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So, what is progress? I like to think that progress is about maximizing global satisfaction. But then really hard questions follow - Who are included in "glob

So, what is progress? I like to think that progress is about maximizing global satisfaction. But then really hard questions follow - Who are included in "global"?, every human being?, every conscious mammal?. Do we all get the same weight? - (Assuming last answer is all human beings) How should we come to a consensus?. How do we coordinate to achieve our agreed goals? If you think this is all too subjective, should we stop pouring resources into philosophy and arts? I think this questions deserve at least some studying

LesZedCB 4y ago
haha, i think it's been studied. you described "utilitarian ethics" https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/
- madacol 4y ago
  Thanks!, good to know
robocat 4y ago
> should we stop pouring resources into philosophy and arts? Do we exist just to eat, shit, and breed? Hopefully our civilisation is concerned with more than just the cold necessities of life: a civilisation that lets us do with our minds what we will. Circuses and Netflix have more meaning than bread: bread is merely a low level dependency in the skill tree. I think there is a lot of bollox to our liberal humanities: but who am I to judge what others choose to put their minds to? Edit: the small percentage of gold produced is what matters, not the large percentage of load bearing ore. There can be a lot of worthwhile waste. Disclaimer: I am Engineer, not Word Rotator.
- andsoitis 4y ago
  > Do we exist just to eat, shit, and breed? we exist because we eat, shit, and breed. But that will end too. We are just an expression of processes in the unfolding universe.
- corsac 4y ago
  Thank you for "Word Rotator". As someone who values the liberal humanities, I wish "support for philosophy and the arts" were implicitly understood as support for leisure time for people in general, rather than funding special arts programming or individual institution-pleasers. If arts and philosophy are not flourishing as they should be, it is not because the Kennedy Center (or whatever) needs any more money, but because people can't afford basic needs like housing without spending all their time working, and so have no time for it.

LesZedCB 4y ago

haha, i think it's been studied. you described "utilitarian ethics" https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/

madacol 4y ago
Thanks!, good to know

robocat 4y ago

> should we stop pouring resources into philosophy and arts? Do we exist just to eat, shit, and breed? Hopefully our civilisation is concerned with more than just the cold necessities of life: a civilisation that lets us do with our minds what we will. Circuses and Netflix have more meaning than bread: bread is merely a low level dependency in the skill tree. I think there is a lot of bollox to our liberal humanities: but who am I to judge what others choose to put their minds to? Edit: the small percentage of gold produced is what matters, not the large percentage of load bearing ore. There can be a lot of worthwhile waste. Disclaimer: I am Engineer, not Word Rotator.

andsoitis 4y ago
> Do we exist just to eat, shit, and breed? we exist because we eat, shit, and breed. But that will end too. We are just an expression of processes in the unfolding universe.
corsac 4y ago
Thank you for "Word Rotator". As someone who values the liberal humanities, I wish "support for philosophy and the arts" were implicitly understood as support for leisure time for people in general, rather than funding special arts programming or individual institution-pleasers. If arts and philosophy are not flourishing as they should be, it is not because the Kennedy Center (or whatever) needs any more money, but because people can't afford basic needs like housing without spending all their time working, and so have no time for it.