You are just cherry picking "trends" that align with some sense of life/diversity conservation. Nature's means of limiting growth may not be fun. — Nils Loc
If we do not understand where we are, we cannot know where we should go. — Seeker25
Whether we like it or not, we must make decisions continuously, thereby shaping our life and our world. What criteria do we use to decide? — Seeker25
• Equilibrium, the propensity for life, and freedom are three evolutionary trends which, according to my thesis, shed light on how we should act. — Seeker25
So, how do we produce “citizens of the world” if they are denied the full truth? — Questioner
Education. We need an educational system that guides our young people to take into account and acknowledge all of history and all perspectives. And this requires that we overcome the forces (like populism) that keep us mired in our basest instincts. — Questioner
Politicians will not drive the transformative change the world needs. — Seeker25
If a certain consensus could be reached among people from different countries and cultures about what is good or bad for humanity, it could mark the beginning of a collegiate apolitical authority capable of morally censuring actions by governments and other centres of power that go against humanity's interests. If this idea works, millions of people could join in and drive change. — Seeker25
Plus I am not sure how i can really reach the conclusion that there are no moral principles without assuming the reality of principles of reason, and those are just as much jeopardized by the evolutionary account as the moral principles are. — Clearbury
Evolution is a theory and as such is not a part of the physical landscape, so it belongs with reason. The correctness or incorrectness of that theory is not part of the physical landscape either but is determined by what actually has happened in the physical landscape. About this we have only clues which enable us to tell the story that is the Theory of Evolution. — Janus
An animal that can reason and anticipate what might happen would obviously have a survival advantage over one that cannot. I think it is obvious that animals also reason, at least in concrete, if not abstract, ways. — Janus
The evidence for the theory of evolution could fill a library. — Questioner
Also, the theory of evolution is not a "story." — Questioner
We are the only animals that understand that sexual intercourse leads to babies. What do you make of that? — Questioner
Evolution is a theory and as such is not a part of the physical landscape, so it belongs with reason. — Janus
That misses the point. The best explanation of why we believe there are reasons to do and believe things is not that there actually are, but that believing in them conferred an evolutionary advantage.
The belief in principles of reason is what confers the advantage, not the actual existence of any. — Clearbury
Thus, if there is a case for an evolutionary account of our development, then it can't be the full story, because if it was the full story then there wouldn't be any cases possible for anything. — Clearbury
Principles of reason don't exist other than as thoughts or sentences. — Janus
A mere assertion—the argument for it is missing. — Janus
So if I just 'think' the theory of evolution is true, then that's sufficient for there to be reason to believe it is true?
That's not a defensible theory about what principles of reason are. — Clearbury
It is a story—a very well supported one. However unlikely it might be, it is not impossible that it is false. — Janus
How could you know that? — Janus
political systems provide the conditions that determine whether progress can be made or not. — Questioner
According to a recent report measuring the global state of democracy, the number of countries worldwide moving towards authoritarianism is more than double the number moving towards democracy. — Questioner
So what do we do as we watch the world slide into autocracy? — Questioner
Could the entire world’s population agree on what is good or bad for humanity? — Questioner
What form would this “apolitical authority” take and from where would it derive its power? — Questioner
I completely agree. The book *Why Nations Fail* by Nobel in economics, Acemoglu, explains that the progress of nations depends on certain conditions, which, in essence, are provided by democracy. I am still reading it, but it seems to me that the conditions for progress identified by Acemoglu align with the framework defined by evolutionary trends, while autocracies, which do not progress, violate that framework. It’s an interesting topic to delve deeper into. — Seeker25
I am surprised that while democracies are in decline, and according to the Nobel, progress will also be affected, no established power is taking action to counteract this. — Seeker25
Global problems require global solutions, which cannot come from politicized and discredited supranational institutions. I see no other solution than to turn to individuals united around an idea that benefits them and that they can understand: The world must respect the trends of evolution: life, diversity, beauty, freedom, the development of intelligence, balance, etc — Seeker25
If Trump, by telling many falsehoods, managed to gather 77 million people to his project, — Seeker25
Their power has the same justification as the power of citizens in any democratic state, but with three fundamental differences:
A) The scope of the vote is not national but global;
B) Citizens who do not have this right in their own country can also vote;
C) It does not have any of the three traditional powers of a state, only a small structure that honestly receives and distributes relevant information, periodically collects opinions, and informs the world of the results. — Seeker25
The evolution of the Earth, over 4.6 billion years, has given rise to the laws and principles that regulate both the natural environment and our existence. Within these evolutionary trends, we can find the essence of the ethical principles and moral norms that humanity seeks to identify. — Seeker25
It is no more a story than atomic theory, gravity, thermodynamics, or cell theory. Stories come from the imagination. Scientific theories come from evidence. — Questioner
I read it. — Questioner
does not show us that there actually are such principles. — Clearbury
What do you mean by "actually are such principles". Of course there are such principles otherwise people would not be able to follow them. It doesn't follow that all those actual moral principles are correct. — Janus
Scientific theories come from the imagination, just as other kinds of stories do — Janus
abductive reasoning) side of science. — Janus
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