Altruistic Evil

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……….. is savagery against one’s fellows in the name of God. Religious zealots fed by xenophobic fervor label those of different beliefs their enemies, infidels, therefore anti-God, deserving of extermination. These Others are demonized through false narratives creating the perception of a sub-humanity, an animal nature deserving to be sacrificed.

Examples of this behavior abound throughout history: The Old Testament God directing destruction of entire people He denounced as unbelievers; witch hunts in the Middle Ages resulting in the burning of countless people; French Catholic mass murder of the protestant Huguenots in the 16th Century and during the second world war the Nazi intent to exterminate the Jewish people, murder most foul perpetrated without regard for our common humanity.

It is clear that the demonizing of the Other continues to plaque us as evidenced by the xenophobic cruelty that today’s populist politics is perpetrating in the name of God. Such simplistic reductionism has me wondering how long humankind will survive.

Ways to Live

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In the late 19th Century Friedrich Nietzsche warned of the downside of embracing Christian morality, a slave-like adherence limiting one’s potential to achieve. One should reject such belief, he suggests, and instead strive to become, lift oneself above herd morality and establish a unique personal independence.

100 years later Rabbi Jonathon Sacks advocated for social integration achievable through adherence to a ‘do unto others’ imperative and achievable through spiritual faith. Such a moral stance ensures social cooperation and cohesiveness in keeping with societal norms and ethical principles.

Better, then, to relish a freedom beyond herd morality and an open-ended progressive future devoid of adherence to societal norms or the freedom spiritual belief and adherence to ethical principles shared among like minds provides?

Past and Future

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It’s a fact that generation after generation of humankind reveled in the remembered past, times that in the collective mind were so much better than those presently being lived through. Psychologically it figures, I guess, considering the uncertainties of the ‘now’, problems we must deal with while problems of the past have long since been resolved, difficulties forgotten yielding pleasant memories of past good times.

So, we may conservatively champion the nostalgic past rather than endure the uncertainties of a dynamic future that requires us to stay alert and tuned in, but we have to ask ourselves which scenario will produce the most satisfying personal results.

Contemplation

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Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics, denigrates ‘paid employment’ as an unacceptable lifestyle, that, he says, absorbs and degrades the mind. He means, I guess, that a regular job with regular hours occupies so much of one’s being there’s little time for what is truly important: contemplation.

Jumping ahead a couple of millennia, Henry David Thoreau arrived at a similar conclusion. H. D. determined, living as he did in a small cabin in the woods, that to live one’s life fully, within the natural world one must resist the draw of materialistic society.

And certainly, many more individuals throughout time have opted for a life on the fringes of society to pursue an existence of deeper personal meaning. What they have provided us, through their disciplined, frugal lives, is a vision of beauty and meaning that benefits us all.

Virtue

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I’ve been reading Aristotle’s Ethics lately. In it, he spends considerable time defining what it means to be virtuous. His investigations consider how one’s feelings or actions determine how one measures up virtue-wise, the general rule being the exercise of moderation in one’s behavior, avoiding excess on the one hand but acting when action is called for, providing it’s the right action to the right person to the right extent at the right time with the right motive in the right way.

As I think about it, it seems to me excessive behaviors are not something I might be accused of but perhaps I am a bit lax when it comes to social action. Even so, I wonder if I want the label. Assuming virtuosity as a personal trait seems a bit pretentious. I guess, though, there’s nothing wrong in having pride in one’s good behavior, but I have to wonder how capable I am of getting all the ‘rights’ right.

The Importance of Pluralism

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As Christianity took hold in Rome following the dream that inspired Constantine to declare it acceptable, lawful and primary within the empire, church fathers imposed their political will.  Christian orthodoxy became the law of the land, all unorthodox believers subject to extreme punishment or death.  Huge numbers were forcibly baptized, making them subject to the will of the Church.  The results of this oppression suppressed free thought and led to the destruction of the learned texts and knowledgeable thought of the previous 500 years.  As these dark ages persisted literacy disappeared and western civilization reverted, learning replaced by mythical thinking. 

How are things different now?  Strong armed political will push a narrative aimed toward personal enrichment for a few without regard to the majority.  200 years of intellectual progress opened myriad ideas producing unprecedented cultural and technological innovation in a truly pluralistic society is being attacked.  The xenophobic fears of a populous looking backwards are in danger of finding themselves living in the kind of closed society that history informs us has been the demise of many earlier civilizations. 

The Demise of Closed Societies

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The historical significance of an open society; encouraging immigration, acceptance of cultural and religious differences has produced over the centuries multi-cultural populations sharing diverse ideas that result in a more productive society; room and time for people to excel at what they do best.

Even so, there are those among us, a conservative population, comfortable with their neighbors of similar ethnicity, religious beliefs and culture, where the status quo is an undeniable rule. Immigrant populations are discouraged, disallowed to participate, denied an initial hand-up and isolated rather than given the means to assimilate, which is what they desire.

It should be remembered that over the course of history closed societies are destined for collapse.

Social Darwinism

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After Charles Darwin’s, “On the Origin of the Species” was published in 1859, thinkers saw the need to reconcile the idea of life evolving, human from animal, with the conventional understanding of mankind as God’s creation, superior and soul-bearing destined for life ever after.

As popular thinking slowly grasped the notion that survival in a changing world required adaptation, that only the fittest organisms would survive and thrive, unfair advantage was taken. Within the social milieu of the late 19th century western world, evolutionary thinking justified rampant social inequalities, unequal wealth distribution, as properly rewarding the most fit.

Such a philosophic stance produced an uneven playing field favoring ‘robber barons’ who undermined and swallowed up competition. Any sense of moral empathy for the harsh working conditions of the common laborer became subordinated to the pursuit of wealth despite the dictates of the Christian Church. Individualism became the rule; acquire what one could despite societal needs.

Within two decades, it became apparent that singular selfishness will lose out to a shared cooperative existence and that empathy, innate in the human animal, will produce stability. Morality and ethics are necessary components for mankind to realize life’s primary goal: a degree of happiness.

Not sure if the lessons are being learned.

Plato’s Republic

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Plato’s Republic is a dialectical exercise in defining the ideal society.

A Guardian class consisting of the best and most fit physically and mentally is to be selected at a very young age to receive an education through a carefully ordered curriculum that will instill those qualities most favorable to preservation of the state. These Guardians will learn to put the state first above all other considerations, will distain personal gain while living in communal groups without material advantage. the best of these Guardians will be chosen to lead as philosopher kings, ensuring justice for all in this Ideal State.

What could go wrong?

It was argued among the dialecticians that human nature, being what it is, drawn to personal gain, when beyond observation of the populous, will be compelled to forego the practice of justice to gain material advantage. Who will dominate: the just, being good and wise, satisfied with the status quo or the unjust, the bad and ignorant who seek personal gain?

Morality emerges as a potential control factor. (Plato’s)Socrates identifies the soul existing in all people containing the Good as presented in the perfection of the Forms from which the imperfections of the material world are but flawed copies.

Plato’s allegory of the cave relates mankind’s lack of understanding: prisoners chained facing a dark wall, unable to turn, experience only shadows of reality. Not until they are allowed to turn can they see the beauty and complexity of the world. Such is the state of man.

Plasticity as Philosophical Concept

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I’ve been reading about the philosophy of Plasticity, which deals with one’s capacity for change. This thinking investigates the potential for profound personal formation and adaptability in various contexts, including personal identity and social inclusion.

Whereas the idea of ‘reinventing yourself’ through cosmetics or dress and maybe exploration of new venues of social participation might be thought of as involving a mental flexibility Plasticity is the ability to overturn an essential understanding of the natural world and to replace that understanding with thinking that transcends materiality and moves into a realm that may embrace the metaphysical.

What, then, may one reasonably imagine?