We might not be an endangered species, but we are certainly endangered individuals and have always been so. There’s little to argue for an underlying peace and much in human history to argue for “man’s inhumanity to man.” The idea of the “Noble Savage,” once part of a poetic tradition, will never be in danger, however. It will be carried on by naïve segments of every generation, typically by the young until they discover its dubious character. Every generation of unsuspecting youth will seek an ideal world far from the reaches of civilization’s corrupting influences.
Sound pessimistic?
I’m open for the optimistic view, the one that tells me how “noble” humanity is in general, how very close to the angels we are as a non-ethereal species. And then I run into the little evils, the ones that endanger not life, but rather reputation, or good will, or hope. Contradictory? Am I a pessimist? A Nihilist? Don’t I see the good in humanity?
I see good in individuals, and I see in some individuals both overt and insidious evil. It’s a wonder that we’ve survived, but maybe in that survival lies the lesson of optimism: Although evil exists, there has been some balancing good. Although we know of individuals perpetrating evil, we also know of individuals perpetrating good, generation after generation of them. Survival depends on there being at least just enough good to counter evil.
Of course, our species has arguably come close to extinction by natural phenomena, such as the great volcanic eruption of Toba about 74,000 years ago. Surviving such events might be a matter of luck and quick adaptability to living under stressful conditions like the rapid onset of a volcanic winter. But once we widened our geographic range, individual catastrophic events, like the more recent eruption of Mount Tambora in the nineteenth century, have been less of a threat to our species. Sheer numbers—now more than 7 billion humans—and geographic distribution have warded off extinction.
With lessened threats by nature, we have survived to face intra-species threats. And therein lies an argument for optimism about humanity’s future. Good hasn’t necessarily prevailed, but it has sufficiently warded off a total self-annihilation. “That’s not much to be happy about,” you say.
Maybe not “happy,” but at least a bit optimistic. Individuals will still do evil things, some even detrimental to the survival of millions of humans. Yet, those persistent acts of goodness seen in every generation and in the direst circumstances, coupled with a distribution of people over all habitable and even slightly habitable places, ensure that some will survive. Possibly, we can find a reason for some optimism in our persistent 200-millennia survival in spite of natural catastrophes and individual acts of evil.
Yes, evil exists, but so does good. Maybe it’s not a wonder that we have survived.
Sound pessimistic?
I’m open for the optimistic view, the one that tells me how “noble” humanity is in general, how very close to the angels we are as a non-ethereal species. And then I run into the little evils, the ones that endanger not life, but rather reputation, or good will, or hope. Contradictory? Am I a pessimist? A Nihilist? Don’t I see the good in humanity?
I see good in individuals, and I see in some individuals both overt and insidious evil. It’s a wonder that we’ve survived, but maybe in that survival lies the lesson of optimism: Although evil exists, there has been some balancing good. Although we know of individuals perpetrating evil, we also know of individuals perpetrating good, generation after generation of them. Survival depends on there being at least just enough good to counter evil.
Of course, our species has arguably come close to extinction by natural phenomena, such as the great volcanic eruption of Toba about 74,000 years ago. Surviving such events might be a matter of luck and quick adaptability to living under stressful conditions like the rapid onset of a volcanic winter. But once we widened our geographic range, individual catastrophic events, like the more recent eruption of Mount Tambora in the nineteenth century, have been less of a threat to our species. Sheer numbers—now more than 7 billion humans—and geographic distribution have warded off extinction.
With lessened threats by nature, we have survived to face intra-species threats. And therein lies an argument for optimism about humanity’s future. Good hasn’t necessarily prevailed, but it has sufficiently warded off a total self-annihilation. “That’s not much to be happy about,” you say.
Maybe not “happy,” but at least a bit optimistic. Individuals will still do evil things, some even detrimental to the survival of millions of humans. Yet, those persistent acts of goodness seen in every generation and in the direst circumstances, coupled with a distribution of people over all habitable and even slightly habitable places, ensure that some will survive. Possibly, we can find a reason for some optimism in our persistent 200-millennia survival in spite of natural catastrophes and individual acts of evil.
Yes, evil exists, but so does good. Maybe it’s not a wonder that we have survived.
RSS Feed