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07-30-2009, 07:48 PM | #41 (permalink) | |
Music Addict
Join Date: Mar 2009
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07-31-2009, 03:31 AM | #42 (permalink) |
Pale and Wan
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Aus
Posts: 917
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Diminished maybe, I can see human civilisation hitting a bit of a decline and some widespread dysfunction in the next few hundred years or so as climate change and resource depletion hit their stride.
But extinction would take something a bit more dramatic. Human development has a selfish momentum that fuels its expansion to the edges of our box, and then enlarge it if possible. But when we hit a wall and our box shrinks, we still have to exist inside it, and if that means coming up with a sustainable solution, then it's well within our capacity. Of course humanity can't exist forever, so something has to happen eventually, I get the feeling it won't be anything like what we predict. |
07-31-2009, 05:04 AM | #43 (permalink) | |
we are stardust
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,894
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And I'd just like to say this. Things like nuclear war, biological catastrophes, and climate change are making us question whether the human race will survive. We are living in a chaotic world, socially and politically, but we have been for a very long time. And the human race has survived thus far. Through what has happened during our time on Earth, the human race has showed a remarkable resilience. This is why I think the human species will survive for a good deal longer. Think about the extremely quickly-progressing technologies that have been invented. And then think about, how despite this, we are still yet to let our technologies go wrong and release some kind of Frankenstein upon the world. There are stockpiles of nuclear weapons yet no global warfare. Medical advancements are popping up everywhere. Climate change looms on our minds but I think we forget that we are an adaptable species, we have adapted before and will adapt again. It's true that, in time, the resources we have no may not be available anymore. But think about the resources we have now, and how they weren't available 100 years ago. We may face catastrophes that will have devastating effects. Just like in the past (like the plague, etc). Yet these catastrophes were still survived through. I'm not saying that we should just sit back and think, "Great, we're going to survive, no need to invest anything into the future then!" Because we still need to remain compassionate and proactive about our world and the future. I don't know, I'm rambling, but this is just how I personally see things and what I believe. |
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07-31-2009, 04:43 PM | #45 (permalink) | |||
Existential Egoist
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,468
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As for the second question, I don't blindly believe our race will go on forever. I don't believe it on faith. I believe it because I have a reason to. I believe it because I see the structures man has built (skyscrapers, computer systems, etc.) and realize that nothing alive on this earth has created anything like it. You could say that animals and bugs create their own shelters and such, but that is based on instinct. They did not choose to create it. They don't have reason. We had to teach ourselves the laws of physics before we built the empire state building. One could view man's position as a disadvantage because he has to learn in order to do. You have times of luck, but those will only get you so far. Man isn't at a disadvantage though. With reason as is his guide he has infinite possibilities in this world. If it can be learned, man can do it. That is why I am not afraid of the future. If man can live by his reason in this world he will survive. If we choose to live by anything else we will die. We are in a darker age currently. While one might look at the present time and say we are progressing, one should also look at previous ages. Greece was more successful than us. Renaissance Europe was more successful. They were times when men weren't ridiculed for believing that the world could be known, such as now. However, they had their own obstacles such as the church that ruled them. I don't believe the human race will go bad because I myself am part of the human race. I have seen what I can do, and I realize that I am no more privileged than others when it comes to using reason to guide my actions. It comes down to the fact that I choose to act rationally, while others don't. If they have the same ability as I, I see no reason why humans can't control the universe. Quote:
Secondly, I believe that selfishness is a virtue. I don't mean to say that I don't feel anything for humanity. I mean to say that I can't feel anything for humanity when I am dead. So I can't care. My life is not a sacrifice to humanity. I don't believe anyone else's life is a sacrifice to mine either. So while I am existing, why should I sacrifice my thought for something that will ultimately have no benefit for me? Quote:
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08-01-2009, 09:19 AM | #46 (permalink) | |
Dr. Prunk
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Where the buffalo roam.
Posts: 12,137
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I'm not arguing with you I'm just saying. I think one big problem is that that there are a lot of people who DO want the world to end, fundamentalist religious crazies who like to vote for whatever president that will best speed up the armageddon process, I think the Israeli government is being the same way, as well as some Muslim theocracies. And it's also one reason a lot of Christians don't care about global warming and encourage global warfare, they think the rapture will happen any day now and so what's the point in trying to improve the world? We're all going to hell either way. It's one of those things we are always told to just tolerate out of religious sensitivity, and I think that's a big part of the problem. If the world is destined to die it's beause of our own will, and that of course is no excuse not to do anything about it. |
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08-01-2009, 07:04 PM | #47 (permalink) | |
king of sex
Join Date: May 2009
Location: canada
Posts: 331
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it was marvin gaye, I was trying to derail the thread. I still believe the world is screwed. It's cliche, but the amount of food we throw away could probably feed entire third world countries.It's an accepted and standard business practice for 7-eleven, safeway, and pretty much every major franchise involved in food, to throw away huge quantities of food. At my job for one, if we don't meet our mandatory food writeoff amount , we get written up...just in case, god forbid, a customer walks in and doesn't find his particular sandwich on the shelf.... ...another freaky thing is that certain types of staple seeds..like corn are being bio-engineered to be self-terminating by companies like cargill...breeding entire species of animals for profit, rather than to meet the nutritional needs of a single community..growing a ****load of corn to feed those animals and not people...and having a third of that meat thrown out by fast food chains to ensure that some fat **** can have his cheeseburger when he wants it. I think treating the essentials of life like food and water as mass-produced commodities is what's going to screw us over in the long run. Last edited by asshat; 08-01-2009 at 07:25 PM. |
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08-02-2009, 04:10 AM | #48 (permalink) | |
Dr. Prunk
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Where the buffalo roam.
Posts: 12,137
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I don't know what is is with people who say these things aren't getting coverage, this stuff is on the news all the time, it's really hard to escape from it. |
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08-03-2009, 01:14 PM | #50 (permalink) | |
Seemingly Silenced
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Everett, WA
Posts: 2,312
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It's funny but for some reason I actually have an image of you literally wearing your ass as a hat stuck in my head right now.
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