On “Embrace the Horror” by David Wong
March 15th, 2008 ecoliDavid Wong, on cracked.com writes
“Global warming is going to get really bad in 30 or 40 years, mass starvation, the whole bit.”
“So? I won’t be alive for that. I’m already 72 years old.”
“but… you should care about your fellow man even if it doesn’t benefit you!”
“That’s a false emotional impression, left over from our ancient herd instinct. Surely you’re not saying that it’s ‘better’ to care about your fellow man than not to.”“Of course I am! People will die if you don’t!”
“So you say it’s better that people live than die? Why?”
“It just is!”
I was shocked and disappointed. He believed in this invisible, unmeasurable force called “better” as much as he believed in man’s equally-unmeasurable ability to discern and act on the “better” thing and that “it just is” right do that “better” thing when given the chance. He believed in things science can’t quantify.
Wong comes up with some interesting ideas about determinism and the subjectivity of what we think of as fact. He points out that even ideas in which humans can find common ground are still not necessarily universal Truths. Commentary about what is ‘right’, ‘wrong’, ‘good’ or ‘bad’ about genocide or climate change are just as arbitrary as saying that ‘pizza is the best food.’
He says that these ideas are vestigial relics of our evolutionary history, from a time when people lived in herds and relied on each other for their direct survival.
However, these types of behaviors are not ‘vestigial’ and are just as applicable as our hunter/gathering days.
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