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I think your view doesn't make sense to me because of that old question: How can there be anything "beautiful" or harmonious" without humans being around and ob
by chki 8y ago
I think your view doesn't make sense to me because of that old question: How can there be anything "beautiful" or harmonious" without humans being around and observing those beautiful or harmonious structures in nature?
In a cold vast universe without sentient life, is there really a difference between a tree and a rock on mars if there is nobody to judge?
Edit: To add to that: Starting from the aforementioned viewpoint I think that saving the planet and preserving the environment is really important.. for us humans! There is no inherent value in having 100 species or 1000 species in a forest, it's simply important because if 900 species die, there might be changes in the ecosystem that affect us in the long run. Or the forest might be less beautiful/harmonious. I have a hard time to see any inherent value in nature, because again: what difference is there between a rose and some dark asteroid?
- kranner 8y agoEven if that were true, that there is no sentient/intelligent life other than us to recognise beauty and harmony, it still wouldn't give us the right to destroy it. At least until we have the knowledge and ability to recreate all of what we have destroyed. Maybe not even then.
- JackFr 8y agoThis is religion. Either the universe doesn't give a damn about your esthetics, or it does. I'd be curious as why you think it does? (Full disclosure - I believe it does, but I'm also a believer in an organized religion.)
- chki 8y agoBut why wouldn't it give us the "right" to destroy it? Is there a "right and wrong" without any sentient life making an ethical choice?
- k_sze 8y agoHow do you even know that we’re the only species with a sense of esthetics and able to appreciate beauty and harmony? I wouldn’t be surprised if elephants, dolphins, other primates, and certain species of birds have some intellectual capacity for it.