h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Of late, it has appeared evident to me to me that each person is alone in the world, with our own identity and feelings. In desperation, we reach out but cannot identify with anyone - this is the absurdity of human existence. The idea that we have a "purpose" is a false construct - we are unfree in our actions. Humans are inherently selfish, and the only way to convince people of anything is if you show them how it will benefit them. This is an offshoot of the process of evolution, as well as the economic system, which promotes a kind of survival of the fittest, and the fittest inevitably are the most ruthless, so they will survive and reproduce, and so on, until we lose all sense of our humanity.

A rather jolly statement indeed!

It wouldn't hurt to remember that if anything exists for any length of time, it must have some attributes which allow it to survive in it's environment. We probably have little disagreement there. The point I wish to highlight here is that if ruthlessness to the point of extinguishing "all sense of our humanity" was the only tenable stance, altruism, kindness, consideration of others, etc. would not exist for us to lament its passing in the first place. In other words, if it is here, then it is stronger than we might think.

I don't think you are alone in feeling like you are the only one who is above the meanness and utter depravity of the human condition. I know you didn't actually say that, but I have been in similar states of mind during bouts of melancholia. Please don't take offense. I know a well as I suspect you do that such uniqueness is unlikely from a logical point of view. But sometimes it FEELS like that.

Anyway, if sometimes, some people were not nice, we wouldn't even have a frame of reference from which to discuss it. It would never enter our minds.

Nice meeting you Nick_Em(not_him)





YB

Let me rephrase that last statement for clarity.

If nobody was ever nice, we wouldn't even have a frame of reference from which to discuss it.