6 ms·

Serious answer in the form of a question: What is good about humans or dogs or trees? What does good even mean- how do you define it? Good in what sense?

barrenko 4y ago
Dogs peeing on trees in cities also has a net negative effect.
nkrisc 4y ago
I generally share the same view but it seems pretty clear to me they’re asking from the perspective of human benefit.
- bawolff 4y ago
  I think the question was ecological benefit not human benefit.
11235813213455 4y ago
good is what help maintaining life as a whole, so a human with a high carbon footprint is more bad than good, but a lizard or a bird plays a role in the ecosystem, and at least doesn't have a negative pollution impact, so they're not bad trees: that's the symbol of life, of usefulness, they help to improve life in the ground and around, hold humidity, store carbon for most of them, are homes of many species, provide food, ... dogs or any pets: not useful at all for the ecosystem, actually detrimental from their food https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_food#Impact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_food#Impact and other services dedicated to them and their direct negative impact on the local wild life mosquitoes: useful because their larva feed a large ecosystem, they also feed other insects, they also pollinate
Shugarl 4y ago
Good if it's useful to us humans, bad if it's harmful.
- 11235813213455 4y ago
  For example wasps are extremely precious, for their role in pollination, in the ecosystem in general https://www.thoughtco.com/what-good-are-wasps-1968081 https://www.thoughtco.com/what-good-are-wasps-1968081 But I'm sure most people will say they're bad because of the risk of a bite, neglicting and/or ignoring how they indirectly help us to live
  - cassepipe 4y ago
    OK, TIL wasps are pollinators
    - macintux 4y ago
      Mosquitos too, for that matter, for orchids. https://www.thoughtco.com/insect-pollinators-that-arent-bees-or-butterflies-1967996 https://www.thoughtco.com/insect-pollinators-that-arent-bees...
    - 11235813213455 4y ago
      most flying insects do pollinate, or even ants
    - awelxtr 4y ago
      Yup, in fact there are some fig genus that depend solely on some specific wasps for pollination
  - laumars 4y ago
    Some wasps are, but unfortunately not the ones that are pests to humans. Plus it’s ironic to talk about wasps being good pollinators when they attack bees and other pollinators.
    - 11235813213455 4y ago
      wasp do as much pollination than bees, please do your own research on this, wasps don't deserve this undeserved bad press
chongli 4y ago
There is no such thing as objective good. Good is relative to the individual making the judgement. Dogs and trees make us happy. It’s amazing to go for a walk in the forest and breathe the fresh air. The smells of the forest are very pleasant and calming. Unfortunately, forests also tend to have mosquitoes everywhere due to the way shade preserves pools of standing water. Forests would be much more enjoyable to walk through without mosquitoes biting us all the time. It’s as simple as that, really. We’re allowed to be biased. All other animals are biased. Foxes will kill every single chicken in a henhouse. The difference with us humans is that we can plan for the future in a sophisticated way. That’s why we build the henhouse rather than kill all the chickens immediately. The rest of the job is just ecological study. If we can determine that the eradication of mosquitoes won’t cause the food chain to collapse and lead to widespread unintended problems, why not do it? What is good from an ecological perspective? It’s what we humans prefer. Not just in the immediate term but in the long term. We know we like idyllic forests and meadows full of butterflies and reefs teaming with colourful fish. We don’t much like swamps teaming with mosquitoes and other biting insects but we recognize their value as habits for things we do like, mainly waterfowl. So if we can determine whether it’s safe to get rid of mosquitoes without disrupting the other things we do like, why not? After all, we created seedless bananas, grapes, and watermelons.
- marginalia_nu 4y ago
  > There is no such thing as objective good. Good is relative to the individual making the judgement. This is a pretty sweeping claim that requires some motivation.

barrenko 4y ago

Dogs peeing on trees in cities also has a net negative effect.

nkrisc 4y ago

I generally share the same view but it seems pretty clear to me they’re asking from the perspective of human benefit.

bawolff 4y ago
I think the question was ecological benefit not human benefit.

11235813213455 4y ago

good is what help maintaining life as a whole, so a human with a high carbon footprint is more bad than good, but a lizard or a bird plays a role in the ecosystem, and at least doesn't have a negative pollution impact, so they're not bad trees: that's the symbol of life, of usefulness, they help to improve life in the ground and around, hold humidity, store carbon for most of them, are homes of many species, provide food, ... dogs or any pets: not useful at all for the ecosystem, actually detrimental from their food https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_food#Impact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_food#Impact and other services dedicated to them and their direct negative impact on the local wild life mosquitoes: useful because their larva feed a large ecosystem, they also feed other insects, they also pollinate

Shugarl 4y ago

Good if it's useful to us humans, bad if it's harmful.

11235813213455 4y ago
For example wasps are extremely precious, for their role in pollination, in the ecosystem in general https://www.thoughtco.com/what-good-are-wasps-1968081 https://www.thoughtco.com/what-good-are-wasps-1968081 But I'm sure most people will say they're bad because of the risk of a bite, neglicting and/or ignoring how they indirectly help us to live
- cassepipe 4y ago
  OK, TIL wasps are pollinators
  - macintux 4y ago
    Mosquitos too, for that matter, for orchids. https://www.thoughtco.com/insect-pollinators-that-arent-bees-or-butterflies-1967996 https://www.thoughtco.com/insect-pollinators-that-arent-bees...
  - 11235813213455 4y ago
    most flying insects do pollinate, or even ants
  - awelxtr 4y ago
    Yup, in fact there are some fig genus that depend solely on some specific wasps for pollination
- laumars 4y ago
  Some wasps are, but unfortunately not the ones that are pests to humans. Plus it’s ironic to talk about wasps being good pollinators when they attack bees and other pollinators.
  - 11235813213455 4y ago
    wasp do as much pollination than bees, please do your own research on this, wasps don't deserve this undeserved bad press

chongli 4y ago

There is no such thing as objective good. Good is relative to the individual making the judgement. Dogs and trees make us happy. It’s amazing to go for a walk in the forest and breathe the fresh air. The smells of the forest are very pleasant and calming. Unfortunately, forests also tend to have mosquitoes everywhere due to the way shade preserves pools of standing water. Forests would be much more enjoyable to walk through without mosquitoes biting us all the time. It’s as simple as that, really. We’re allowed to be biased. All other animals are biased. Foxes will kill every single chicken in a henhouse. The difference with us humans is that we can plan for the future in a sophisticated way. That’s why we build the henhouse rather than kill all the chickens immediately. The rest of the job is just ecological study. If we can determine that the eradication of mosquitoes won’t cause the food chain to collapse and lead to widespread unintended problems, why not do it? What is good from an ecological perspective? It’s what we humans prefer. Not just in the immediate term but in the long term. We know we like idyllic forests and meadows full of butterflies and reefs teaming with colourful fish. We don’t much like swamps teaming with mosquitoes and other biting insects but we recognize their value as habits for things we do like, mainly waterfowl. So if we can determine whether it’s safe to get rid of mosquitoes without disrupting the other things we do like, why not? After all, we created seedless bananas, grapes, and watermelons.

marginalia_nu 4y ago
> There is no such thing as objective good. Good is relative to the individual making the judgement. This is a pretty sweeping claim that requires some motivation.