We are both i would say, we still make decisions based on our own happiness regularly and don't think about others. Of course we are capable of the complete opposite as well sacrificing our own happiness for that of the ones we love and care about.
Are Humans Stupid or Evil?
- Thread starter Slick Samurai
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Hell yes to this man.Callate said:
To be honest, I never really get into this whole 'humanity is evil' business. Sometimes because the people saying this are never honest enough with themselves to post the caveat 'except me, I'm awesome, hence my passing value judgement on the entire rest of the species'. It just smacks of placing the self on a pedestal from which you can shake your head sadly at the antics of the little people. (Same reason I can never stomach the Darwin Awards; eventually the smug aura of 'haha, this guy's dead and I'm not' just makes me want to punch an intellectual in the head)
Let's face it, for all our dressing up and posturing, at the end of the day we're just bald chimpanzees; smart animals with clothes. We've got the same survival instincts and savagery as all the other animals. Hence fear, selfishness, anger. And in despite of that, I think we're doing pretty well. Look at our progress from ancient times, to the medieval ages, to now. But because we view ourselves as so high above everything, we expect ourselves to be angels in everything we do, and that's simply impossible.
In summary; sometimes we can be capable of stupendous acts of goodness, sometimes we're bastards, but most of the time we're alright.
both. stupid and evil.
A man we all know named The Comedian once said, Humans have been trying to destory ourselves since the beggining of time, now we have the tools to do it.( i realize this quote is most likely not 100% correct but you get the point). and he is absouletly right. Remember the neanderthals? yeah we killed them pretty quick. really really stupid and really really evil.
FTW
A man we all know named The Comedian once said, Humans have been trying to destory ourselves since the beggining of time, now we have the tools to do it.( i realize this quote is most likely not 100% correct but you get the point). and he is absouletly right. Remember the neanderthals? yeah we killed them pretty quick. really really stupid and really really evil.
FTW
So good and evil are measured by hunger? Many animals will not eat something they could simply because they are full. They might still KILL it, but they won't eat if they have already eaten enough. Not every animal eats until it throws up, or would do so if given the chance.The_root_of_all_evil said:
Whether you believe humanity is evil ultimately comes down to whether you believe in moral relativism or an absolute good/evil system. If you believe in subjective morality, then humans are simultaneously evil and not evil, because the definition of the word has no real meaning. There is no absolute evil in moral relativism.
Moral absolutes are another story, but I find that's a very unpopular opinion these days.
And admitting humanity as "evil" in no way constitutes martyrdom, merely acceptance of the way the world works based on subjective opinion.
Just thought I'd throw that in there.
They are stupid, because they follow the masses.
So while a singular person may be smart, if you stick this person in a big stupid group that executes peer pressure, the person'll be just as stupid as the others (in most cases).
They're not evil, though.
So while a singular person may be smart, if you stick this person in a big stupid group that executes peer pressure, the person'll be just as stupid as the others (in most cases).
They're not evil, though.
I wasn't measuring hunger, just the moral imperative.Samurai Goomba said:
Which is...a human invention.
The only 'peers' we ever had were ourselves and dinosaurs (allegedly), both being top of the food chain.
If you believe in a God, we're doing what we're meant to be doing: Finding our own way.
If you don't, then we're organisms trying to procreate and rationalise: Finding our own way.
Trying to confine ourselves within self made boundaries and then chastise ourselves everytime someone steps beyond them is a societal imperative, not a moral one.
We're one of the least stupid creatures on this planet and that alone creates our capacity for "evil".
However, that self same societal imperative sets "evil" outside of society as it's destructive to the whole and therefore we're far less "evil" than creatures without society.
Look at the dolphins who think nothing of rape, infanticide or mugging. The chimpanzees who regularly practice cannibalism, bullying and will pay for porn.
Man has his tools, and his tools can be used for acts of great stupidity or great evil. Man himself tends to sit there and look puzzled.
You cannot classify the human race under "stupid", "ignorant", "evil" or any other like single adjective because humanity is not comparable to anything.
You cannot say that what we are doing is stupid and/or evil because you have absolutely no frame of reference and your well-stated theories are the equivalent of rolling a dice. There is no other race on the same level as us humans and as such we cannot state whether our actions taken lean toward one side of the spectrum or the other.
Inhabitant animals on Earth have been used as arguments in several posts in this thread, which is completely unsuitable to be taken as any sort of proof. Chimpanzees != Humans. You can continue to wax eloquent on speculation on different scenarios but nothing will change that statement. Each viable human has the ability to observe, think, and take rational action based on the observations and his train of thought. No other species can do this on an individual level. They act on instinct, primordial reaction embedded and entwined within their history. Humans are past that stage, and as such cannot be compared to animals.
An effect of our rationality is that no human is alike. We're all precious delicate snowflakes. Hitler, typical of philosophic morality discussions, has been raised again and again throughout this thread. But for every Hitler there is a Churchill. Humanity is not evil nor stupid at the most basic level; we have no basic level. Because each human is unique in his views and opinions, the collection of every human cannot be distilled into a single adjective. This brings me to a favourite saying of mine: "the broader a blanket statement gets, the more wrong it is".
While providing a delicious entree of food for thought, this thread cannot provide any legitimate answer, as there exists no legitimate proof for any opinion.
EDIT: Pi beat me to it.
You cannot say that what we are doing is stupid and/or evil because you have absolutely no frame of reference and your well-stated theories are the equivalent of rolling a dice. There is no other race on the same level as us humans and as such we cannot state whether our actions taken lean toward one side of the spectrum or the other.
Inhabitant animals on Earth have been used as arguments in several posts in this thread, which is completely unsuitable to be taken as any sort of proof. Chimpanzees != Humans. You can continue to wax eloquent on speculation on different scenarios but nothing will change that statement. Each viable human has the ability to observe, think, and take rational action based on the observations and his train of thought. No other species can do this on an individual level. They act on instinct, primordial reaction embedded and entwined within their history. Humans are past that stage, and as such cannot be compared to animals.
An effect of our rationality is that no human is alike. We're all precious delicate snowflakes. Hitler, typical of philosophic morality discussions, has been raised again and again throughout this thread. But for every Hitler there is a Churchill. Humanity is not evil nor stupid at the most basic level; we have no basic level. Because each human is unique in his views and opinions, the collection of every human cannot be distilled into a single adjective. This brings me to a favourite saying of mine: "the broader a blanket statement gets, the more wrong it is".
While providing a delicious entree of food for thought, this thread cannot provide any legitimate answer, as there exists no legitimate proof for any opinion.
EDIT: Pi beat me to it.
So did you just say that we're vastly smarter than any other animal? It's funny that. Technically, yes we do posses better brains than say.. a turtle does. But we don't exactly use it in the way even an ant would. We just repeat all the bad parts of history over and over.
Bloody kim jong il.
Whereas ants, they just run around in groups... pickin' up leaves and things that are heavy. Imagine how it would be if humans had the same strength as ants.
It'd be like, "Woah dude! I can lift my house! And this huge leaf! Woooow! Right, I HAVE to show this to the queen!"
Bloody kim jong il.
Whereas ants, they just run around in groups... pickin' up leaves and things that are heavy. Imagine how it would be if humans had the same strength as ants.
It'd be like, "Woah dude! I can lift my house! And this huge leaf! Woooow! Right, I HAVE to show this to the queen!"
Born evil but some higher power asshole turns us into good people just to see us get fucked around by the others?
My point is that we do not know how the average sentient race would conduct itself given dominance over a biosphere because we are the only ones to have existed.s-l-u-g said:
I will restate. Humans != turtles. Humans != ants. We don't know how ants would conduct themselves as a sentient species.
It really depends on your depiction of evil.
And of course people are stupid, have you never seen 4chan motivational posters?
And of course people are stupid, have you never seen 4chan motivational posters?