What Should Humanity's Priorities Be

What should humanity's priorities be?
: InsightfulQuestions
12-02-13 2:11 PM
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What should humanity's priorities be?

submitted 18 hours ago by thisissamsaxton
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this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2012
And, what priorities would the majority of people agree upon, if we asked everyone on the planet? Edit: My Attempt... 1. Survival of the species (long term). Nothing really matters without this, so when push comes to shove, everything below this should be sacrificed for this. 2. Technological/social progress. The more this occurs, the easier all priorities are. 3. Material equality. Inequality causes conflict, which endangers all these priorities. 4. Optimize quality of life. 5. Optimize individual pleasure. Could be more specific, but it's a start. Edit 2: Moved 4 to 5, made 4.
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[] CobraStallone
7 points 15 hours ago (10|2)
Didn't we have one of these a few weeks ago? Well, nevermind, I say: Survival of the species. Which includes a lot of stuff, such as eventually migrating to other planets, developing more advanced medicine, etc... Keeping animal and plant species from extintion. Protecting irreplaceable stuff, like historic or natural sites. Keeping our numbers and use of resources controlled. Seek worldwide peace, and that everyone has their human rights respected. Advance technology. Explore the Universe. Seek to establish a worldwide utopia (very long term goal).
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[] thisissamsaxton
[S] 2 points 14 hours ago (2|0)
Are these in order of importance?

perma-link parent source [] CobraStallone report save reply
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Kind of, a couple could be switched.

perma-link parent source [] thisissamsaxton report save reply
That was the purpose of the question, to create a hierarchy. To determine what most needs our attention and resources.
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[] TheUniporn 7 points 16 hours ago (7|0)
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We should strive to be an utopian civilization similar to this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture

perma-link report [] humpolec source save reply hide child comments
Shenzhen, China - The City with no history. Sprouted out of nowhere 30 years ago that makes the majority of our electronics. [1024 x 768]
See also Letter from Utopia. What is Tragedy in Utopia? There is tragedy in Mr. Snowmans melting. Mass murders, we have found, are not required.
perma-link parent source [] Oggie90 report save reply
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I can't imagine there being much point of an existence if life ever become like that. Without negativity we have nothing for comparison, so in turn we lose all the positives in life. Chocolate taste so much nicer if you're only allowed it once a week.
perma-link parent source [] DSchmitt report save reply
Value is inherently subjective. When you have sufficiently advanced technology you could reprogram your brain. You can have any sort of subjective experience you want. This could include chocolate being the best thing you've ever tasted, each and every time you have it. The point of existence is whatever you make it to be. With more advanced technology you have a wider range of options to choose from.
perma-link parent source [] Rickytantrum report save reply
-4 points 15 hours ago (3|6)
Meditation does this.

perma-link parent source [] DSchmitt report save reply
In a very limited way, compared to what should be possible with advanced technology, sure.
perma-link parent source [] MyriPlanet report save reply
1 point 10 hours ago (2|1)
Would you be willing to fundamentally alter your psyche? I fear that training ourselves to be eternally satisfied would lead to stagnation and decay. It is relevant to say that, with enough psychological change, we may no longer be capable of considering ourselves human.
[] TheUniporn
So I see they lifted the internet ban in North Korea (guess it was on that special day a week so it would be sweeter). Nobody said that in such a society you would have it all, it is said just that you could. Life is only as boring as you make it. You could read at least one of the books and see a lot on interesting stuff that you might actually like.
perma-link parent source [] flyheight report save reply
Chocolate taste so much nicer if you're only allowed it once a week. While self-control might lead to more pleasure, if one wants to maxmise pleasure, withholding chocolate to once a week might not be the best option available.
[] Rhendar
There are 2 priorities for life: 1) Survive. 2) Reproduce. The rest is just philosophy we think up when we're bored.
[] thisissamsaxton
I'm bored. You?

perma-link parent source [] mathemagic report save reply
Too busy surviving and reproducing ;)

[] AquaNeito
1 point 14 minutes ago (1|0)
but, maybe these were the priorities until we are capable of philosophy? Without your 1 and 2 we would have never reached the capability of philosphy and now once we have it, i propose we delete 1 and 2. And keep the new 3. Philosphy our existence
[] bobnine
Advancement of knowledge, specifically in science, technology and design. I wouldn't really consider anything else to be of much importance. Survival of the human species seems to be at the top of everyone's list, but in my opinion it is only important while we lack the technology to create or discover better, more intelligent and creative beings.
[] say_no_to_soma
technology is nice, but without social development it ultimately leads to destruction. the better your technology, the better the people have to be that control it.
perma-link parent source [] thisissamsaxton report save reply
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Page 1 of 3
What should humanity's priorities be? : InsightfulQuestions
12-02-13 2:11 PM
But, the better your technology, the better you can provide for peoples needs; so, less conflict. And better communication technology leads to a better society.
perma-link parent source [] say_no_to_soma report save reply
1 point 1 hour ago (1|0)
it's not just about needs, it's about being social. understanding that there are other people out there that don't have the advantages you do, and that society as a whole should provide for also. it's not just about the means to access the public, it's if the public accepts you.
[] cavazos
The end of suffering

perma-link report [] Philiatrist source save reply hide child comments
I think this should never be a goal of humanity. Suffering is a part of character growth and just a part of where the meaning of life comes from, I don't even really see how compassion or any sort of empathetic emotions could exist without suffering. If you mean a minimization of certain inequities I could be on board with that, but never in general.
perma-link parent source [] cavazos report save reply
Why is it that we humans attach meaning to feelings? The desire for meaning is a feeling itself (or the combination of series of feelings... boredom, loneliness). It's the sense of 'I' that feelings give the very reason we need meaning. So suffering is created by these instinctive responses known as feelings and emotions, along with the social conditioning, and then we fuel it even more by adding more to the equation. What if we are just giving answers to flawed questions, that we were wrong the whole time and 'meaning' is elsewhere? Why do we value our humanity particularly with our capacity to suffer? Are we that masochistic?
perma-link parent source [] terrystop0094 report save reply
1 point 1 hour ago (1|0)
Would your opinion change if 'the end of suffering' was limited to purely physical suffering, i.e., medical problems? So we eliminate diseases and such, but some people may still suffer through other means (obviously). just curious
[] madhatt
futuretimeline.net has some great expectations of future priorities.

perma-link report [] MyriPlanet save source reply
Space colonization. For the long term survival of our species nothing is more important. Nothing else will yield as many resources. Nothing else will yield as much technological advancement. It's a seed science: To found a space colony we'd need to pump massive amounts of effort into medical research, sustainable agriculture, climate control, energy technologies, materials sciences... Nothing else will bring us together towards a common goal as easily. Nothing else will combat overpopulation short of violating human rights.
perma-link report [] nhnifong source save reply hide child comments
2 points 7 hours ago* (2|0)
Agreed on most points, but space colonization will not help overpopulation. When colonizing the solar system, we will be limited to self-contained habitats and ships. There are no other habitable planets here. We cannot feasibly send a large number of people off of the earth to a potentially habitable planet in another star system. We can afford to send a small number of people to colonize it, and allow them to grow once they get there. But it will not relive the population pressure on earth. The people who leave on the ships will spend the rest of their lives in transit. They must do it for humanity, not themselves. If you have the social conscience to spend the rest of your life raising children in a metal can in the vacuum of space, eating algae that grew in your own shit so you help colonise another planet, you certainly have the social conscience to use contraception. Earth will always be our favorite place to live, and there will always be too many people here.
perma-link parent source [] T8rfudgees report save reply
May I suggest the movie 'Pandorum', not the best movie ever, but your comment really reminded me about what was cool about it.
[] curtains
1. Take care of the planet.

perma-link report [] nhnifong source save reply hide child comments
1 point 8 hours ago* (1|0)
1a. We sort out the complexities of the global ecosystem so that we may have directed, intentional effects on it, by performing a long, expensive, exhausting battery of experiments on it, some with catastrophic irreversible effects. 1b. We just keep using our ineffective, simplistic, traditional methods, turning up the power until it has catastrophic irreversible effects. i.e. dumping iron-oxide in the ocean to stimulate algae blooming. We are not fit to take care of the the world. We are too stupid.
perma-link parent source [] curtains report save reply
I agree to an extent. Some of us are fit to take care of the planet, while others are too greedy to give a fuck.
[] Wofiel
The planet will be fine eventually. We just won't be here any more.
perma-link parent source [] curtains report save reply
And neither will be the species we wipe out, which could be a large part of the viable life in the universe. Sure the planet will be here; whether or not it's living is potentially up to us.
[] technologyisnatural
Our long term chances of survival will be boosted dramatically once we establish a second, independent biosphere.
perma-link report [] What_is_it save source reply
Technological progress should only be a means to these other ends. "Equality" should be defined in terms of power relations rather than than material equality. (Although they certainly do tend to correlate.) I would add promoting biodiversity to the list. I would add minimizing violence to the list Also, the pleasure part is tough. How do we define pleasure? I would use "quality of life" instead, but this is also difficult to define.
[] thisissamsaxton
[S] 1 point 2 hours ago (1|0)
Instead of violence, I might say "minimize behavior aberrant from priorities". Would you put it above equality, so if someone is deviant, they risk becoming unequal in society?
[] nhnifong
The Genus Homo, will continue to split periodically like it has been doing for millions of years. So far, each time, one branch is driven to extinction by the other. Maybe we could try bringing this under control. Let's willingly form two groups and agree to exploit mutually exclusive types of resources.
perma-link report [] humpolec save source reply
Defeat death.
perma-link report [] 4AM save source reply
I am going to advocate the point that survival of the species should be relatively low. In absence of catastrophic events, the survival of the species is a relatively low concern and will happen whether we focus on it or not. I believe that humanity's top priority should be the advancement of humanity itself. The conquest of love over hate in all forms. Putting the objective common good over the good of the individual or good of sub-cultures. I also think we should figure out the best ways to use our existing technology (most of which have been perverted to be used against humanity) to enhance humanity. Technological progress will happen as long as you do not prevent it. Social progress will only happen if you make a concerted effort.
perma-link report [] Badlogic save source reply
2 points 1 hour ago (2|0)
Page 2 of 3
What should humanity's priorities be? : InsightfulQuestions
12-02-13 2:11 PM
Getting everyone into places where they can be useful and productive. Perhaps the guy with downs who will never be able to read shouldn't be sat down at school while they try to teach him to read. Make that a secondary goal. Instead, teach him to behave in an acceptable way and give him skills and maturity (even false) to do a job. I've seen very intellectually disabled people who could have been taught work. There was a rather large disabled group and they spent a lot of time trying to teach them math while very little time was spent trying to improve their behavior. I think the opposite would have been more useful. While they weren't very good at independent, complex thought, they learned by rote very well. They didn't understand the math, but they remembered which flash card required which answer. (Proven by the fact that they never got unique questions right.) When I asked what they would do after they were released from school I was told most of them would probably just live with their parents or in a home. Their education was mostly just appearances it seems. I think we could make them useful with the right type of education.
perma-link report [] AquaNeito save source reply
1 point 18 minutes ago (1|0)
For me it would be - understand that you are living (not why.) It is pretty big deal. we are living. This means, because we have a chance to live (doesn't matter if it is accidental or not), let life to be as enjoyable for us , future generations of people, and any other spiecies that can experience life. We humans, the most powerful animals should not overuse our power.
perma-link report [] threethirds save source reply
-2 points 15 hours ago (2|5)
The Georgia Guidestones lay it out pretty well

perma-link report save source reply
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