Advancing Humanity: Thoughts on Existence

[hauntedx]

I used to be very pessimestic regarding humanity's fate, thinking we would kill each other off in ten or so years. I only recently changed my ideas when this thought appeared: We can war and be dumb for another century or so, just as long as we don't use doomsday weapons we'll eventaully snuff out idiocy and aim towards propelling our race as man matures.

Humans' primary instinct is to survive; survive for a purpose; advancement. To be rid of anything corrupt, evil, or otherwise un-intelligent obstacles. To pogress as a race, to surive, man has to possesses a certain maturity to live and prosper together.
All anger would be theoretically snuffed out via nanotechnology, ridding all anger-induced malevolence as we grow to understand that anger is illogical, ergo a deterrent to our growth.
Man's growth since its post-dawn era has been astounding and will continue numerous times fold. Soon we'll be existing in a purely science-fiction fashion, with no more religion, just pure science as it proves much more the logical and benificial.

Personal gods, to me, don't exist. We created them and the masses blindly follow, unable to grasp the truth; religion is man -as we are presently- 's laughable attempts at control, understanding, and reason.
Right now man is stuck in a raging stream of growth; a rather ****ty one due to corruption, war, drugs abuse, and other deterrents. We have to be smart, and not doom ourselves by destroying our planet or each other.
Concluding my ideal, I think that if everyone does their part in pushing us forward that we'll make it eventually. I have faith in something that gives the universe complex laws to follow and is able see a quark, though I know I won't be around to see it. Most people actually don't care what happens after they die. That's cool, but keep in mind we may grow to be smart enough that our predecessors will find a way to raise us from the dead, or pull us all out of hell!
As reinforcement to my optimism about humanity's advancement, I thought of some facts that point in the right direction:
People are compassionate. That alone separates us from most animals, who kill each other for food and survival. We invented antiseptics on the intentions of bettering ourselves, and have perfected the art of keeping clean. Diseases and all other threats are being eradicated. Modern medicine simply works and saves lives, and will continue infinitely. We want to advance and grow, it's our basic instinct.
It's logical to believe that we have a chance to overcome the biggest threat, ourselves, and become masters of the universe one day far, far in the future.

 

[fedorfan]

We`ll always be advancing but I doubt we`ll ever get to the point of raising the dead, or atleast the person won't be the same person. Like theyll have machines running their brain and stuff. Why even try, when youre dead you could possibly explore different worlds, different dimensions. Thats what they describe in NDEs. Most say they don't want to come back. Who knows, weird world.

 

[AsianSensationK]

How can you assert that, knowing that we're just 60 years removed from some of the greatest human tragedies ever to occur?

Racism, intolerance, class struggle, and inequality still run rampant in all parts of the world. People still choose to be a part of these things.

When presented with a choice to either advance or regress, people could always choose to regress. Until you acknowledge that, your views might be a little too optimistic.

 

[hauntedx]

Your're probably right; but the way I see it, on top of all this garbage that plagues society, we're still advancing, and rapidly. What's to slow us down from maturing as an intelligent species as well? If we do, we'll soon realize how ignorant anger and racism is, and either the people will accept this new code or the governments will program everyone to. It's at the breaking point now, in this day and age. either we end it or it ends us.

But perhaps technology is advancing much too fast and we're polluting and over-populating the Earth, dooming it to rubble before we can make any powerful changes. It's all speculative, but I know that at the end of my lifetime I'll be able to make an honest prediction.

Anyone have links to special info on technology and advancement and state-of-the-earth I could better educate myself with?

 

[artrocket]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-499406752461114587&q=jacque+fresco

 

[fedorfan]

I hope the world advances past war and unites and starts realizing that we could go very far if the world was a united and happy place.

 

[kant]

I think you are rediculous. You seem to suggest that there is a diection to humanity, and that the objective is to be more and more logical, and ultimately become "masters of our universe". There is simply no reason to be belief that the best survival strategy is be more logical or nice. As for being super logical beings, i don t think it even possible. You can t be logical unless your start with some illogical propositions. human beings can understand the cosmos not because we are smart, but because the certain features of the universe is understandable by human mathematics.

 

[fedorfan]

Yeah, there is most likely more out there that we couldn't understand. If we were united we could use each other`s technology together and explore the universe that we do know though.

 

[MajorComplex]

I guess it's down to simply our surroundings... The concept of open opinion and the nature of the human mind as we know it guarentees disagreement. Because we're essentially stranded on Earth the only people to disagree with are those who are intelegent enough to respond, Humans.

If by chance we where born in a more active Galaxy or even solar system, it would give us the strength to unite as Humans, as the focal relations or even conflict would be interstelar and not civil. Of course there would still be civil argument but the racial differences we know to day would shift for a whole different future.

Personally I think if the human race lives long enough and grows strong enough we could maybe one day in the distant, distant future unite as one and all be proud of who we are. But while our technology and knowledge is the way it is, it isn't going to happen any time soon. Wait maybe 1000 years (if we last that long that is) and we might be on our way to really learning what the universe is, though even then until we start abusing it for what it is it isn't really going to change at all.

 

[paul_peciak]

thoughts on existence in a nut shell -

hauntdex - i found your thoughts too flawed :(

We are part of a cosmic evolotuion, and in that greater sense we are evolving, growing, advancing, whatever you want to call it. But at the human level - human survival has only one purpose - to satisfy our need of happiness.

as stephen hawking said, we're just a chemical scum on the surface of a typical planet that's in orbit round a typical star on the outskirts of a typical galaxy...

 

[jackle]

We`ll always be advancing but I doubt we`ll ever get to the point of raising the dead...

I'm not sure this is possible even in principle. My understanding of the medical definition of death is that death is something from which you can't return. If you come back you didn't die you had a NDE (by definition?). My guess is we have already passed the point some time ago of bringing back people that older civilisations would have counted dead.

...or atleast the person won't be the same person. Like theyll have machines running their brain and stuff.

Things would start getting interesting at this point. Did they have an NDE or are they dead already? How can we tell? Are they able to recite their experiences? Is it a machine replaying the moments before death stored in the brain or is it the actual person speaking? And of course, the big question, does it make any difference one way or another and why?

Why even try, when youre dead you could possibly explore different worlds, different dimensions. Thats what they describe in NDEs. Most say they don't want to come back. Who knows, weird world.

I don't think our technology has got to this point yet, but a long time in the future, people may have the right not to be brought back as a part machine. I don't think I would want to have a brain that had to be supported heavily by computer implants.

Relating back to the original topic - is this real human progress? Are we ready to face the moral consequences of our "progress"?

 

[Overdose]

I think the nature of efficiency will arse up the quality of everything and will be a far bigger threat to us and everything else than nuclear weapons.
Id go into more detail but its late here *snooze*

 

[calamero]

In the not too distant future,the ever increasing pace of media & technology will lead to the breakdown of society , war and destruction.

50 years ago goverments held great authority over there populations & foreign ones because they were unseen and unheard..now at a glance people can see an individual rulers weeknesses and can also "get a goverments character" all via there tv's which will undoubtedly instill a fear ,an indifference or an act of bravado