make the factories. And the people and bits it took to make the trucks, boxes and machine tools.
If you killed off 90% of the world this would all fall apart.
So in short, his solution would not get the desired results.
"But what if we killed off mostly people who lived in the third world who don't produce anything?" .... Someone else field that question... =)
posted
It isn't what he proposes, it's what he feels is inevitable. With explosive human population growth genociding out the rest of the larger species, all those small animals&protozoans&fungi&bacteria&viruses in symbiosis (whether through mutualism or parasitism) with the genocided larger species -- or having their population controlled by being preyed upon by the genocided -- will turn to colonization of the largest remaining animal biomass, humans.
Thing is that short-lived symbionts have a much shorter time between gene reshufflings. Combined with there's one heck of a LOT of them and that which damages but doesn't kill, causes mutation, many symbionts will survive through adapting to survive within the internal ecologies of individual humans. And during the process of adaptation, a LARGE percentage of those human hosts are gonna die in the process of the human species adapting to their new symbionts.
All due to that human enthusiasm to use everything for only their own benefit.
posted
Ridiculous... It's the smallest percentage of the population, the smallest wealthiest percentage that uses the most resources. One child born here to a wealthy family can consume more resources than a child born in a 3rd world country. Who do you pick to die? The moment people begin to seriously consider something like this, is the moment we get a return to the sort of values that should have died out ages ago! We shouldn't be like Mao who had no problem starving billions of people if he could benefit. We need real values, honour and respect for all life and people's dignity... And we need to learn balance too.. before it's too late.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Tres, how often is it that we agree? Almost never I think...
Oh, we usually agree. I just wait for those moments when we don't, and save all my "enthusiasm" for that! Posts: 8120 | Registered: Jul 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:Technology, the basis of our civilization, requires people.
Pixiest, this point intrigues me. Why do you feel that technology is the basis of our civilization, rather than shared social/cultural norms?
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Scott: Perhaps I should have said "A" basis of our civilization. Our shared social and cultural norms have changed with our technology, but you're right. They are just as important.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Thank you.
