(December 6, 2016 at 12:40 am)Orochi Wrote:(December 6, 2016 at 12:37 am)wallym Wrote: Is every life important, though? Really? All 7 billion of us are special entities that we have to care about because we share a similar genetic makeup? Seems like a silly premise.
My opinion, is that some people are just unlucky. You can want to help them if you want. You can want to keep them away but send help, or you can not care about them, or you can kill them. They are all fine options.
And the discussions over what we should do never go anywhere, because the real discussion is over how deeply you buy into the notion that every life is important. Some people are all in. Most people, I think, like it in a high-level sort of abstract philosophical way. And some people think it's bullshit. It's all subjective. There's no right or wrong answer to your view of the world. It's just your view.
So you wanting to help from afar, because you think every life is important in theory, but practically, your behavior says "My tribe is way more important to me, than some randos over in Syria" that's fine too. But an interesting discussion to have with yourself might be whether you believe every life is important, or you believe your supposed to think every life is important because you were conditioned to believe it from childhood, and the idea that it may not be true just never crossed your mind. That strategy has been pretty effective for religion. No reason it wouldn't be applied to other things.Quote:My opinion, is that some people are just unlucky. You can want to help them if you want. You can want to keep them away but send help, or you can not care about them, or you can kill them. They are all fine options.
If you a psychotic then yes they are all fine options
Killing groups of things for your own groups benefit has been the norm for pretty much all life forms on earth all the way back.
We are just lucky that most of our lives don't require it first hand. I mean, our elected governments will drone strike some folks from time to time, finangle a coup, appease evil regimes, and a variety of other acts of 'killing them', but that's just our elected officials acting on our behalf, and they hardly could be viewed as a representation of the people they represent.