4 ms·
> we're not really cut out for long-term thinking and abstract mentation for its own sake appeals to only a tiny minority. There is great value to living in the
by mmirate 10y ago
> we're not really cut out for long-term thinking and abstract mentation for its own sake appeals to only a tiny minority. There is great value to living in the moment but most people don't know how to do it
That's the most convincing argument in favor of eugenics that I've ever heard. It's a shame that we can't easily test for affinity for long-term, abstract thinking; nor for ability to live in the moment.
- qntty 10y agoWell that's reassuring since it doesn't appear to be an argument for eugenics at all.
- mmirate 10y agoIt is. If I read the great-grandparent correctly, violence is only needed as an outlet because the majority of humans don't have a particular combination of attributes; therefore, one solution to that brand of inevitable violence, is to artificially select for precisely those attributes.
- festivusr 10y agoWhat is wrong with you?
- konschubert 10y agoYou seem to forget that the act of selecting is an act of violence by itself.
- mmirate 10y agoHence my particular turn-of-phrase: "that brand of inevitable violence [described by anigbrowl]". Yes, I probably should have included that bracketed clause. (aside: AFAICT, needing violence to remove violence is as much an inevitability as needing guns to remove guns.)
- mmirate 10y agoOh, and nothing's wrong with me. I'm merely able to think of preconditions as potential subproblems. (dead comments' unrepliability is rather annoying, btw)
- anigbrowl 10y agoNo, you haven't read it correctly, and I apologize for the lack of clarity in my remarks. My argument is that violence is only needed as an outlet because some people (a smallish minority) are willing to use it on a discretionary to further their own ends. I do not have omniscient knowledge of the causes and dynamics of violence. If it were possible to make a few thousand clones of myself and put them on an island with abundant resources (let's not worry about reproduction in this example), I can't say that violence would never break out because opinions would inevitably diverge in the light of my clones' diverse experiences, and if the differences of opinion proved irreconcilable then conflict could break out and violence might might ensue. Since we're talking about my clones arguments are virtually guaranteed :-) tl;dr a nation of philosophers would not necessarily be peaceful under all circumstances, and I think you'd be foolish to attempt to engineer such a thing. I don't know with which aspects of my personality can be ascribed to genetics and which are a function of my upbringing or adult experience.
- bykovich 10y agoUnder my regime idiots who advocate for euthanasia on the basis of interest in abstract mentition with no true justification will be euthanized to protect those who don't subscribe to their fevered hallucination.
- anigbrowl 10y agoI'm utterly opposed to eugenics, and don't think it would be an effective or efficient route to improving society.